Government

Latest Designs for Mt. Auburn St. Project to be Discussed at Upcoming Meetings

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The following announcement came from the Department of Public Works:
The Town Council Public Works Committee has scheduled two meetings for a Mount Auburn Street project update. Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018 and Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018. Ask questions and review plans with the project team starting at 6:00 p.m. Each Committee meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. at Town Hall, Administration Building Richard E. Mastrangelo Council Chamber, 149 Main Street, Watertown.

Boston Marathon Bombing

Buses to Start Using New Red Lanes on Mt. Auburn Street Soon, Also Impacts Bikes, Cars

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The following information was provided by the MBTA and Town of Watertown:
Beginning the week of Oct. 15, the Town of Watertown, the City of Cambridge, the MBTA, the Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, and the Barr Foundation will roll out a bus priority pilot funded by a grant from the Barr Foundation to bring elements of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) to the Mount Auburn Street Corridor, serving MBTA routes 71 and 73, as well as employee shuttles. The project will feature painted bus and bicycle only lanes – primarily on Mount Auburn Street between Cottage Street and Coolidge Avenue in the inbound direction – as well as signage and signal changes to create faster, more reliable service for 12,000+ daily bus riders while improving traffic flow for everyone. The partners will host an official launch event with speaking program on the morning of Oct.

Letters

OP-ED: MBTA Making Changes to Avoid “Ghost Buses” on Cellphone App

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State Sen. Will Brownsberger, (D – Belmont) who represents Watertown, provided the following piece:

MBTA bus arrival predictions should get better as of today and further improvements can be expected over the next few months. Representatives Jon Hecht and Dave Rogers and I learned a lot at a recent meeting with MBTA management about bus service complaints that we had received from riders. Most regular bus riders now rely on mobile phone apps to get predictions of when the next bus will arrive. Here is how those predictions are generated and how the technology is changing. Each MBTA bus is equipped with a device that transmits its location back to the MBTA’s control center.

Letters

LETTER: Watertown Deserves to be a Priority in MBTA’s Investment Plan

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Letter To The Editor

The MBTA recently released its “Focus 40 Investment Plan.” On pages 13-19 of that plan, the MBTA gives an overview of which communities it considers “Priority Places”  in its Focus 40 investment plan. https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/projects/focus40/2018-07-30-focus40-draft-plan-digital.pdf

I believe that Watertown (East Watertown in particular) deserves the “Priority Place” designation because it’s fits many of the criteria for a Priority Place listed on page 14 including:
“• Lack rapid transit service, but bus usage exceeds available capacity
• Face traffic congestion that compromises the performance of MBTA buses in mixed traffic
• Host major centers of activity or dense residential populations, but lack efficient public transit access
• Feature population or employment densities that support higher frequency transit”
I urge Watertown’s residents and local and state representatives to contact the MBTA to add Watertown to its “Priority Places” so that our small but growing city can get the public transit investments we need for our future,

 

Teddy Kokoros
Watertown Resident

Letters

OP-ED: State Sen. Brownsberger Reflects on MBTA’s Long Term Planning

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The following was provided by State Sen. Will Brownsberger (D – Belmont) who also represents Watertown:

Comments are due on the MBTA’s long term plan on Monday, October 22 (extended from September 21). It is a provocative document that is well worth a read.  The document is available for comment at MBTAFocus40.com. As a regional agency dependent on state funding for more than half of its budget, the MBTA is constantly subject to political pressure from people like me to improve service. The demands of multiple elected officials serving different constituencies raise difficult choices for the agency about where to focus. In the “Focus 40” document, the agency is attempting to get above the politics and shape its priorities based on big picture data about needs.

Department of Public Works

Expect Delays on Main Street Due to Installation of Curbs, Crosswalk Improvements

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Starting Tuesday, Sept. 5, Traffic on Main Street will likely be slowed due to construction of a new sidewalk and improvements to a crosswalk between the Watertown Library and the Post Office. The Department of Public Works announced details of the roadwork, which will take place between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Traffic will flow in both directions, but could be delayed by the roadwork. Also, one of the stops for the MBTA’s 70/70A bus will move down the street. The following information was provided by the Watertown Department of Public Works:

Please be informed that Daigle Electric will be performing construction work on Main Street at the crosswalk between the Post Office and Public Library as part of MassDOT Project 608540; (District 6 – Pedestrian and Bicycle Facility upgrades at various locations).

Government

DPW Announces Temporary Walking Routes to WHS During Common Street Project

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The Watertown Department of Public Works provided this update on the Common Street road project:

Over the summer, the Town has begun construction along Common Street from Mount Auburn Street to the Church Street/Orchard Street intersection, including portions of Columbia Street and Spring Street as part of the Common Street improvement project. The scope of the project includes the full reconstruction of each roadway with the objective of increasing safety and improving operations for all users within this corridor. General information is available at the Town’s web-site: http://www.watertowndpw.org/173/Common-Street

Construction will continue during the fall. As students are heading back to school, safety through the active construction zone is paramount. DPW, working with the School Department and Police Department Traffic Division, has developed a temporary pedestrian safety and control plan (See photo above).

Transportation

Labor Day Weekend Travel Tips, How to Monitor Traffic, MBTA Information

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The following information was provided by the MassDOT:

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is encouraging Labor Day travelers to make informed decisions, utilize all the available technology tools including www.mass511.com, and consider public transportation if possible to reach destinations. “Everyone who will be traveling throughout the Labor Day weekend should make smart decisions and plan ahead in order to minimize congestion and help ensure efficient travel,” said Transportation Secretary and CEO Stephanie Pollack. “We encourage members of the public to try out resources such as mass511.com, which shows live conditions and traffic cameras, utilize navigational resources to find the best route and time to travel, and check www.mbta.com for public transit schedules and information.”

MassDOT is taking several steps to ensure reliable travel for members of the public who utilize transportation systems across the Commonwealth and will be shutting down scheduled roadway construction for the Labor Day travel period effective at noon, Friday, Aug. 31, per MassDOT’s long-standing policy for holiday weekends. Scheduled road work will then resume at the start of normal business hours on Tuesday, Sept.