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Environmental Events Sept-Oct 2017

 Air Quality, Bicycles and bike paths, Environment, Historic Preservation, Newsletter, Open Space, Parking, Plants, Recycling, September 2017, Solar Power, Traffic, Transit, Water Quality  Comments Off on Environmental Events Sept-Oct 2017
Sep 132017
 

Extreme Events and Climate Change Thursday, September 14; 7–8 PM What We Know and What We Can Do Ellen Marie Douglas, Associate Professor of Hydrology, School for the Environment, University of Massachusetts Boston. Douglas will discuss observations of our changing climate, what changes may be in Boston’s future, and some plans for how to adapt to these changes. New England Aquarium, 1 Central Wharf, Boston. Belmont Drives Electric, Ride & Drive Sunday, September 17, 1–4 PM Learn about electric vehicles and test drive Chevy Bolts, Volkswagen Golfs, Nissan Leafs, and other electric vehicles. Meet local owners to get their experience. [READ MORE]

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New Lilac Planted

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Jul 102017
 
New Lilac Planted

A Project of Belmont Staycation 2016 by Anne-Marie Lambert Now that the drought is officially over, Belmont Citizens Forum requested that a new lilac bush be planted on the Town Green by Wellington Station. This was the wish of the top winner of our Belmont Staycation 2016 raffle, who was sad to see a dying lilac bush on her walks by the Green. We are grateful to the Board of Selectmen, who accepted the donation of a replacement bush on May 15, and to Mike Santoro’s team at the Department of Public Works, who planted the bush on June 1. [READ MORE]

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The Future of the Incinerator Site

 Air Quality, Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Construction and Housing, Environment, July 2017, July 2017, Newsletter, Open Space, Parking, Solar Power, Stormwater, Uncategorized  Comments Off on The Future of the Incinerator Site
Jul 102017
 
The Future of the Incinerator Site

Athletic Fields? Police Station? Solar Farm? Bike Park? by Lucia Wille Belmont’s former trash incinerator facility occupies 25 acres on Concord Avenue, close to the Lexington town line. About two-thirds of the site was owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until May 2017, when it was conveyed to Belmont. The conveyance represents a windfall for a town often struggling with space constraints. As Belmont balances its municipal and recreational needs, the incinerator site presents a valuable opportunity for the community to either ease municipal space constraints or add to its portfolio of recreational assets, with the potential to further Belmont’s [READ MORE]

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A Cure for Belmont Traffic Congestion

 Air Quality, Environment, July 2017, Traffic, Transit  Comments Off on A Cure for Belmont Traffic Congestion
Jul 102017
 
A Cure for Belmont Traffic Congestion

Could Congestion Pricing Work Here? by Sumner Brown Nothing spoils Belmont’s small town atmosphere as much as our traffic. Residents complain it is terrible, getting worse, and they feel they can’t do anything about it. In fact, anger about traffic congestion dominated recent Planning Board meetings on Belmont Day School’s request to add a new driveway off Concord Avenue. In the future, perhaps in my lifetime, there is hope in technology-enabled solutions. Consider congestion pricing, made possible by technology such as Fast Lane. It’s working in London and other European cities. There is no fundamental reason why congestion pricing could [READ MORE]

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Fix the Stormwater System: It’s the Law

 Environment, July 2017, Newsletter, Stormwater, Water Quality  Comments Off on Fix the Stormwater System: It’s the Law
Jul 102017
 
Fix the Stormwater System: It’s the Law

Leaks and Illegal Connections Create Pollution by Anne-Marie Lambert After months of negotiation with the EPA, on May 15 the Belmont Board of Selectmen approved and signed a 2017 EPA Administrative Order for Compliance on Consent. This enforcement action makes mandatory a negotiated plan for addressing our illegal discharge of sewage into the Mystic River watershed. It requires the town to investigate and remove all pollution within five years, a daunting task. The likely sources are leaks and illegal connections in over 50 miles of Belmont’s 76 miles of street drains, as well as in over 50 miles of lateral [READ MORE]

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Environmental Events

 Newsletter  Comments Off on Environmental Events
Jul 102017
 

Boston Area Beekeepers Assoc. Open Hives Saturdays, July 8, 15, 22; 10 AM–Noon Learn all about how honey bees make honey, survive the winter, and much more at our onsite apiary. Free; registration required. Register online or call 617-983-8500. www.babeekeepers.org. Boston Nature Center, 500 Walk Hill Street, Mattapan. Fresh Pond Monarch Watch July 11: Milkweed Planting in Lusitania Meadow July 16 & 18: Pod Patrol Weed-Out July 14, 20, & 28: Caterpillar checkups—come see how they are growing. August 6: Butterfly release parade. This raise-and-release project of the threatened monarch butterfly is aimed at encouraging a monarch population at Fresh [READ MORE]

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Belmont Citizens Forum July-August 2017 Newsletter

 Air Quality, Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, donations, Environment, July 2017, Newsletter, Parking, Plants, Staycation, Stormwater, Traffic, Water Quality  Comments Off on Belmont Citizens Forum July-August 2017 Newsletter
Jul 102017
 

View or download the July-August 2017 16-page issue here as a color PDF.  . Articles in this issue: The Future of the Incinerator Site A Cure for Belmont Traffic Congestion New Lilac Planted On Town Green Fix the Stormwater System; It’s The Law Environmental Events  

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Belmont Citizens Forum May-June 2017 Newsletter

 Air Quality, Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Construction and Housing, donations, Environment, Historic Preservation, Lone Tree Hill, May-June 2017, Newsletter, Open Space, Parking, Plants, Recycling, Stormwater, Traffic, Transit, Volunteer, Water Quality  Comments Off on Belmont Citizens Forum May-June 2017 Newsletter
May 122017
 

View or download the May-June 2017 20-page issue here as a color PDF.

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Cleaning Up Belmont’s Polluted Waterways

 Environment, May-June 2017, Newsletter, Stormwater, Water Quality  Comments Off on Cleaning Up Belmont’s Polluted Waterways
May 122017
 
Cleaning Up Belmont's Polluted Waterways

by Anne-Marie Lambert Water Quality update: On May 15, 2017, the Belmont Board of Selectmen approved and signed a 2017 EPA Administrative Order for Compliance on Consent  with the EPA. This Order includes EPA water sample results through March 30 2016 and makes mandatory the town’s current plan for addressing water pollution.  It also includes downstream water quality measurements from Cambridge in 2014 and 2015, and references water samples collected by the town in November 2016. Belmont has also recently posted their IDDE Plan 05-19-2017.  The Belmont Media Center link to the May 15, 2017 meeting of the Belmont Board of Selectmen includes a discussion of this [READ MORE]

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Watering Trees in a Drought

 Air Quality, Environment, May-June 2017, Newsletter, Plants  Comments Off on Watering Trees in a Drought
May 122017
 
Watering Trees in a Drought

If 2017 is as Bad as 2016 . . . by Jeremy Marin We’ve just come through a very rainy April, but the summer of 2016 was one of the driest in recent memory. With global warming, the same conditions can occur again. If the summer of 2017 is dry, here’s how to take care of your trees. Just like there’s no single best tree for all yards, there’s no single best way to irrigate trees during periods of drought. The easiest and most effective options for one family will be difficult, frustrating, or impossible for others. Not all trees [READ MORE]

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Belmont Farmers’ Market Kicks Off on June 8

 May-June 2017, Newsletter, Parking  Comments Off on Belmont Farmers’ Market Kicks Off on June 8
May 122017
 
Belmont Farmers’ Market Kicks Off on June 8

The Belmont Farmers’ Market opens on Thursday, June 8, 2–6:30 PM, in the Belmont Center municipal parking lot, rain or shine. Now celebrating its 12th year, the Market offers a variety of organic and conventionally grown and produced food in a range of prices. Pick up fixin’s for a healthful and satisfying dinner, and make sure the visit our new neighbor, Foodie’s, to fill in the gaps. Visit www.belmontfarmersmarket.org for this season’s vendors and updates, and follow them on Twitter and Facebook. The Market is close to the MBTA commuter rail station, and #74 and #75 bus stops in Belmont [READ MORE]

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Engineers Win Award for Trapelo Road Upgrade

 Bicycles and bike paths, Construction and Housing, May-June 2017, Newsletter, Traffic, Transit  Comments Off on Engineers Win Award for Trapelo Road Upgrade
May 122017
 
Engineers Win Award for Trapelo Road Upgrade

Belmont’s “Main Street” Gets A Facelift by Sue Bass How does a municipal project get done, in Belmont or anywhere? What’s the spark? The redesigned and newly paved Belmont Street/Trapelo Road stretch through Belmont—from the Waltham line to the Cambridge line—recently won an award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts for the BSC Group, the town’s longtime engineering consultant. “Incorporating bicycle lanes, pedestrian accessibility, and traffic calming measures, the $17.1 million roadway reconstruction project was one of the first designed in conformance with the MassDOT Highway Design Guidebook,” the citation reads. “Distinguishing project features include coordination with [READ MORE]

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Cushing Village: New Name, Design Tweaks

 Construction and Housing, May-June 2017, Newsletter, Parking, Traffic  Comments Off on Cushing Village: New Name, Design Tweaks
May 122017
 
Cushing Village: New Name, Design Tweaks

It’s Now “The Bradford” by John DiCocco At an April 27 meeting in the Town Hall art gallery, Toll Brothers Apartment Living   representatives updated the community on construction and design plans for Cushing Square in the upcoming weeks and months. The developer has changed the project name from “Cushing Village” to “The Bradford.” The Cushing Square Neighborhood Association has been pressing Toll Brothers for more timely and informative input on the project’s progress and planning, particularly in regard to environmental concerns. There is a significant amount of contaminated soil to be removed (from spills by Tops Cleaners years ago), [READ MORE]

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Lone Tree Hill Annual Spring Volunteer Day

 Environment, Historic Preservation, May-June 2017, Newsletter, Open Space, Plants  Comments Off on Lone Tree Hill Annual Spring Volunteer Day
May 122017
 
Lone Tree Hill Annual Spring Volunteer Day

Tree Plantings and Pleasant Street Pickup by Radha Iyengar On Saturday, April 29, the Belmont Citizens Forum (BCF) in conjunction with the Judith K. Record (JKR) Memorial Conservation Fund held its Fifth Annual Lone Tree Hill Volunteer Day. The rain held off and the volunteers came out in full force. This year the work was divided between planting trees along the Pine Allee, and cleaning up the trash along South Pleasant Street (across from Star Market and Artefact Home & Garden). In 2015, the JKR Memorial Conservation Fund engaged Tree Specialists, Inc. of Holliston, MA, to inspect the health of [READ MORE]

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Waltham Trail RFP Update

 Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Newsletter, Traffic  Comments Off on Waltham Trail RFP Update
May 122017
 
Waltham Trail RFP Update

Still Awaiting Beaver Street Right of Way by John Dieckmann Late in March, the city of Waltham released the request for proposals (RFP) for the detailed design of the Waltham segment of the Wayside (aka Mass Central) Rail Trail. I attended the bidders’ meeting, which was held at Waltham City Hall on April 13. It was well attended by about a dozen engineering and design firms, along with two Waltham city councilors, the executive director of the Waltham Land Trust and two board members, and the chairman of the Waltham Conservation Commission. Design firms asked a variety of questions, primarily [READ MORE]

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Community Path Route Alternatives Viewed

 Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Environment, May-June 2017, Newsletter, Open Space, Traffic, Transit  Comments Off on Community Path Route Alternatives Viewed
May 122017
 
Community Path Route Alternatives Viewed

Happy Trail to You by John Dieckmann On April 26, the Community Path Implementation Advisory Committee (CPIAC) and Pare Engineering, the Community Path Feasibility Study contractor, held a public meeting to present their final evaluation of route alternatives for the path, construction cost estimates, and potential funding sources. From west to east, the end-to-end route that ranks highest in the evaluation methodology consists of the following segments: • At the Waltham city line, the path would be on the north side of the commuter rail tracks, then as it approaches Waverley Square it rises to street level and crosses Lexington [READ MORE]

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Poetry Walk at Rock Meadow

 Environment, May-June 2017, Newsletter  Comments Off on Poetry Walk at Rock Meadow
May 122017
 
Poetry Walk at Rock Meadow

Anne-Marie Lambert (far left) and Kevin Gallagher (sixth from the left, with sunglasses), local poet and author of the recently published book Loom, about the Massachusetts textile industry and its relation to the surge in demand for slave labor in the South in the 19th century, led a walk at Rock Meadow on April 29. “Through poetry,” said Lambert, “we explored the landscape and history of this part of Belmont and Waltham.”

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Environmental Events, May/June 2017

 Air Quality, Environment, May-June 2017, Newsletter, Open Space, Solar Power  Comments Off on Environmental Events, May/June 2017
May 122017
 

Belmont’s Semiannual Big Recycling Day Saturday, May 13, 9 AM–1 PM The semiannual Big Recycling Day is your chance to clean out all that stuff you didn’t want and includes paper shredding, electronics, rigid plastics, eyeglasses, books, CDs, DVDs, propane tanks, and bicycles (no cardboard or styrofoam). Info at belmont-ma.gov/recycling-trash-information, or 617-993-2689.  Note: Belmont Residents only. ID required. Town Yard, 37 C Street, Belmont. Fresh Pond Day Saturday, May 20, 11 AM-3 PM Celebrate the land, water, wildlife, and people that make Fresh Pond Reservation a unique and vital part of Cambridge. Fresh Pond Day is the Cambridge Water Department’s annual [READ MORE]

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Belmont Citizens Forum March-April 2017 Newsletter PDF

 Air Quality, Bicycles and bike paths, Construction and Housing, donations, Environment, Historic Preservation, March 2017, Newsletter, Open Space, Parking, Recycling, Solar Power, Stormwater, Traffic, Transit, Water Quality  Comments Off on Belmont Citizens Forum March-April 2017 Newsletter PDF
Apr 242017
 

View or download the March-April 2017 20-page issue here  as a color PDF. View or download the March-April 2017 20-page issue here as a black-and-white PDF.

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Mugar Wetlands Project Stalled—For Now

 Air Quality, Bicycles and bike paths, Construction and Housing, Environment, Historic Preservation, March 2017, Newsletter, Open Space, Parking, Stormwater, Traffic, Water Quality  Comments Off on Mugar Wetlands Project Stalled—For Now
Mar 152017
 
Mugar Wetlands Project Stalled—For Now

Neighborhood Fears Water Displacement by John DiCocco The Mugar Wetlands in East Arlington is a triangular parcel that borders Route 2 westbound, adjacent to the Thorndike Park playing fields, and just across Route 2 from the Vox on Two apartments and Lanes & Games Bowling. The Mugar family, owners for more than 50 years, wants to develop it with townhouses and an apartment building. Residents in the town of Arlington, led by the Coalition to Save the Mugar Wetlands (CSMW) are opposed. In dispute is whether the land can handle the water displacement, whether the neighborhood can handle more people, [READ MORE]

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