Transportation

See When the Garage at Alewife MTBA Station Will be Reopening

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The following information was provided by the Mass. Department of Transportation:

Following the weekend closure of the Alewife Station parking garage, work crews were able to address areas of concrete deterioration, which will allow all levels of the garage to reopen at 5 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 13. Out of an abundance of caution, the MBTA proactively closed the garage on Friday, Aug. 10, to allow crews to expedite concrete repairs and to conduct a comprehensive engineering assessment. During the weekend closure, crews were able to address additional areas of deteriorated concrete, inspect and cover expansion joints where appropriate, and secure the paths of travel for pedestrian and vehicular access to the garage.

Transportation

Lane Closures on Charles River Road Overnight Through Mid Next Week

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The Town of Watertown released the announcement from the Department of Conservation and Recreation:

Starting tonight, Thursday, August 9, 2018, and continuing through Wednesday, August 15, 2018, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) will implement some lane closures along Charles River Road in the Town of Watertown from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. to accommodate pavement markings operations. Work is dependent on weather, and is not likely to occur on all seven days. While pavement markings are being placed, some noise will be generated as it is applied to the roadway surface. Traffic patterns will be clearly visible and a police detail will be on site. WHERE: Charles River Road in the Town of Watertown

WHEN: Thursday, August 9, 2018 – Wednesday, August 15, 2018 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.

Changes Coming to Charles River Road, Including New Crosswalks, Re-striping of Road

Alewife

MBTA Closing Alewife Garage Over the Weekend

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The MBTA sent out this message about the repairs on the Alewife Garage. NOTE, this story was updated at 4 p.m. on Aug. 10: 
The safety of its customers and employees is the MBTA’s highest priority. Today, the MBTA is announcing that out of an abundance of caution, the Alewife garage will be closed through the weekend to allow for continued repairs and a comprehensive engineering assessment. 
Through ongoing assessments and repair work, additional areas of deteriorated concrete that need to be addressed have been discovered. As such, the garage will be closed over the weekend to address these areas and to expedite the repair plan.

Around Town

Queue Jump Lanes Added to Mt. Auburn Street in Effort to Improve Bus Service

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The following information was provided by the Department of Public Works:

Following days of initial testing, the Town of Watertown has debuted two “queue jump” lanes at School Street and Walnut Street. Queue jump lanes allow buses to move more quickly through intersections by “jumping” to the front of a line of traffic. Bus rapid transit (BRT) systems around the world use queue jump lanes to create a faster and more reliable bus ride and improve overall traffic flow. “Roughly 5,000 bus trips are made each day in Watertown in this corridor, and the Route 71 bus is an important asset to the community,” said Matthew Shuman, Town Engineer for the Town of Watertown. “We also know from research in other places that moving Watertown closer to BRT with queue jump lanes has the potential to speed up the commute for everyone by separating buses from cars at intersections.

Transportation

Commonwealth Ave. Bridge Project Will Impact Pike, Trains, MBTA Service

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The following announcement was provided by MassDOT:
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has announced that intensive construction operations for its project to replace the westbound side of the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge in Boston began successfully on the evening of Thursday, July 26. “On Thursday evening, Commonwealth Avenue as well as the Boston University Bridge were closed to all vehicular traffic, detours were implemented for MBTA bus routes, and a section of the Green Line B branch is now replaced by bus shuttles,” said Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver. “Our crews have started initial work-related activities including roadway milling, staging equipment, and bringing in bridge beams and materials. The public is asked to avoid the local area if possible as significant travel impacts are in place, and make informed decisions on route, timing, and mode of travel.”
Crews will start demolishing the westbound side of the bridge on the morning of Saturday, July 28. The MBTA Commuter Rail Worcester/Framingham line and the Amtrak Lake Shore Limited line will be replaced for some station stops by bus shuttles throughout the weekend, and during the following weekend, in order to ensure adequate room for operations.

Bicycles

Designers Add More Options for Redesigning Watertown Square After Traffic Counts

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After taking traffic counts in the area around Watertown Square and along Charles River Road an North Beacon Street, the designers of the Watertown Square Improvement project added more options for how the intersection could be changed. On July 9, the Town of Watertown held an open house to present the latest options for reconfiguring Watertown Square. The last time the project was presented to the public, in November 2017, many residents — particularly those living between Charles River Road and North Beacon Street — opposed the idea of removing Charles River Road from the Watertown Square intersection. Representatives from the Town’s consultant on the project, VHB, said traffic counts would be done before coming back with recommendations for the project. “Based on the traffic counts, rather than reduce the options, we added more,” said Dennis Sheehan, the DPW’s Director of Administration and Finance. “If one solution would have clearly worked best we would have presented less options.”

Transportation

Several Hundred Riders Try Out New Bike Share Program in Watertown

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Since the new bike share program came to town, sevearl hundred local cyclists have taken a ride on the bright green bikes. During the 13 days since the launch of the Lime Bike program, 1,374 rides have been made by 825 riders in Watertown, according to Transportation Planner Laura Wiener. The average trip is not long: less than a mile (.8 miles), and lasts 19 minutes. Lime Bikes operate a bit differently from the BlueBikes (formerly Hubway) in Boston, where riders pick up and leave bikes in docking stations. Lime Bike riders use the company’s smartphone app, which allows riders to locate a bicycle, unlock it and go for a ride.

Bicycling

OP-ED: State Sen. Brownsberger Pushing to Make Roads Safer for Bicyclists

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(The following piece was provided by State Sen. Will Brownsberger (D – Belmont) who also represents Watertown and parts of Boston)
When I cycled across the country in 2011, I saw a lot of roadkill. I was constantly aware that all it would take was one mistake by me or by one of those caffeinated guys in big rigs and I’d look about the same. On the open road, I developed a profound gratitude towards the tens of thousands of drivers who did not hit me. The Senate just approved a safety package that would require a clearance of at least three feet for vehicles passing vulnerable road users like highway workers, cyclists and pedestrians.  It would add an additional foot of required clearance for each ten miles per hour of speed.