Read the July-August 2020 BCF Newsletter PDF, or enjoy individual articles below.
The Bradford under construction. Photo by Jeanne Widmer.
Cushing Square: What Did We Learn?
The Bradford development in Cushing Square disrupted Belmont’s streets, sidewalks, planning, and politics, and stressed local businesses over the last decade. What have we learned from this experience? Read more.
Jeanne Widmer’s Ode to a Town’s Village
Belmont resident Jeanne Widmer had two photography exhibitions featuring the Cushing Square development scheduled for this spring. She writes, “‘Ode to a Town’s Village’ was inspired almost three years ago when I first started taking pictures of a sprawling three- and four-story development in a relatively small, mostly single-story village in Belmont.” Read more.
Community Path Progress Continues
Progress on the Phase 1 design of the Belmont Community Path continued during the first half of 2020 despite coronavirus constraints. Nitsch Engineering was able to hold a critical meeting in early March with Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and MBTA officials at which the MBTA clarified its requirements for access to the Fitchburg Line on the north side of the tracks. Read more and take the read and comment on the 25% design.
Peter Mooney (left) and Wheelworks customers. Photo by Mary Bradley.
Our writer called Peter Mooney, an owner of Wheelworks, the bicycle store in Waverley Square. Peter, how is business? Busy. That is Busy with a capital B. Read more.
New Rock Meadow Parking Plan Proposed
As visitors to Rock Meadow can attest, the parking lot is inefficient, rutted, partially paved, and often filled with pockets of standing water. Northeastern students, known collectively as Evergreen Engineering, came to Town Hall on March 10, for a community meeting to present their initial work and to hear comments on the Rock Meadow parking lot design alternatives. Read more.
Commission Plans Lone Tree Hill Restoration
Belmont’s 119-acre Lone Tree Hill conservation area, like many recreational lands in the region, is plagued by the insidious creep of invasive plant species. Ecological restoration professionals Ryan Corrigan and Miles Connors presented the Invasive Plant Management and Native Plant Restoration Plan to the LMC at its May 7 meeting. Read more.
Leaf Blowers Damage Environment, Health
Each spring and fall, dozens of landscaping companies dispatch teams to yards throughout Belmont to cut, trim, mow, rake, and blow hedges, bushes, lawns, and beds into coffee-table-magazine standard perfection. But at what cost? Read more.
Map of the Belmont Farmers’ Market circulation for June 25, 2020. Graphic by Warren Croce.
Belmont Farmers’ Market Adapts to COVID-19
The Belmont Food Collaborative spent the months prior to the June 4 opening on zoom calls, in email discussions, and in webinars with other farmers’ market organizers and state officials. Read more.
This summer is an uncertain time. Although restrictions on movement and interpersonal contact are gradually lifting—Habitat reopened trails on June 8!—the risks of attending group events are still too high for many readers. Once again, here is a list of ways to think about our environment, energy, and our world without putting yourself at risk. Read more.
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