Belmont’s Student Bikers Cut School Traffic

 Bicycles and bike paths, November/December 2024  Comments Off on Belmont’s Student Bikers Cut School Traffic
Oct 282024
 
Belmont’s Student Bikers Cut School Traffic

Test and photos by  David Chase This fall, we solved a school crowding problem by moving two grades from the middle school to the new combined middle and high school. However, with almost 50% more students arriving every morning, this move aggravated an already-bad traffic problem on Concord Avenue. The new combined school has 2,128 students. If each one of them traveled in a car through the single-lane Goden Street entrance, the line would take over an hour to clear. Fortunately, that doesn’t happen; many students carpool, many walk, many get dropped off a short distance from the high school [READ MORE]

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Belmont School Traffic Needs Attention

 Bicycles and bike paths, Parking, September/October 2023, Traffic  Comments Off on Belmont School Traffic Needs Attention
Aug 312023
 
Belmont School Traffic Needs Attention

By Larry Link The figures still catch my breath. A 2018–2019 pre-HS/MS construction study documented nearly 2,000 cars traveling down Concord Avenue from the snarl at the underpass (by most experienced hands, “unsolvable”) in Belmont Center to the High School-Middle School site opposite Goden Street, in just the morning 7 to 9 AM rush.  Of all vehicles clocked in that special Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) study using automated license plate reader information, 75% entered and left Belmont within 15 to 20 minutes but were registered/garaged in other towns! While we don’t have a new count yet, many Goden Street [READ MORE]

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BH Students Create Native Plant Garden

 July/August 2023, Newsletter, Plants  Comments Off on BH Students Create Native Plant Garden
Jun 302023
 
BH Students Create Native Plant Garden

By Audrey Brenhouse On Saturday, May 13, the Belmont High School Climate Action Club, with the help of adult and student volunteers, planted our long-anticipated native garden in front of the school. Our  goal is to grow plants native to this area to promote and support native wildlife, helping to restore the land’s natural biodiversity. In the spring of 2022, we held a student-led concert where many families kindly donated to this process. After years of approvals and fundraising, we are proud and grateful to be able to display the result of your generosity.  Over the next few years, these [READ MORE]

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Opinion: Belmont needs to get serious about climate goals

 March/April 2023  Comments Off on Opinion: Belmont needs to get serious about climate goals
Mar 012023
 
Opinion: Belmont needs to get serious about climate goals

By Brian Iler While providing $290,633 to BMHS Building Committee to complete the full solar array is an encouraging development from both a fiscal and environmental perspective, this observer is discouraged by the fact that the Select Board’s deliberations never included a mention of the climate-positive effect of the scheme. Instead, it was a 100% fiscal argument that carried the day. There are obvious reasons for this. Everyone can agree with a proposal that saves the town money. It’s a political no-brainer. What’s not clear is whether the town shares a sense of its moral responsibility to decrease its contribution [READ MORE]

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Belmont Needs School Roof Solar Panels

 March/April 2023, Newsletter, Solar Power  Comments Off on Belmont Needs School Roof Solar Panels
Mar 012023
 
Belmont Needs School Roof Solar Panels

By Brian Iler Photovoltaic solar panels (PVs) have been planned for the new Belmont Middle and High School (BMHS) since early designs for the project were presented in 2017. PV is integral to achieving this building’s Zero Net Energy goal. And to many in Belmont, Zero Net Energy was a big factor when deciding whether to vote for a hefty tax increase to fund this colossal project in 2018.  Since this vote, the funds reserved for PVs have been on the chopping block three times to offset project cost overruns. Public outcry—with advocates crowding into Belmont Middle and High School [READ MORE]

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