Around Town

What to Expect at Next Watertown Square Meeting, Manager Will Also Discuss Zoning on Prior Day

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The redesign of Watertown Square will be discussed on June 12. (Photo by City of Watertown)

(NOTE, May 24, 2024: They day and location of the Watertown Square meeting has changed and has been updated in this article)

The draft of the Watertown Square Area Plan will be discussed at a meeting on June 12, but prior to that City Manager George Proakis will delve into the topic of zoning during a live and interactive show on Watertown Cable. Watertown Square Meeting

The meeting focused on Watertown Square will take place on Thursday, June 13 beginning at 6 p.m. It will take place at the Watertown Middle School Auditorium. Present at the meeting will be both the City Council and the Planning Board, said City Council President Mark Sideris. He said it may be the first of multiple meetings on the Watertown Square Area Plan, which includes not only the redesign of the main intersection, but also where the City will allow housing to be built by right to meet the requirements of the MTBA Communities Law, as well as form-based zoning which will determine how future developments will look.

Around Town

LETTER: Watertown’s Road Overhauls Should Include Bus Improvements

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The Watertown Square Redevelopment has provided us a once in a generation ability to reimage the core of our city and while what has been proposed has made great strides in helping meet our housing goal, in my opinion it has dropped the ball when it falls to transit. The current plan outlines a reduction of 3 lanes but does not do enough for those of us that use Public Transportation. I propose the creation of a true busway that would greatly improve ride times and thus encourage more citizens to us public transportation; I know others have suggested thus during the town meetings. Watertown doesn’t need water downed bus lanes that are ineffectual by being painted on the far-left lane only for cars to use it to turn. What we need is a bold vision of what it can and ought to do.

Around Town

LETTER: Looking Back, Moving Forward in Watertown Square

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We often talk about “The Good Old Days” and the nostalgia of how things were better in the past. While Watertown’s past had great things, “The Good Old Days” had the same issues we face today. For instance, The Historical Society of Watertown has a fantastic resource: Watertown Newspaper Headlines from 1880-1941. Below is a sampling of 20 headlines along with the dates they appeared:

7/14/1880 “Galen St Dangerous for ladies after dark” 

11/8/1882  “What Watertown Needs Most – housing for rent” 

10/21/1892 George E. Priest said he had heard that the Newton & Waltham Street Railway desires to extend its Watertown-Waltham line to Mount Auburn

8/1/1893  “controversy between horse drawn vehicles and electric cars between Cambridge and Watertown” 

1/6/1893 “Plans for electric railway cars from Watertown to Newton up Galen Street” 

11/1/1901  “Cyclists warned not to ride between streetcar tracks, dangerous”

7/4/1902 “Horse and buggy accident between Mr. & Mrs. James Milmore and 2 men on horseback – Fred Rankins and Frank Haynes”

9/26/1902  “Another suggestion for improving the center (illustration and map of a proposed new Watertown Square)”

12/9/1904 “Save the trees”

3/17/1905 “Arsenal streetcar route extended to Scollay Square”

12/15/1905 “New Plans for Galen Street Bridge and Delta”

7/19/1907 “Watertown murder case: Charles Reed shot by Antonio Zeccolo”

7/30/1909 “10,000 riot at band concert near Watertown Square”

1/20/1911 “ Progress Being Made on High School Building (East Jr.)”

2/7/1924 “Common Street Widening meets great protest”

12/24/1933 “Town votes $135,000 for addition to High School, $35,000 for Main Library”

11/8/1934 “Subway tunnel proposed for Watertown Square (to relieve traffic!)” 

12/26/1935 “Arsenal Street most dangerous piece of road in town” 

9/4/1941 “ Watertown Starts to Abolish Worst Traffic Bottleneck (widening Watertown St. at Galen”

6/29/1945 “Mt.

Around Town

LETTER: Resident Enthusiastic About Changes That Will Help Watertown Square Thrive

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When I think of all the ways that Watertown has shaped my life and family, I think about how fortunate my son is to have lived his entire life here. And for as long as we’ve called Watertown our home, the Square has been a cornerstone of our lives. From weekly trips to sing and dance with friends and neighbors at the library to long walks (and scooterings) around the Charles River, I’ve spent endless hours in the square. 

I have also been fortunate to be able to attend every one of the public presentations on the Watertown Square redesign, and I am deeply optimistic for the proposed changes. I’m encouraged by the passion with which the city staff are working to make Watertown’s beating heart stronger and healthier for the next generation. The decisions we make in the coming months will determine what sort of city my son will inherit.

Around Town

LETTER: A Chilly Reception From Housing Advocates

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By Linda ScottWatertown Resident

Let’s go back to April 25, 2024, when I visited the April Watertown Democratic Town Committee Meeting. The Watertown Democratic Town Committee Meeting:

One of my public meeting stops was the Watertown Democratic Town Committee (WDTC) Meeting to see what they had on their minds. I noticed that Dan Pritchard, one of the four founders of Housing for All Watertown (HAW) was going to be speaking. I was interested. I want to thank the WDTC for being so welcoming to this “Independent” voter.

Around Town

LETTER: Let’s Take More Time to Consider Watertown Housing Plan

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By Linda ScottWatertown Resident

Lately, I’ve been attending public meetings, and I’ve been speaking with citizens about their thoughts and feelings about development plans in Watertown Square. The Watertown Square Plan and its Moving Parts:

As most of you know, in response to the State’s MBTA Communities Law, which requires Watertown to zone for 1701 new multifamily housing units, Watertown City Manager George Proakis and the Department of Community Development and Planning (DCDP) have been enthusiastically over-achieving. First, they proposed zoning for 6,320 new housing units instead of the State mandated 1701. They justified this momentous decision to more than triple the housing units by referring to a straw poll of 75 Watertown citizens and nonresidents who chose the 6,320 option. (See Democracy Dismantled One Poll and Survey at a Time, click here)

The choices that the City Manager and the DCDP gave the Watertown public for this vote:

6,320 housing units by right or

2,631 housing units by right

There was no option for 1,701 units – the number actually mandated by the MBTA zoning law.

Around Town

LETTER: Resident Optimistic About Future of Watertown Square

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When the conversation about Watertown Square began a couple years ago, I was not optimistic. How could this massive intersection filled with car traffic become a destination? While I was reminded of our wonderful library, our distance from the river, and a few small stores and great restaurants, I still could not imagine how this could be made into a unified square. Over time, the process for recreating Watertown Square has impressed me. We have had multiple ways to participate and give feedback.

Around Town

LETTER: What Both Biotech Workers & High Schoolers Need — Housing

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In my role as a founder of CoLAB — a non-profit organization that connects Watertown students and biotech companies — I have had the unique opportunity to connect with two distinct groups, biotech business leaders and local high school students. For as many differences as there are between them, both groups share a primary concern: the housing crisis. For business leaders, it’s becoming more and more difficult to afford the costs associated with the housing crisis. For high school students, they face a future of deep uncertainty. Will they be able to remain in the city they love?