Belmont – Page 10 – Belmont Citizens Forum

20 Years of Belmont Traffic

Bicycles and bike paths, January 2020, Newsletter, Parking, Traffic, Transit Comments Off

Jan 062020

By Sumner Brown Belmont has turned a corner about how we think of traffic. Twenty years ago, our hope was to find ways to make it easier for cars and trucks to pass through Belmont. Now our objective is to protect residential streets from rush-hour traffic and make life easier for pedestrians and bicyclists. The Belmont Citizens Forum has played a part in our traffic turnaround. In 2002, the Belmont Citizens Forum’s Planning and Zoning Committee brainstormed about Trapelo Road. They thought about bike lanes and lots of trees. The committee engaged graduate student classes at MIT and the Boston [READ MORE]

Libby Atkins Remembered

Environment, History, Newsletter, November 2019, Open Space Comments Off

Nov 062019

By Roger Wrubel Many of us lost a dear friend, inspiration, and role model for aging gracefully when Elizabeth “Libby” Atkins, long-time Juniper Road resident, died at the age of 94 on August 19. I first met Libby when I interviewed to become the next director of Mass Audubon’s Habitat Sanctuary in 2000. She and her husband Elisha, who had grown up on the estate that became Habitat, let me know how much the sanctuary meant to them both, and I never forgot it. Elizabeth Potter married Elisha Atkins when he returned from the Pacific theater of World War II [READ MORE]

Belmont Journal Programs

Newsletter, November 2019 Comments Off

Nov 042019

These Belmont Journal stories focusing on Belmont’s environment appeared on the Belmont Media Center (BMC). See a complete list of programs at the Belmont Journal Environmental News YouTube channel, bit.ly/belmont-journal-youtube. —Roger Colton Rock Meadow provides a diverse microclimate in Belmont. The Belmont Journal covers the master plan being developed by the town’s Conservation Commission to ensure Rock Meadow’s preservation. bit.ly/BJour-RockMeadow After many years of fits and starts, progress is now being made on the remediation and preservation of the McLean barn. BMC explores the progress with The Belmontonian editor and publisher Franklin Tucker. bit.ly/BJour-McLeanBarn Belmont’s 2019 PorchFest provided a bike [READ MORE]

Letter to the Editor: Bicycling on Residential Streets

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Newsletter, November 2019 Comments Off

Nov 042019

To the Editor: I read the article about traffic in the September/October BCF Newsletter with interest. I frequently ride through Belmont on my bicycle and sometimes drive through. I strongly support the rail trail, the underpass at Alexander Avenue, and the connection to Concord Avenue. But also, I am hoping that Belmont will take more advantage of its dense network of residential streets to provide improved bicycling through routes. The barrier across Claflin Street between Farnham Street and Alexander Avenue offers a good example of such a treatment, though it could be revised to be more bicycle friendly. Clearly its [READ MORE]

Belmont Can Support Business Better

Newsletter, November 2019, Town Committee Meetings Comments Off

Nov 042019

By Katherine Venzke Around town there is constant talk about the state of business in Belmont. How is Belmont Center faring with the new-ish parking meter system? What’s with all the new development in Waverley Square? And how will the Bradford development affect commerce in Cushing Square? These discussions happen on the sidewalks, in cafes, at Town Hall, and in the local media. They also happen, often, at my shop. This “talk” found some direction and mission last year with the formation of the Belmont Business Study Committee (BBSC). The town pulled together business owners from each of the Belmont [READ MORE]

Belmont Highlights Natural, Historic Treasures

Environment, Historic Preservation, History, Lone Tree Hill, Newsletter, November 2019, Open Space, Plants Comments Off

Nov 042019

Belmont Highlights Natural, Historic Treasures

By Mary Bradley The Belmont Historical Society hosted two events in September and October celebrating Belmont’s rich cultural and environmental history. Tracking the Wellington Hill Station through Time The Belmont Historical Society hosted an open house on September 15, 2019, to celebrate the completion of a series of repairs and restorations to the many-purposed Wellington Hill Station building the previous month. The station received a new cedar shingle roof and repairs to the decking and gingerbread trim, the interior plaster walls, and the lower wood sections. The roof was funded with Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding and donations from the [READ MORE]

Clay Pit Pond Progresses from Eyesore to Asset

Environment, Historic Preservation, History, Newsletter, November 2019, Open Space, Stormwater, Water Quality Comments Off

Nov 042019

Clay Pit Pond Progresses from Eyesore to Asset

By Michael Chesson Clay Pit Pond on Concord Avenue was once the site of Belmont’s largest industrial enterprise, a brickyard run by John H. and Robert A. Parry. The brothers bought 20¾ acres of land in 1888 on Concord Avenue and Underwood Street, with its valuable blue clay that turned an attractive reddish color when fired, and their yard produced 200,000 bricks a week. Just as the oil, steel, and railroad industries consolidated, the Parry brothers’ business in 1900 merged with the New England Brick Company, which owned three dozen other brickyards in the region. The firm installed new dryers, [READ MORE]

Does Living in Belmont Promote Our Health?

Newsletter, Sept/Oct 2019, Sept/Oct 2019 Comments Off

Sep 162019

Does Living in Belmont Promote Our Health?

By Tammy Calise Where we live shapes our behaviors and influences our physical and mental health. While everyone deserves to live in a neighborhood that supports healthy lifestyles, it is especially important for youth and older adults—and compared to the state overall, Belmont has a higher percentage of the population under 18 years (21 percent vs. 24 percent) and over 65 years (15 percent vs. 24 percent). The University of Virginia’s Center for Design and Health and Hart Howerton, an interdisciplinary design firm, endorse nine principles that ensure the design of our neighborhoods promote health: smart locations, integrated nature, mixed [READ MORE]

Community Path Progress in Belmont and Beyond

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Newsletter, Sept/Oct 2019 Comments Off

Sep 162019

Community Path Progress in Belmont and Beyond

By John Dieckmann Recently, there has been great progress in developing the Community Path in Belmont and the segments of the Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT) in Waltham, Weston, and Wayland. Belmont The Community Path Project Committee selected Nitsch Engineering at their July 15 meeting to be the design contractor for the design of Phases 1A and 1B of the Community Path. Phase 1A is the Community Path extending from Clark Street to Brighton Street. Phase 1B is the pedestrian tunnel under the Fitchburg commuter rail tracks at Alexander Avenue and the short path connecting the tunnel to Concord Avenue. [READ MORE]

Construction Continues on the Uplands

March 2016, Newsletter Comments Off

Mar 152016

By Anne-Marie Lambert The first red-winged blackbirds now returning to the fields by Little River may not think much of the “wildlife habitat replication area” alongside the newly constructed buildings at the Uplands. This newly seeded replication area sits between the former Little River, now a large drainage ditch next to Frontage Road, and one of the four-story Tyvek-wrapped buildings that comprise The Royal, formerly named The Residences at Acorn Park. In a contested 2014 ruling, the Massachusetts Superior Court determined that this replication area (next to what amounts to a Route 2 drainage ditch running under Acorn Park Drive) [READ MORE]

Globe Critique Spurs Town Sewerage Review

March 2016, Stormwater Comments Off

Mar 142016

Globe Critique Spurs Town Sewerage Review

By Anne-Marie Lambert and Frank Frazier Have you seen the sewer today? This past summer, a Boston Globe editorial (“Belmont Needs to Clean Up Its Act,” August 14, 2015) caused the Belmont selectmen to request a presentation on the town’s sewer and storm drain systems. Belmont’s director of community development Glenn Clancy welcomed the opportunity. He took issue with Globe author Alan Wirzbicki’s comparison of Belmont’s $8 million in sewer expenditures dating from a 1998 Notice of Violation from the EPA. He cited the expenditures of Cambridge and Revere, both of which have much more significant pollution issues than Belmont. [READ MORE]

A Tribute to Judith K. Record’s Legacy

January 2016, Newsletter, Open Space Comments Off

Jan 132016

By Heli Tomford For many years, social scientists calculated generations as twenty year intervals. By that estimate, it was a generation ago that a January 1996 Boston Globe headline stated: ”McLean may quit Belmont campus to reduce costs.” McLean fortunately did not quit its campus, a decision its trustees made half a year later. Instead, the hospital and the town of Belmont embarked on a long, arduous journey to reach an agreement on how McLean’s 238 acre campus would be used–a journey that was significantly influenced by Judith K. Record. While Belmont’s Selectmen initially chose a cautious wait-and-see approach, many [READ MORE]

Letter to the Editor: A Single Station at Pleasant Street

January 2016, Newsletter, Transit Comments Off

Jan 132016

Letter to the Editor: A Single Station at Pleasant Street

To the Editor: My first encounter with Belmont was commuting to Belmont Center from North Station as a co-op student working on a census project. In the 70’s it was the most convenient way to reach Belmont without a car. One of the things I loved about the commute was the Belmont Center train station, which is now the Lion’s Club. The elimination of station buildings like Belmont Center has been part of a cultural shift as well as a simple reaction to the economics of staffing and maintenance. Since this comfortable station building has been closed, more often commuters [READ MORE]

Belmont Goes Solar Offers Solar Discounts Through April

January 2016, Newsletter, Solar Power Comments Off

Jan 132016

Belmont Goes Solar Offers Solar Discounts Through April

By Alix van Geel The shortest days of the season have passed, and now is the perfect time to consider adding solar to your Belmont home or business. For a limited time through April 30, 2016, Belmontians can take advantage of discount pricing for solar rooftop panels to provide electricity, thanks to Belmont Goes Solar. Belmont Goes Solar is a group of volunteers working to expand small-scale solar energy installations in town. Belmont Goes Solar is supported by the Board of Selectmen and includes members of the Belmont Energy Committee, Sustainable Belmont, Mothers Out Front, and Belmont Light. The group’s [READ MORE]

Cambridge Redirects Runoff from 400 Acres

January 2016, Newsletter, Stormwater Comments Off

Jan 122016

Cambridge Redirects Runoff from 400 Acres

Cambridge Sewer Separation Makes Alewife Brook Cleaner By Anne-Marie Lambert On December 21, 2015, Cambridge celebrated a major milestone of the Alewife Sewer Separation project, a massive public works that separates sanitary sewers from storm sewers. When these two types of sewers are connected, heavy storms drive raw sewage into local waterways such as the Alewife Brook—as has been happening at the Brook for decades. As of December 21, the city will now provide water quality treatment of stormwater runoff from more than 400 acres of the urbanized Huron Avenue and Fresh Pond neighborhoods by directing it to the 3.4-acre [READ MORE]

Belmont Farmers’ Market Begins 10th Season June 11

May 2015, Newsletter Comments Off

May 122015

Belmont Farmers' Market Begins 10th Season June 11

The Belmont Farmers’ Market opens on Thursday, June 11, 2-6:30 pm, in the Belmont Center municipal parking lot, rain or shine. An all-volunteer organization celebrating its 10th year, the Market offers a variety of organic and conventionally produced food in a range of prices. Find everything you need for a healthful and satisfying dinner. Visit www.belmontfarmersmarket.org for vendors and updates. Food Assistance Programs Benefit the Community The Market accepts SNAP benefits (food stamps) and matches up to $25 for each SNAP shopper each week, thanks to generous donations to the Market. Benefits are processed quickly and easily at the blue [READ MORE]

What Will Our Future Commutes Look Like?

May 2015, Newsletter, Traffic Comments Off

May 122015

What Will Our Future Commutes Look Like?

By Meg Muckenhoupt Where will residents of Belmont and neighboring towns travel in 2030, and how will they get there? Last winter provoked massive debate about the MBTA’s failure to transport hundreds of thousands of commuters to jobs and schools. But in January, before the snows started, Waltham mayor Jeannette McCarthy raised some eyebrows by announcing that she supports building an elevated electric monorail to run from Burlington through Waltham to the Fitchburg/South Acton commuter rail and beyond to Westwood. Will our future hold decrepit, decaying subways and clogged roads, futuristic transport fit for Epcot Center, or some mix of [READ MORE]

Uplands Permit Issued for 298 Apartments

March 2015, Newsletter, Stormwater Comments Off

Mar 122015

Uplands Permit Issued for 298 Apartments

By Meg Muckenhoupt The e-mail that went out on Friday, March 6, was short and to the point: “Please be aware that today a building permit was issued for foundation work at the Belmont Uplands site,” wrote Glenn Clancy, Belmont’s Director of Community Development. “AP Cambridge Partners has fulfilled all requirements under the Zoning Board of Appeals Comprehensive Permit and the Massachusetts State Building Code necessary to secure a building permit.” The permit ends a decade-long struggle over the fate of the Uplands, a 13-acre site that straddles Belmont and Cambridge at the edge of the Alewife reservation. Now, the [READ MORE]

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