Development

City Wants Input on Comprehensive Plan, Providing Multiple Opporunties

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City of WatertownA screenshot of the interactive map where people can leave ideas for what they would like to see in Watertown. It is part of the process for updating the Comprehensive Plan, the City’s key planning document. The process of updating Watertown’s key planning document, the Comprehensive Plan, has begun, and people who live and/or work in the City can give their input in a variety of ways. City officials held a community forum on Thursday, but those who were unable to attend can still give their opinions and ideas, said Watertown’s Assistant Director of Planning Gideon Schreiber. The City adopted the Comprehensive Plan in 2015, and now the document is being updated.

Police/Fire

Still Time to Register for Sunday’s Watertown Police Finish Strong 5K Run/Walk

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Those interested in taking part in the Watertown Police Department’s Finish Strong 5K Run and Walk can still register. The event begins at 11 a.m. on Sunday, May 22. The Watertown Police Finish Strong 5k Run/Walk begins and finishes at City Works, in Arsenal Yards, 91 Arsenal Yards Blvd. in Watertown. The course is fast and fairly flat 3.1 miles (5 km), and there will be prizes for the top male/female finishers plus various age categories.

College Sports

Watertown’s Andrade Will Play Div. I College Football at ACC School

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Charlie BreitroseWatertown’s Mason Andrade booked a spot on the Wake Forest football team as a running back next fall. Watertown High School football standout Mason Andrade will be headed to play in the ACC next fall after being offered a spot on the Wake Forest football team. The senior rushed for 1,575 yards in the fall, was named the Middlesex League MVP, and made the Boston Globe’s All-Scholastic team. While it looked like he was going to play at an NCAA Div. II school in Massachusetts, he able to get a spot on a Div.

Around Town

Watertown Residents Can Recycle Styrofoam, Shred Paper at DPW Event

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Get rid of your styrofoam, old clothing and shred paper at the upcoming recycling event hosted by the Watertown Department of Public Works. The event will take place on Saturday, June 4, 2022 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It will be held in the parking lot of the Jewish Community Day School, 57 Stanley Ave., Watertown, rain or shine. Vendors will include those collecting textiles (HELPSY), Styrofoam (Save That Stuff) and paper shredding (Stericycle). 

Proof of residency must be provided.

104 Main Street

Possible Main St. Project Has Restaurant Owners Worried About Future

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Crown CafeDiners enjoy a meal at Crown Cafe on Main Street. The future of the restaurant is uncertain because a development has been proposed that includes the restaurant’s property. The new owners of the Crown Cafe invested tens-of-thousands of dollars into the space on Main Street and the restaurant began serving food in January. Just a few months later they worry whether their investment will be for nothing, and the space where their business sits may be demolished to make way for a proposed five-story mixed use development near Watertown Square. One hope for the owners may be a grassroots effort started to try to stop the development by making the area a historic district.

54 Bus

MBTA Would Add New Bus Routes in Watertown as Part Revamping of Bus Service

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Charlie BreitroseAn MBTA bus in Watertown. The MBTA has proposed some major changes to its bus service, including more frequent runs for the 70 Bus and the addition of two routes: one serving Newton and Waltham, and another that goes from Riverside Station in Newton to Arlington and includes Belmont. The changes are part of the Better Bus Program, the MBTA’s proposal to revamp parts of the bus system to meet the changing needs of the Greater Boston area due to shifting demographics, new employment centers, increased traffic congestion and changing travel patterns, according to the MBTA’s website. Recently, the MBTA released a proposed map of the new bus routes (click here to see an interactive map). The changes impacting Watertown include increasing the frequency of the 70 Bus from the current service, every 30 minutes or less during midday and on weekdays, to every 15 minutes or less seven days a week under the proposed plan.

Adopt an Island

Watertown Rotary Beautifying Area as Part of Adopt an Island Area

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Rotary Club of WatertownRotary Club of Watertown members John Nealon, Maria Papadopoulos, Kitty Mennilli, and Ruth Rudnick cleaned the island in the middle of the Rotary at Common and Church streets. Rotary maintains the area as part of the Adopt an Island program. Recently, members of the Rotary Club of Watertown grabbed some gardening tools to help spruce up a traffic island in Watertown. Watertown Rotary has taken responsibility for weeding the rotary on Common Street as part of the Department of Public Works’ Adopt an Island Program, said Maria Papadopoulos of the Rotary Club. “Passers by were thanking us which was heartwarming!”