Last week, looking out the window of her business, Artemis Yoga owner Liz Padula saw orange cones, yellow caution tape, gravel, and signs saying “no parking” and “sidewalk closed.”
The construction zone — in front of the studio and other businesses on the block between Arlington Street and Bigelow Avenue — is part of the Mt. Auburn Street Project. In an effort to keep clients coming in, she decided to make some social media.
“I’m posting the funny videos — throw on the summer bucket hat, have some fun with it, and try to get people aware,” Padula said.
Last week, the work focused on the area near Artemis, the former Olespana location, and CVS. The main impact on the yoga studio has been that students have been arriving late, because they don’t know how to get around the tape, signs, and other obstacles.
The project is being overseen by the Mass. Department of Transportation. It will take multiple years. It has already been a few years, including the pre-construction utility work. Last week, the construction was literally at her studio’s front door.
“(In prior years) they redid something with the utilities, but now it’s go time,” Padula said. “This is no longer prep stuff.”
The inconvenience will have a good result, Padula said.
“It will encourage more walkability, more visits,” Padula said. “It will be good in the end. So I’m like really hopeful about that.”
The narrowing of the road, especially at the intersection of Mt. Auburn Street and Bigelow Avenue, is a plus, she said. Padula has seen people making U-turns in front of the studio on the four-lane road, and she added that a fatal accident took place recently on Bigelow, right near the intersection.
Padula supports the project, and said the communication from the general contractor, Newport Construction, and the City of Watertown has been good, but could be better.
“It could be even more granular, that’s what I like,” Padula said. “They could do a better job. They can’t just walk in. They should just send out an email directly to the business owners.”
Newport has been very courteous and responsive when she reached out to them, Padula said.
“I think Anthony (Barile, vice president of Newport Construction) has been very nice and respectful,” Padula said. “When I talk to him, he’s quick to respond. So, I think that’s that’s been a plus.”
The biggest obstacle has been making sure it is clear to people how they can get to the studio or park in front of the business. One day last week, she found a “sidewalk closed” sign blocking the path to her front door.
“I said, ‘You can’t let the whole sidewalk close in front of my business,'” Padula said.
The timing has been hard to get a handle on. Sidewalk construction started on June 3 with the removal of the curb, and ripping out the old sidewalk. Then crews fill in the base, framed it, poured concrete, and finally re-installed the curbing. The new concrete was poured on June 12.
“I thought it was going to be faster,” Padula said.
At a meeting in November 2025, Newport and MassDOT officials spoke with businesses. They went through the sidewalk reconstruction process and timeline. Erin Rathe, the City’s Senior Planner for Economic Development attended the meeting, and she also believed it would be a shorter timeline.
“What I heard at that meeting also gave the impression that it would be two, three days maximum, where the sidewalks were ripped up, and then re-poured,” Rathe said.
The City produces weekly updates about the work for the coming week, and has made efforts to try to support businesses in Coolidge Square, Rathe said. The messaging that Padula, and other businesses, such as Donohue’s Bar & Grill, have put out works well, Rathe said.
“Those kinds of reminders from the businesses directly, I think, really help their customers feel like, ‘OK, it’s inconvenient. Yes, it’s disruptive, but I can still get there. I can still do this. I have to work a little bit harder, might have to navigate through cones.’ Things like that,” Rathe said. “‘We want to absolutely still send the message: These businesses are open.”
This week, the sidewalk construction moves down Mt. Auburn Street to the block between Bigelow Avenue and Elton Avenue, on the south side of the street. This will impact several businesses including Sevan Bakery, Stella Pizza, Boxfish Seafood Restaurant, Victoria Spa, Vasquez Barber Shop, and Exotic Nails & Spa.