Police/Fire

Police Seek Driver Who Appeared to Intentionally Hit Goose

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A picture of a vehicle that appeared to intentionally strike a goose that was crossing Charles River Road. (Courtesy of Watertown Police)

Police believe a motorist intentionally hit a goose on Charles River Road, and seek to identify the driver. The incident occurred on Wednesday July 19, when traffic was stopped for a group of geese crossing the road. The driver of a silver Nissan SUV went into the bike lane and struck a goose. Police hope to identify the driver, and have asked residents to check their home surveillance cameras to see if there is anything on them that could help with the investigation.

Around Town

Watertown Restaurant Using GoFundMe to Try to Stay Open

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Watertown’s Ritcey East has struggled since the pandemic, and owner Max Ritcey has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise enough money to keep the doors open at the Waverley Avenue restaurant. Ritcey said the restaurant has been down tens of thousand dollars behind each month, in part due to paying back COVID loans. The goal is to reach $30,000 by September, and fans have already stepped up to donate more than $22,000 in the first four days. See more information about the campaign at the Ritcey East GoFundMe page. Ritcey posted the following letter on the campaign page:

It’s very hard for me to share this but Ritceys is down on average 20k a month since the pandemic.

Around Town

Study Finds Watertown Multi-Family Complexes Have Many Empty Parking Spaces

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Courtesy of MAPC

A study of large large apartment complexes in Watertown found that nearly 40 percent off-street parking spots remain empty, even during peak parking times. The Perfect Fit Parking study conducted by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) looked a several communities in the Boston area. In 17 multi-family residential complexes in Watertown, 62 percent of the spaces were full. The Watertown complexes had 1.45 parking spaces per unit, and 0.99 spaces were utilized, according to the study’s summary. The study comes at a good time, Watertown Assistant City Manager Steve Magoon said in the MAPC’s announcement (read it below), with the draft Comprehensive Plan update recommending the the City review its parking requirements for new developments.

Schools

Dozens of Watertown Students Earn Academic Honors at Their College

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More that two dozen students from Watertown earned academic honors this spring at 14 colleges and universities. The information was provided by the schools to Merit. Bryant University

Bryant University is pleased to recognize the students who have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to academic excellence and achievement and have been named to the spring 2023 President’s List. The President’s List is an academic distinction reserved for Bryant’s highest achievers who earn a GPA of 4.0 for at least 12 semester hours of work. Congratulations on this outstanding achievement!

Around Town

Neighbors Concerned About Size of Proposed, Noise & Traffic from Project at Cannistraro Site

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A rendering of the proposed life science project at former Cannistraro property on Pleasant Street, Rosedale Road, and Acton Street. (Courtesy of Broder)

Developers heard from dozens of residents who showed up Monday night for an in-person community meeting about the project proposed for the former Cannistraro site, pro and against. Many with concerns lived in the residential neighborhood across the street, who fear they will be negatively impacted by the size of, and noise and traffic from the life science project. The project includes parcels on Pleasant Street, Rosedale Road and Acton Street. The proposal calls for a four-story, 148,0000-sq.-ft.