Letters

LETTER: Resident Writes Watertown Needs New Public Transit

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Watertown was dealt a blow with the approval of the referendum to prevent the gas tax from changing with the consumer price index. We in Watertown will suffer as a result because public transit will suffer: the MBTA won’t have a reliable source of funding even to keep pace with inflation, just at the moment when we all need better T service more than ever. But we can do things as a community that will actually improve our transportation future. In Watertown, we experience daily that the MBTA is overstretched and underfunded, that traffic congestion is overwhelming, and infrastructure is outdated. Service on the T’s Watertown bus lines was never stellar, but it has deteriorated.

Transportation

MBTA Exploring Using the Watertown Yard to Help Add More Buses

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The MBTA will not be able to add more buses to crowded routes or add new routes until they add more buses – but before that can happen the buses need a place to be stored and serviced. During a meeting to discuss transportation on the Arsenal Street corridor last week, MBTA officials said the need places to store and service 80 buses to meet existing needs. The Watertown Yard, on Galen Street near Watertown Square, could be part of the solution. The facility used to be a center to service trolley cars when the Green Line’s A Line ended in Watertown. Now the area is only used as a bus stop and turn around at the end of routes such as the 57, and express buses to Boston.

Government

Study of 70 Bus Sought in Effort to Improve Transportation on Arsenal St.

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A study of what can be done to speed up buses on the 70 and 70A bus routes has been requested by a group interested in improving public transportation on the Arsenal Street Corridor and beyond. A the transportation summit held Wednesday, elected officials, town officials, developers and members of groups interested in transit in the area met with MBTA officials. The group brainstormed ways to improve the service, which even T officials agreed can be slow and crowded. The area is one of the hottest areas of development in the Boston area. Developers of more than one project on the street have promised to contribute to a shuttle system to serve the area, but all agreed the MBTA service must be improved too.

Government

See Highlights from the MBTA GM’s Visit to Watertown

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Beverley Scott, the general manager of the MBTA, got the full Watertown experience this week when she toured the town and spoke with residents and the Town Council. Residents had plenty to say – some complaints and some requests – for Scott. The head of the T rode the 71 bus into town. Then Town Councilor Aaron Dushku picked her up and along with State Rep. Jonathan Hecht and resident Joe Levendusky, they visited Arsenal Street. The group tried to get over to the other booming area – Pleasant Street – but traffic and time did not allow, Dushku said.

Police/Fire

Truck Driver Trapped by Live Wires After Knocking Down Poles

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A garbage truck driver was trapped after he knocked down poles, and had live electrical wires fall on his truck Wednesday morning. Around 10 a.m., a driver knocked down poles in the area of Templeton Parkway and Mt. Auburn Street. Firefighters responded and, according to scanner reports, put out a transformer fire. Traffic has been closed in Coolidge Square in East Watertown while the poles are being repaired and the area cleaned up.

Government

See What Concerns and Ideas Residents Have About the MBTA

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Crowded buses and new ways to pay bus fares came up as issues facing users of public transportation at the first Watertown Task Force on Public Transit meeting. Forty people came out to the meeting on May 1 at the Watertown Free Public Library, which was organized by Sustainable Watertown. Frequent MBTA bus riders run into over-crowded buses – to the point that buses cannot pick up passengers – and bunching of buses so they come one right after another, said Joe Levendusky, an East End resident, who moderated the first meeting. “The solutions that were most commonly suggested were a) more buses on the routes and  b) better real time management of the route,” Levendusky said. People would like to see easier access to the Charlie Cards.

Around Town

New Group Seeks Watertown’s Input on Public Transit

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Watertown residents concerned about how the town is served by public transportation are invited to join a discussion this week. The newly formed Watertown Task Force on Public Transit will meet for the first time on Thursday, May 1 at the Watertown Free Public Library in the Trustee’s Room at 7 p.m.

The town has officially requested the MBTA to engage in dialog about the state of public transit in town, and the task force is gathering comments from residents. “We are going to set up a permanent body of citizens to debate and talk about public transit issues, and bring up ideas and propose solutions to the state representatives and the MBTA,” said Joe Levendusky, a resident who helped start the task force. ”

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The meeting will help lay out the comments that will be presented to Beverly Scott, general manager of the MBTA, who is expected to attend a Town Council meeting on May 27, Levendusky said. The task force is an initiative of Sustainable Watertown.

Around Town

Transportation Improvements May be in Watertown’s Future

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MBTA Buses may be one of the things improved under the Legislature’s Transportation Bond Bill. By Charlie Breitrose

Several proposals to improve transportation in Watertown have been included in the Legislature’s Transportation Bond Bill, including for buses, multi-use paths and intersection improvements. A summary of the proposals was collected by State Sen. Will Brownsberger’s office. The projects are proposed over the next five years. The joint House and Senate bills bot include:

$725,000 to create and improve the Community Path in Watertown
$1.3 million to create construct a multi-use path from Arlington Street in Watertown to Fresh Pond in Cambridge along a former railroad.