Government

Deadline for Comments on Arsenal Street Study Coming Up Soon

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State transportation officials will be taking input from people about the proposed changes to Arsenal Street and other streets in the area through July 10. 
Some changes proposed include redesigning Watertown Square and removing one road from the intersection, improving bus service and improving bicycle accommodations. Click here to see more information on the proposals in the Arsenal Corridor Study Final Draft. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation sent out the following announcement:

MassDOT is conducting the Arsenal Street Corridor Study in Watertown. This study has developed alternatives that are intended to improve transportation conditions on Arsenal Street between Galen Street and Birmingham Parkway. The study has proposed improvements to vehicular, transit, bicycle, and pedestrian uses of the corridor, with a targeted focus on enhancements to bus service along Arsenal Street and locations where the bus service ties into other crossing bus routes. The Draft Final Report was released in June and the project team recently hosted a public information meeting. Comments on the report will be accepted through Monday, July 10, 2017.

Arsenal Street

Council Backs $25 Million in Improvements, Some Question Openness of Process

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After a marathon session, the Town Council unanimously approved a partnership with Athenahealth and the DCR that will bring $25 million in public infrastructure projects to the area in East Watertown around the company’s campus. The funds to pay for 10 proposed projects come from the state via the I-Cubed program, which creates partnerships between public entities (the Town and the Department of Conservation and Recreation) and a private one (Athenahealth). The money comes from additional taxes created by Athena adding more jobs through its campus expansion, and will be used to pay for bonds issued by the state. The projects must be completed within 3 years of the issuance of the bonds. While many residents and some on the Council said the Town would be crazy to pass up $25 million in free projects (or at least that won’t use Watertown residents’s tax dollars) others complained that the list of projects came forward with little public discussion about what made the list.

Government

Price of Extra Recycling Toters Reduced in New Trash/Recycling Contract

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Advocates of recycling got good news Tuesday night when the Town Council approved the new trash and recycling removal contract – toters 50 percent off. Residents in Watertown get one green recycling toter, which is collected every two weeks. For some this is not enough and the bin overflows. When Republic Services came to present the new contract at the June 14 Town Council meeting a number of Councilors said they hoped the price of an additional toter could be reduced from the $180 charged in the contract that ends June 30, 2017. Tuesday night, Town Manager Michael Driscoll announced that in the time since the last meeting Town officials negotiated a new price for the additional recycling toters with Republic Services.

Arsenal Street

Major Changes to Watertown Square, Bus Lines Recommended by MassDOT

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Removing one of the roads leading into Watertown Square, splitting up the 70 and 70A into three routes and using technology to improve traffic flow are three of multiple recommendations for improving Arsenal Street in the study done for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). The final draft of the Arsenal Street Corridor Study was presented by transportation consultants from VHB at a public forum Thursday at the Watertown Library. Information was gathered for the study during six stakeholder meetings and three public meetings (including the one Thursday) dating back to September 2015. There were a total of nine recommendations, whittled down from the 18 presented at a meeting in October 2016. “We looked at driving, biking, walking and especially public transportation,” said Michael Clark, project coordinator for MassDOT.

Government

Committee Debates Victory Field’s Dual Role as Athletic Complex and Park

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Plans to rehabilitate and renovate the track area at Victory Field began to take shape Tuesday night, but members of the Committee making recommendations about the project had trouble agreeing on some aspects of the project. The Ad Hoc Committee on Victory Field Phase II is made up of town officials, neighbors of the site and representatives of groups who use the site – the Watertown Public Schools and Watertown youth sports. The disagreements rose from the balance of the how much the use of the track and court areas should be athletics vs. being a public park and recreation area. What arose as an area of contention was something not for track and field, but a net to protect people from balls thrown or kicked by teams using the grass area inside the track.

Bicycles

Protected Bike Lanes Included in Plans for Mt. Auburn Street Renovation

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The long-in-the-planning Mount Auburn Street renovation is taking shape, and Monday night plans for adding wider bike lanes to the major artery were shown to a packed meeting at Town Hall. The meeting brought together the Town Council’s Public Works subcommittee and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee. It came about after a meeting in December 2016 during which residents brought up concerns that the safety of bicyclists were not being included in the planning for Mt. Auburn Street. Talks about the renovation of the road, which goes from Watertown Square through East Watertown to Cambridge, began several years ago.

Government

School Subcommittee Recommends Adding Another Artificial Turf Field

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The demand for artificial turf field space has grown for Watertown High School’s athletic squads, and a School Committee subcommittee has recommended that the town install a second artificial turf field with lights somewhere in town. 

With football/baseball area of Victory Field covered in artificial turf it has allowed the area to be used for more hours and in more inclement weather, said WHS Athletic Director Michael Lahiff. However, there is a lot of demand for that space. In the fall, for instance, it is used by the football, field hockey, and boys soccer teams. However, the football team has priority because they cannot practice or play on the nearby Victory Field Track Oval because players would tear up the grass, Lahiff said. They are not the only team that wants to use the turf. “Field hockey wants to be on the turf, it’s a different game now (on artificial turf), and boys soccer prefers it,” Lahiff said.

Government

Some Changes in Store in Watertown’s Proposed Trash/Recycling Contract

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Trash collection would move to five days a week and yard waste would be collected on the same day as trash under the proposed new trash/recycling collection contract being offered to the town. Weekly recycling, however, is not part of the deal. The five year deal with Republic Services, the same company that currently picks up trash and recycling, would cost $12.43 million over that time. The contract could have been higher, said Dan Higgins, municipal services manager for Republic. “We identified ways to be more efficient and overcame projected const increases for the town,” said Higgins, who said there will be increases in wages, increased fuel costs and higher rates for disposing trash at the incinerator facility.