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Have a good long weekend! But first, a few quick updates on the two weeks ahead…
Office hours tomorrow
My Newton Highlands Village Day office hours were a huge success this past weekend, and tomorrow’s weather forecast looks great as well. So, I will be holding Waban office hours on my porch tomorrow (Saturday 6/18) from noon to 1:30 PM.
Juneteenth Newton Festivities on Sunday
On Sunday from noon to 4, please check out Newton’s Juneteenth festivities. From the FORJ NNHS site, here’s a description:
This year, Juneteenth celebrations hosted by FORJ NNHS will be at the Walnut Street side of Newton North High School. Vendors including Black-owned businesses, food trucks, performers, DJs, kids' activities, and art exhibits will make this a fantastic family day out (it's also Father's Day!)...
And from Historic Newton about the day’s planned activities:
Historic Newton is collaborating with the New Arts Center for a public reading of Frederick Douglass' 1852 speech about the meaning of July 4. Also learn more about the history of Juneteenth at the event.
Chestnut St Project Meeting: Beacon St to Comm Ave
Your Ward 5 Councilors invite you to a virtual meeting (Wednesday 6/29 at 6 PM) about Chestnut St road/sidewalk/safety work from Beacon St to Commonwealth Ave.
DPW will detail its planned response to community input several years ago regarding safety along this twisty 20 MPH stretch. As a preview: expect more sidewalks (finally) and some new crosswalks. But this is geologically and topographically a difficult section to improve, and so you’ll need to tune it to get the details of the plan.
(Zoom info for this meeting is available upon request and was mailed to abutters yesterday.)
Green Line Stations Renovations Meeting on 75% Designs
More than a year ago, the T announced plans for D Line station accessibility improvements in Newton at the Waban, Eliot, and Chestnut Hill stations (Newton Highlands is already in progress separately). Next Thursday (June 23) at 6 PM, they will present to the public by Zoom their 75% designs for these stations and solicit one last round of public feedback/input. You can sign up for the meeting here.
The most important change for the stations in question, according to their presentation in the spring of 2021, would be adjustment of platform heights for level-boarding by wheelchairs/strollers with no ramps or operator assistance (although this also means retiring some current equipment). The four stations will get longer and higher platforms in two phases, unless they have changed the plan since last year. Eventually, these improvements (especially platform length) also mean more carrying capacity on the line for all passengers, not just those with accessibility challenges. The biggest aspect for public input will be the planning for accessible pathways and second-egress paths from each platform.
The estimated construction start on this work remains this fall, as far as I know. Unfortunately the upcoming work does mean more shuttling, although in a more constrained way than before: D Line closures/shuttling will occur again on Sept 24-Oct 2, Oct 8-16, and Oct 22-30. First period will include track work/crossings around Waban Station. Second period will include track work/crossings around Eliot Station. Final period will include the same at the Houghton Gardens crossing near Chestnut Hill. (On days with Fenway Games, there will be express shuttle service from Riverside into the city via the Mass Pike.)
By the way: Green Line service is not being directly affected so far by the emergency cuts to the service levels on the Blue, Orange, and Red lines announced today.
Northland work timeline update
A resident helpfully reminded me in person yesterday that I had inadvertently forgotten to include an update on the latest schedule for Northland project work in the Needham St and Upper Falls area in my last newsletter. So, I checked in with their team this afternoon to get an update: Things have been a bit quiet (although with some less noticeable work happening) while the state completes its DOT project along Needham St and while the company goes through the various permitting processes and lines up its various construction materials (despite the supply-chain hurdles everyone is experiencing).
In a few weeks from now, there should be some more building demolitions and underground utility work happening on the Northland site. After that, later in the summer, there will be ongoing below-grade demolition work and parking garage excavation.
The first building that will actually be built (some time later this year) is the Mobility Hub / Apartments building up against Needham St. The Northland team is also still moving forward with the city approvals processes for the planned Splash Park by the Greenway and the brook daylighting across the site.
As always, there is a neighborhood Liaison Committee that meets periodically to discuss more granular timetables of work and to raise specific concerns or problems that neighbors are experiencing as the work progresses. Councilors Crossley of Ward 5 and Ryan of Ward 8 are your point-people for that group, along with the appointed neighborhood members. So, I’m just providing a very broad overview here.