Government

City to Add Section to Community Path with Taking of Land, Memorialization Committee Could be Created

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Watertown City Hall

(CORRECTION: The easement payment was incorrectly listed at $374,000. It is $37,400)

Watertown’s Community Path will get a bit longer with the addition of a section that sits on private land right next to Main Street. The Council also heard about the committee proposed to decide how to name streets, buildings, and other places in someone’s memory. That section of the Community Path that runs from Waverley Avenue and Main Street has been constructed, City Manager George Proakis told the City Council on Tuesday night, but it has been closed off until the City could get the right for public use through an easement agreement with the property owner. “We are paying them, they are getting these easement rights, and we will get the path further along and connected to Main Street,” Proakis said.

Around Town

Come Meet the Artists Behind the New Pieces in Watertown’s Sculpture Walk

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Photo by Liz Helfer”All Style, No Substance” by Ken Reker is one of the new additions to the Watertown Community Sculpture Walk. Watertown’s Community Sculpture Walk has four new works of art, and the public is invited to meet the artists and find out about their process and inspiration. The opening reception for the new sculptures will be held on Friday, May 10 from 5-6 p.m. The tour begins at the beginning of the Community Path in Saltonstall Park (behind City Hall). Three of the artists will attend the opening, and one provided some audio of his poems to share at the event, said Liz Helfer, Watertown’s Public Arts & Culture Planner. Also attending the event will be Zachariah Hickman — the Tuba Guy.

Capital Projects

Capital Projects Include Community Path, Work at Middle School, Reuse of Old Police Station

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The City Council approved the recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2023-27 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), which includes extending the Community Path, improvements to Watertown Middle School, reusing the old Watertown Police Station, along with road repair and other projects. The 34 recommendations of the FY23-27 CIP includes $27.6 million in capital spending in Fiscal year 2023, which would be 7.71 percent of the total projected City revenues not including the funds for the Building for the Future school projects (16 percent with them). That figure fits within the City Council’s budget guideline to spend between 7.5 percent and 8 percent of the City Operating Budget on capital projects, said Council Vice President Vincent Piccirilli. Community Path

Three of the CIP recommendations related to extending the Community Path, which currently goes from Arlington Street, behind Target to School Street, and runs along Arsenal Street. The path will be extended from Taylor Street (off Arsenal Street) to Saltonstall Park.

Business

Lt. Governor Visits Watertown Bearing Three Grants for More than $3 Million Aimed at Economic Development

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Charlie BreitroseLt. Gov. Karyn Polito spoke with Town Council President Mark Sideris during an event where she announced more than $3 million in grants to Watertown. The event was at the Hampton Inn & Suites at Arsenal Yards. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito stopped by Watertown on Tuesday to celebrate the transformation of Arsenal Street and to give out more than $3 million in grants to help municipal officials continue the economic growth in the community. The event took place at the Hampton Inn & Suites, located in the biggest redevelopment project in Watertown — Arsenal Yards. Polito recalled how she used to visit the Arsenal Mall when she was a student at Boston College in the mid-1980s, when it looked very different.

Government

Council Backs Bike/Pedestrian Path Extension On Arsenal St., Keeps Open Off-Road Option

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After looking at three options, one was eliminated, and two were moved forward with one chosen as the recommended route. The recommended route would be to continue the path along Arsenal Street, which currently goes along the north side of the street from School Street to Irving Street. It would continue west to Taylor Street and then go along Taylor, cross Mt. Auburn Street and then go along Baptist Walk, through the municipal parking lots in Watertown Square to link with the path near the Watertown Library. The cost estimate for the project is $1.3 million, according to VHB, the project designer.

Government

Draft of Bike & Ped Plan to be Discussed at Public Meeting; New Path Behind Library

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The draft of Watertown’s new Bike and Pedestrian Plan will be discussed at a public meeting in December, and the Town has a new section of the Community Path near the Watertown Library. Watertown Transportation Planner Laura Wiener sent out the following information:

New Bike and Ped Plan will Pave the Way for more Biking and Walking.  

Public Meeting December 7. The Town is undertaking a Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, to show the way toward roads and sidewalks that welcome bikers and pedestrians, along with cars. Partnering in this endeavor are the Town Council, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee, the Department of Community Development and Planning, Public Works Department, and McMahon and Associates.  This effort has been ongoing for about a year.There will be a public meeting to review the Draft Plan, on Monday evening December 7, 2020, at 7:00PM via Zoom. The meeting is hosted by the Town Council Committees on Economic Development and Planning and Public Works. The consultant, McMahon and Associates, will present the draft plan and its recommendations, and then take questions and comments from Council members and the public.The Draft Plan, and other information is available on the Town website, HERE.  Click on the Flyer link for a link to the presentation and the Zoom meeting.Bike Ped Plan Project Goals

Increase opportunities for bicycling and walking, and thereby reduce the number of vehicle trips in Watertown.Increase safety and access for bicyclists and pedestrians, to promote biking and walking.Create a road map for future improvements to the Bicycle and Pedestrian network. 

Quick Build Community Path Extension in Watertown Square

Have you noticed some changes behind Town Hall and the Library?  The Town received funding from a MassDOT program called Shared Streets/Shared Spaces, to fund quick-build projects that support Covid-friendly outdoor activities.

Around Town

Meeting Will Cover Reconstruction of Belmont St., Cambridge-Watertown Greenway Path

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The following information was provided by the Cambridge Department of Public Works:

Belmont Street, from the Belmont town line to Mt. Auburn Street., is scheduled for upcoming street and sidewalk reconstruction, including both the Cambridge and Watertown sides of the street. The project will also include a connection to the new Cambridge-Watertown Greenway path on Holworthy Street. The Department of Public Works will be hosting a community meeting on Wednesday May 15 from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Russell Youth Center located at 680 Huron Avenue. to discuss the Belmont Street Reconstruction Project.

Around Town

Watertown-Cambridge Greenway Construction Schedule Announced

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The last section of the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway, a bike and pedestrian path, will begin construction in late summer or early fall. 

A letter sent out by Leo Roy, commissioner of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), announced that the project will begin soon, and will create 1.25 miles of path along the former Boston & Maine Railroad tracks between Arlington Street/Nichols Avenue/Crawford Street intersection in Watertown and the entrance to the Cambridge Water Department at Fresh Pond. It will connect to the section already completed from Arlington Street to School Street in Watertown which is also referred to as the Community Path. “The trail will offer additional opportunities for transportation and passive and active recreation and physical activity, while promoting community and economic growth through increased connectivity,” Roy wrote. “The multi-use Greenway will provide an important regional connection linking the Charles River Path system, the Minuteman Bikeway, the Alewife Greenway and the Mystic River Reservation into an interconnected off-road pathway network.” The new section of the path will be 12 foot wide paved trail with two foot wide grass strips along both sides, according to the letter.