LETTER: A Look at Recommended Amendments to Watertown Square Area Plan

By Linda Scott
Watertown Resident

As I was perusing my e-mail on Friday, late afternoon, I saw this:

Subject Line: Watertown Square: Continued Joint Hearing on 7/16 at 6 PM & Kids Space!

Oh, I thought. That’s the announcement of this Tuesday’s meeting at the Middle School to have more resident input on the “Watertown Square Area Plan.” I didn’t think much of it, until a (really) alert resident actually opened this up to find pages of additions and corrections to the Square Area Plan document!

Yes, I opened this message and saw a link entitled: “Recommended Amendments to the Plan”
Click here to see the amendements to the plan.

As I opened this link up, my first thought was, “This is a whole lot to dump on the Council, Planning Board and the public just a few days away from this very important meeting!”

I also thought, “What a confusing presentation! I hope that the Council insists on a better version to use in consideration of all of these issues.”

In the form that this document was delivered, a friend of mine, who was determined to understand the changes, cut and stapled additions to pages on the original Watertown Square Area Plan to get a more accurate view of what was being said. That’s dedication!

So, in brief, what are some of the changes in this document? This is by all means not an
exhaustive list! To name just a few:

1. The city Manager’s opening remarks at the last meeting were added. You might want to review those.
2. Page 19 addition: “Transit priority will be incorporated into the plan’s public realm design and implementation. Improving safety, access, efficiency and mobility for public transit passengers (in coordination with the MBTA) is an important goal of the plan.”

My Note: A noble goal!! How “up to this task” do you think the MBTA is? In biblical terms, this seems like building a house upon the sand. (what a “wise man” doesn’t do). As Mark Pickering just wrote in a Watertown News Op Ed entitled “Fixing Deteriorating T Service Should Play a Role in Watertown Square redesign”:

“I’m alarmed that there has been no discussion about public transportation in the previous two special meetings on the Watertown Square Area Plan. In recent years, hundreds of condos and apartments have been built near to Watertown Square and its bus lines. Not to mention there’s a new city that has grown up on Arsenal Street.”

“This has not seemed to move the dial in public transit’s favor. Why? I’d point to this: MBTA service in Watertown is substandard when compared to both the surrounding communities and to Boston’s neighborhoods. So people don’t use the T to commute.”

Thanks, Mark, for your perspective on this!

I might add that in a recent conversation, I was told that two Watertown employees used the “T” to get to a meeting in Boston. They waited for an hour for the bus to come and then another hour in Boston to return … two frustrating hours when they could have been back in the office, being productive for our City! How many others in Watertown have experienced this frustration and decided that their car was their only option? How many more residents in the approximately planned 3,133 new housing units will decide that their cars are essential?

3. More additions to page 19: “The signalization process will also address the traffic pattern on side streets between Charles River Road and North Beacon Street …”

My Note: Traffic through small streets in neighborhoods … where have I heard that before?
Everywhere in Watertown! See this recent Watertown News letter and responses:

LETTER: East End Resident Says Streets Have Become Cut Throughs

More and more of these small streets in what one councilor called “our vibrant neighborhoods” have become cut throughs, with all of the noise, pollution, and danger that implies. There is a compelling reason to test these new traffic patterns before finalizing them!

4. Additions to pages 22-23: “As part of design, consider the zoning and urban design opportunities and context on adjacent private properties, for potential expanded planting to support canopy trees and sustainable plantings in the public realm.”

My Note: What does that even mean? First of all, the word “consider” means, “We’ll think about it,” not exactly resounding support for green and open space. And, are we going to “consider” people’s private balconies as “open space” (as they did at 166 Main Street?) The Planning Department actually said that they added to Watertown’s “open space” with these private balconies!

5. Also on Pages 22-23: “Coordinated improvements to the Community Path along Arsenal Street and Taylor Street. As part of this, redeveloped private properties should strive to incorporate open space that includes segments of an additional off-street route for the community path between Taylor Street and Irving Street along the former rail alignment.”

My Note: Boy, “should strive” There’s some more “strong” language in support of open/green space. Councilor Lisa Feltner, in her advocacy for this community path, had some serious questions about the “vision” for this path between Irving and Taylor Streets.

Her concern: Things have dropped off our “visioning” before. “We say, well, this is our vision, and then as time goes by some of these things fall off …” When the City (Planning Department) is questioned, it’s ‘Well, Lisa, that wasn’t in the plan, and we didn’t vote on that, and if you look at the wording, it wasn’t included. So we’re not going to do that anymore,’ because that has happened in other instances.”

The words “should strive” are not very comforting additions to this document.

5. Additions to page 41: “Recommended Zoning and Design Steps”:
   “Economic Feasibility Assessment (required by state to maintain inclusionary zoning requirements in the MBTA zoning district). Assessment completed in fall 2024.”

My Note: Don’t we want to see this economic feasibility assessment before any final plans are made? And, it should be noted, to do this assessment, the “MBTA Zoning” area will have to be defined. We, the public have been asking for this specific delineation for months! I’m guessing it’s available, since the assessment is due to start in about six weeks. Why has this information not been shared with the public?

Conclusion:

I know that these are hot, “summery” times in Watertown, with many people out of the City, but please make plans to attend this week’s meeting and let the Council and the Planning Board know your concerns:

Watertown Square Area Plan Joint Hearing
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
6:00 pm
Watertown Middle School

So, check out the changes to the Watertown Square Area Plan, if you can. I know that I didn’t include them all.

We’ve been assured that this meeting’s focus is listening to public comments. If you can’t attend, sending an email to councilors with your thoughts and asking that your message be included in the record and read at the meeting would be the next best thing. Help your city get this right!