Government

State Looks for Ways to Improve Traffic, Transportation on Arsenal Street

By |

Residents attending the MassDOT’s community forum Tuesday night heard some things they already knew – traffic and bus service is bad on Arsenal Street – and other things they didn’t want to know – it will get much worse unless something is done. 

The Department of Transportation’s consultants from VHB told residents that traffic could increase significantly the next 25 years and that will result in more crowded and more late MBTA buses. They also discussed ways to improve public transportation and traffic on the Arsenal Street Corridor during the second community meeting on improvements to the area. Traffic will increase 17 percent in the morning peak traffic hour and 21 percent in the evening peak traffic hour, said Laura Castelli, a consultant from VHB. Looking at traffic flow, most of the congestion currently is at the two “gateways” to the Arsenal Corridor: Watertown Square and the Western Avenue/Soldier Field Road interchange on the other side of the Arsenal Street Bridge, Castelli said. Currently, 15-35 percent of stops are above capacity the way the MBTA measures it – all seats are full during non-peak time and in peak times, the bus is at capacity for sitting and standing.

Arsenal Street Corridor

State Study Finds Buses Overcrowded, Traffic Slow on Arsenal Street

By |

The buses that serve Arsenal Street are overloaded at peak times, and are delayed by traffic gridlock in Watertown Square and going over the bridge into Brighton. 

These are a couple of the findings of a study of Arsenal Street currently being done by the Massachusetts Department of Transit (MassDOT) in an effort to improve the corridor that will add many more jobs, housing units and retail stores in the next several years. The area is served by the MBTA’s 70 and 70A buses. MassDOT officials recently came to Watertown to present their preliminary findings (see the presentation here). The Arsenal Street Corridor is served by the 70 and 70A buses and includes 5,710 residents, 2,740 households and includes 6,630 jobs, according to the study. The study looked at commuting patterns, and found:

Watertown residents commute to: Boston (27%) Watertown (18%) Cambridge (11%) Waltham (6%) Newton (5%)
Those working on the Arsenal Street Corridor come from: Watertown (17%) Boston (16%) Waltham (8%) Newton (4%) Cambridge (4%)

Buses
In prior public meetings about the area, many have complained about crowded buses and transit running behind schedule.

MassDOT

Department of Transportation Wants to Hear from Residents

By |

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) will host two upcoming  Regulatory Review Listening Sessions and is seeking written input, too. 

Governor Baker’s Executive Order 562 commissions a thorough review of every Executive Branch regulation and its impact on the public. Public feedback is vital to the success of the project and if you or your business is affected by MassDOT regulations in any manner, we strongly encourage you to attend one of the listening sessions listed below and submit written comments to help improve our process. One session was held in Boston on Jan. 6 and there are two more listening sessions coming up:

Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016 2-4 p.m.
Nevin’s Hall
150 Concord St.