derived from images in presentation, Washington Street Pilot 75% Design Project Update
Nearly four months after the City’s initial Washington Street Pilot proposal, the Newton Planning Department, the Department of Public Works, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture, and the project consultants presented the updated project design, now 75% completed. The design focuses on Washington Street from Lowell Avenue to Chestnut Street. The public meeting webinar on April 11 attracted seventy-five people — a mix of City Councilors and residents, many of whom had attended the January 17 presentation, when the proposed redesign was 25% completed.
The proposed projct will reduce the current four-lane roadway into three lanes: one eastbound, one westbound, and turn lanes on the north side of Washington Street. The south side of Washington Street, along the Massachusetts Turnpike and MBTA Commuter track, will feature East and West bike lanes sharing a pedestrian path, and elevated bus stops. In addition, plans provide for parking on both sides of Washington Street, some plantings along the south side path to block the view of the train tracks and the Mass Pike, and a number of well-defined crossing islands for pedestrians and bikes. A continuous bike path from Chestnut Street will also provide a safe route for students biking to Newton North High School.
The 25% design presented on January 17 showed a long line of concrete tree planters separating the south-side pedestrian and bicycle path from the car travel lane. In the latest design, they have been reduced to only five planters because of the expense of their upkeep. Bryan Jereb, representing the landscape consultants Halvorson, Tighe and Bond, explained that the new design includes flowering and durable plants and bushes as well as shorter trees to screen out the Mass Pike and the MBTA tracks. According to the City’s Director of Parks + Open Space, Luis Perez Demorizi, the watering and…