traffic – Belmont Citizens Forum

BCF Community Service Opportunity

November/December 2024, Traffic Comments Off

Oct 282024

I hope to recruit a high school student to work with me on a Belmont traffic project for community service. The project will use the rotary at the intersection of Grove, Blanchard and Washington Streets to estimate the effectiveness of similar rotaries at the entrance to McLean Hospital at Mill Street, and at the intersection of Concord Avenue and Common Street at Belmont Center. I am a retired electrical engineer with an advanced degree from MIT. I did a traffic study in 2017 with a high school student to estimate Belmont’s cut-through traffic during the morning rush hour. Here are [READ MORE]

Letter to the Editor: Traffic at McLean

Newsletter, November/December 2024, Traffic Comments Off

Oct 282024

To the Editor; On June 26, Belmont Town Meeting approved the amended Traffic Monitoring and Mitigation Agreement between Belmont and McLean Hospital. Part of the agreement is to improve the intersection of McLean Drive and Mill Street. The plan is to install adaptive traffic signals at the intersection that use a camera and software to control the lights based on what is needed on a moment-by-moment basis. In 2017, a high school student who needed community service credits and I spent the summer counting cars to estimate the cut-through traffic in Belmont during the morning rush. We did good work. [READ MORE]

Town Works to Make Streets Safer for All

September/October 2024, Traffic Comments Off

Aug 232024

Town Works to Make Streets Safer for All

By Sue Bass If you’ve noticed more speed bumps on Belmont’s streets, it’s not your imagination. They are a small clue to a new direction the town hopes to take: to slow traffic and make our roads safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. Two major projects are on the horizon, if construction money can be found: signalization and pedestrian amenities at Huron Avenue and Grove Street, and two roundabouts at Concord Avenue and Mill and Winter Streets. The Winter Street roundabout will need some political magic in addition to money. Meanwhile, two quicker projects are about to get underway. A $432,000 [READ MORE]

Vision for a Better Belmont: Chris Ryan

Construction and Housing, May/June 2024, Open Space, Parking, Traffic, Transit Comments Off

Apr 302024

This is the fourth of a new series of interviews with Belmont leaders about their vision for Belmont’s future. Jeffrey North conducted this interview. It has been edited for length and clarity. – Ed. Chris Ryan has served as Belmont’s town planner and director of planning and building (OPB) since September 2023. With more than 30 years of experience in city planning and economic development, Chris has worked at the town, city, county, regional, and state levels in the public sector in at least 10 communities and the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission; the Metropolitan Area Planning Council; and the Central [READ MORE]

Letter to the Editor: Bike Safety

Bicycles and bike paths, Newsletter, September/October 2023, Traffic Comments Off

Sep 012023

My home is in Waltham, and my dentist’s office is in Arlington. I have occasion to ride my bicycle through Belmont on the way there and back. Today (May 22, 2023) I was waiting for the red light at Cross and Brighton Streets when a car approaching in the opposite direction got a green light, but the light remained red for me. I had to run the red light to get through the intersection and I had no way to know when the red light for the cross traffic would turn green. The same thing happened a second time on [READ MORE]

Belmont School Traffic Needs Attention

Bicycles and bike paths, Parking, September/October 2023, Traffic Comments Off

Aug 312023

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]

Do We Need a New High School Parking Lot?

July-August 2022, Newsletter, Parking Comments Off

Jun 202022

Do We Need a New High School Parking Lot?

By Anne Paulsen Belmont is a small town and space is limited. Land use planning is key to maintaining a town that is walkable and bikeable with shopping, services, recreation, educational opportunities, and open space close at hand. The key is how to make the best use of this limited space. The town is now planning the completion of the high and middle schools, and plans are underway for a new skating rink and library. Parking is a big part of the plans. For the last 50 years, off-street surface parking in the area west of Harris Field has been [READ MORE]

Letter to the Editor: Belmont Cycling Safety

Bicycles and bike paths, Newsletter, September 2021, Traffic Comments Off

Aug 232021

Letter to the Editor: Belmont Cycling Safety

To the Editor: I am a long-time Boston-area bicycling advocate, CyclingSavvy Instructor, and League Cycling Instructor, responding to the article by Jeff Roth in the July-August Belmont Citizens Forum Newsletter. I am pleased to see progress on the Belmont Community Path and the Alexander Avenue underpass; also proposals for traffic calming and roundabouts. However, the article states: “Protected bicycle lanes (PBLs) lower crash rates by a factor of two to 23 times . . . ‘Dooring’ crashes, which account for 20% of bike/car crashes, disappear almost completely with PBLs.” The term “protected bike lanes” wraps itself in its own conclusion. [READ MORE]

Bike Infrastructure Makes Belmont Safer

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, July-August 2021, Newsletter, Traffic, Transit Comments Off

Jun 252021

By Jeff Roth Few Belmont residents use bikes to get around this small town of only 4.7 square miles, although most live hardly a mile from schools, recreation facilities, stores, transit stations, and restaurants. About 8.2% of Cambridge residents commute regularly by bike, but Belmont’s car-centered infrastructure likely is closer to the state average of 0.9%. Given that short, local trips are responsible for 60% of automobile pollution, how can we encourage car-free travel? Benefits of Walking and Cycling There are many benefits to expanding cycling and walking options in Belmont. People who cycle regularly for transportation and fitness have [READ MORE]

Letters to the Editor March/April 2021

March/April 2021, Newsletter Comments Off

Mar 012021

To the Editor: Great articles in this issue, as usual. I know there’s an Earth Day cleanup at Lone Tree Hill, but can knowledgeable volunteers help with the removal of invasives and planting of natives that Jeffrey North described? Art Kreiger Jeff North responds: Thank you for your letter, Mr. Kreiger. Watch these pages for future announcements of volunteer days for invasives removal and restorative planting. The stewards of Lone Tree Hill are eager to organize volunteers for pulling garlic mustard and other restoration work as soon as we can safely gather. Look for an initiative following examples such as [READ MORE]

2021 Select Board Candidate Answers BCF Questions

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Board of Selectmen, Climate Change, Environment, March/April 2021, Newsletter, Open Space, Select Board, Sewers, Stormwater, Traffic, Transit, Water Quality Comments Off

Mar 012021

2021 Select Board Candidate Answers BCF Questions

Each year, the Belmont Citizens Forum asks Select Board candidates questions about issues facing our town. This year, Mark Paolillo, who is running unopposed, provided answers. He was limited to 1,200 words. Describe your vision for preserving and enhancing Belmont’s quality of living, learning, working, and connecting. Preserving and enhancing Belmont’s quality of life must begin with making town finances stable and sustainable. This will require a more in-depth approach to long-term structural reform. Belmont should consider the use of performance management budgeting which measures resource input against the resulting output of services for each department. That will help us [READ MORE]

Belmont Traffic Committee Chair Tells All

Air Quality, January 2021, Newsletter, Parking, Traffic Comments Off

Dec 302020

Belmont Traffic Committee Chair Tells All

By Sumner Brown Dana Miller chairs Belmont’s Transportation Advisory Committee. She has been a member of the Traffic Advisory Committee, the predecessor to the Transportation Advisory Committe (TAC), since 2009. I talked with Miller in November 2020. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. BCF The name of your committee changed from Traffic Advisory Committee to Transportation Advisory Committee. Why? Miller The Select Board changed the committee name in 2019 to make clear that the committee’s responsibilities encompass safety for pedestrians and those on bicycles, as well as those traveling in vehicles. BCF Who are the members of [READ MORE]

Building Booms on Belmont’s Border

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Construction and Housing, January 2021, Newsletter, Open Space, Traffic, Transit Comments Off

Dec 302020

By Meg Muckenhoupt Since aggressively upzoning the Alewife area a decade ago, Cambridge has permitted hundreds of thousands of square feet of new development in the Quadrangle neighborhood adjacent to Belmont, and bordered by Fresh Pond Parkway, Fitchburg line railroad tracks—and Concord Avenue. Now, even more development could solve some long-standing transportation issues, or it could make getting out of Belmont or traveling around the entire Fresh Pond area even more difficult. Why build in the Quadrangle now? Unlike the rest of Cambridge, the Quadrangle has a history of sparse development. Originally one of the lowest-lying areas of the Mystic [READ MORE]

25% Belmont Bike Path Design Presented

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Newsletter, Sept/Oct 2020, Town Committee Meetings, Traffic, Transit Comments Off

Sep 032020

By Jarrod Goentzel Recent meetings offered a first look at the official 25% draft plan for the Belmont Community Path, which should include most significant features, and continued conversations with state leaders about how and when it can be built. On July 16, the Community Path Project Committee (CPPC) held a virtual public meeting for the design firm, where Nitsch Engineering presented draft 25% design drawings for the first two construction phases (bit.ly/20200716BCPpresentation). A video of the full meeting, including public questions and feedback, is available at Belmont Media Center (bit.ly/20200716BCPvideo). Phase 1 includes the rail trail from Brighton Street [READ MORE]

Cushing Square: What Did We Learn?

Construction and Housing, July-August 2020, Newsletter, Parking, Town Committee Meetings, Traffic 2 Responses »

Jun 302020

By Meg Muckenhoupt and Virginia Jordan The Bradford development in Cushing Square disrupted Belmont’s streets, sidewalks, planning, and politics, and stressed local businesses over the last decade. Town Meeting adopted a new overlay district in 2006 to channel development and provide the Planning Board with tools to control the scale and look of Cushing Village, now the Bradford, a three-building project comprising 38,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, 112 residential units on upper floors, and 201 parking spaces. In the past 14 years, the town has learned some lessons about managing large construction projects—and how large construction projects affect [READ MORE]

Select Board Candidate Answers BCF Questions

Board of Selectmen, March/April 2020, Newsletter Comments Off

Mar 022020

Select Board Candidate Answers BCF Questions

Each year, the Belmont Citzens Forum asks Select Board candidates questions about issues facing our town. This year, Adam Dash provided answers. He was limited to 1,200 words. What steps would you take to ensure that the design and construction of the Belmont Community Path proceed efficiently? Finally, after decades of Belmont residents waiting, the community path is being brought to reality. Parts 1A (the Alexander Avenue tunnel under the railroad tracks) and 1B (from Brighton Street to the Clark Street Bridge) are currently being designed. We need to make sure that the construction of Parts 1A and 1B gets [READ MORE]

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]

The BCF’s Origin

January 2020, McLean, Newsletter, Sewers, Traffic, Water Quality Comments Off

Jan 062020

By Sue Bass This is the 20th anniversary of the Belmont Citizens Forum Newsletter; the organization was founded a little over 20 years ago. How did that happen, and why? In 1995, McLean Hospital began exploring publicly how to turn part of its 238-acre campus into cash. Psychiatric drugs had revolutionized mental health care; instead of long walks and fresh country air, medicine could prescribe quicker-acting treatment. McLean no longer needed a bucolic campus, and families relying on health insurance could no longer pay for it. The hospital was $40 million or more in debt. This was not the first [READ MORE]

How to Fix Belmont’s Traffic

Newsletter Comments Off

Sep 162019

By Jessie Bennett Traffic in greater Boston has gone from an annoyance to a crisis. The recent Congestion in the Commonwealth study produced by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), outlines how increasing congestion is affecting travel times and access to jobs. Two key trouble areas are Fresh Pond Parkway and the Route 2 approach to Alewife. High congestion in these areas causes the cut-through traffic noted in Belmont’s Town Wide Traffic Study, presented by BSC Group in April. If cars are gridlocked in one area, drivers will look for other ways around it, either by using GPS apps or [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]

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