Around Town

Electrical Wiring Project Will Impact Traffic on North Beacon St.

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Another one of Watertown’s major roadways will have a project this year that will slow traffic. New electric lines will be installed under North Beacon Street, and could take two to three months to complete. In January, the City Council approved the petition from Eversource to install 1,612 feet of conduit for electrical wires under North Beacon. The project also includes 177 feet of conduit under Main Street and 60 feet of conduit under Pleasant Street. The photos in the petition application show roadways starting at the intersection of Pleasant Street and Main Street in Watertown Square, and going east to the intersection of North Beacon Street and Irving Street.

Around Town

Watertown Reduced Trash by More than 1,000 Tons in 2022

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Watertown DPWWatertown’s compost, trash and recycling toters. The following information was provided by the Department of Public Works:

Happy New Year! 2022 was a big year for waste reduction in Watertown. We implemented newprograms to help achieve the newly ratified Massachusetts 2030 waste goals. This landmarkmasterplan set the objective of municipalities reducing the amount of waste they send for disposal by 30% by 2030.

Around Town

Water Main Break Shuts Off Service in Area of West Side

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The Department of Public Works announced that water has been shut off for some streets on the West End of Watertown on Wednesday. The DPW sent out the following information on its Instagram account:

Please be aware that the Department of Public Works is reporting on Wednesday, January 18, 2023 at 12:30 PM that the water is shut down on Copeland near Highland to address a water break. We’ll provide updates as we get them.

Around Town

Trash Collection: Christmas Trees, Extra Trash Bags & 2023 Schedule

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Watertown residents will be allowed to put out more trash bags than fit in their toters for one week only, and in January they can put out Christmas trees. The Department of Public Works sent out the following announcements, and also noted that trash and recycling collection will be delayed by a day the first week of January. Extra Trash

We understand that households often generate some extra trash during the holiday season. For this reason, we are allowing OVERFLOW trash bag pickup during the holiday week of Tuesday, January 3 through Saturday, January 7, 2023. Residents may put up to THREE extra bags of household trash out with their trash barrels for collection.

Government

See Which Roads Will Be Repaired in 2023, Condition of City’s Roadways Declining

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Six roads made the City’s road repair list for 2023, and another will be part of the longer-road program. City Councilors also heard a report of a meeting where the Department of Public Works said the City’s road rating had dropped. Repair List

On Dec. 13, the City Council approved the funding for the annual road repair program, as well as longer street projects in future years. Roads that will be repaired in 2023 are: Bates Road, Bates Road East, Essex Street, Nash Street, Francis Street and Bradshaw Street.

Around Town

Road Work on Belmont St. Will Impact Some Watertown Residents

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

As part of the Belmont Street Reconstruction Project, the City of Cambridge’s contractor, Newport Construction, will begin mobilizing in the coming weeks

Newport will begin installing tree protection along the street, performing survey and layout work, saw-cutting areas of the roadway and delivering and install of drainage structures. DigSafe markings will also begin appearing on the sidewalk and roadways. Following drainage work, weather permitting, Newport will begin the installation of the Cambridge water main along Belmont Street between the Belmont Town Line and Mt. Auburn Street. Cambridge residents of Belmont Street will receive a notice with specific details regarding this work.

Government

Watertown Delays Start of Some Trash & Recycling Changes

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Watertown DPWWatertown’s trash, recycling, compost toters. Recently the Department of Public Works announced changes to trash and recycling collection in Watertown. The changes were to have taken effect soon, but some programs will be delayed. The new rules for collection of bulk items that don’t fit into trash bins, TVs & appliances, and mattresses will not go into effect until a date to be announced. When the new rules take effect, residents will have to schedule pickup of these items and will pay a fee to have the items collected.

Government

New Water Rate Tiers Will Reduce Increases for Most Residents

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The bad news is that water and sewer rates will be rising for Watertown residents, the good news is that the rate hike will not be as big as it could have been due to a new rate system approved by the City Council Tuesday night. The new water and sewer rate structure has four tiers, instead of three used by the City in past years. The new system keeps most residents in the lowest tier, while creating a tier in between the second tier and the highest one. The new tiers moves the cost of the water and sewer enterprise funds from smaller consumers of water, about 75 percent of residents — to bigger users, including large businesses, which results in lower increases for most residents, said Council Vice President Vincent Piccirilli said. “By creating a fourth tier we will be able to get about 70 percent of people to be in the low area, where their rates only going to go up 2.6 percent.