Since it seems to be (another) bicycle day in Newton, I thought I would throw this out there:
Like many (hundreds?) of other Newtonites, I ride my bike in the area quite a bit. I ride the Pan-Mass Challenge every summer with several friends, and do what I can to get training miles in. One popular route from newton takes us through Weston, and down Meadowbrook Road by the Weston Country Club. It’s the most direct and on e of the safer routes to Weston Center (and from there, Lincoln, Sudbury, Concord et al).
It turns out residents are hiring a police detail this weekend to turn away cyclists (and presumably other non-resident or club member motorists). This brought up a bunch of questions, and I don’t pretend to know all the answers:
- Meadowbrook Rd is marked as a “Private Way.” Does that give residents the right to block access? I’m not saying it does or it doesn’t; I’m asking, as there seems to be nuanced thinking on the topic. I have also seen conflicting information stating this is a “Private Road” or simply “Private Property,” perhaps the latter designation makes a difference.
- Bicyclists have used this throughway for years without incident (to my knowledge– there may have been, in fact I’m sure Meadowbrook is no more incident-free – or prone – than any other road. I have used it for 5 years without ever being turned away. Why suddenly enforce it now?
- What will cyclists do? It’s a very popular route, but there are alternatives. If I go the Weston-Concord route this weekend, I will likely so that but am curious if other cyclists feel more strongly, enough to challenge this.
Enough people in Newton bike frequently – and through Weston – that I thought this would be of interest. Any thoughts?
Be
autiful morning for the Newton City Hall to Boston City Hall bike convoy, led by Newton Bike/Ped Task Force. More pictures after the jump.
Is it just me, or this weekend (weekend before Memorial Day) the busiest one of the year? My family is booked pillar-to-post from 3 this afternoon through Sunday evening. Maybe the weekend of the Harvest Fair compares. Maybe.
Looks like a gorgeous weekend ahead – enhance it even more with some culture! No major arts events in Newton tonight but Saturday and Sunday are ripe with possibility!
SATURDAY
Spring Open Studios
Newton Open Studios*
Sat, May 19-Sun, May 20
11am – 5pm | FREE
Newton Open Studios is taking over the city! With all the awesome locations you will be hard pressed to not bump into some art this weekend. (But be careful, bumping into art could be hazardous.) This is one of the best opportunities to get a look at so many of the talented visual artists in Newton! Download the printable map & guide here. Learn more about the artists here. And if you see Ellen Fisher this weekend, give her a high-five. She deserves a ton of credit for putting this amazing event together!
And remember to pick up a Culture ‘n Cuisine voucher while you’re out! Because NOS is an NCA member, any visitor may pick up a voucher and receive 10% off your meal at one of the participating Culture ‘n Cuisine restaurants from now through June 30, 2012!
(My favorite NOS poster is the Mona Lisa one I’ve spotted on Beacon St. Anyone else?)
The Beauty of Brahms
New Philharmonia Orchestra*
Sat, May 19 @ 8pm | Sun, May 20 @ 3pm
First Baptist Church*
Tickets: $10-$30
New Phil is collaborating with the New World Chorale to bring you a stunning performance. We will perform 3 works by Brahms; the rarely heard choral works Nanie and Schicksalslied plus the incomparable Symphony No. 1. The title, The Beauty of Brahms, could be viewed as the superficial beauty of the music when it hits your ears; but to me, the beauty of Brahms is that whatever it is that you need, whether to be surrounded by an uplifting spirit or overwhelmed by a small musical phrase that hits you in your core, Brahms delivers. You’ll only understand what I mean if you join us. Sit in the gorgeous venue of First Baptist Church and let New Phil take you to a different place. Then stay afterwards and say hi!
Plus, pickup your Culture ‘n Cuisine voucher!
Before we build a parking structure in Newton Centre (current vision is on the Cypress Street lot), the city should buy or lease as much private parking as it can.
At the League of Women Voter’s No Parking! forum last night, parking consultant Jason Schreiber described how one city (Medford?) had plans to build a parking structure to meet an urgent need for more parking capacity. They discovered they had enough capacity, they just needed to better use the capacity they had. They were able to do that by adjusting read more…
As a JCC member, the father of two kosher-keeping kids, and a heart-attack survivor, I especially enjoyed this flyer hanging in JP Licks (and, presumably, elsewhere around town).
Picking up sundaes at JP Licks for him and his sister, 11-year-old SOS (son-of-Sean) noted that it sure smelled good* and asked if we could find out why. The young man behind the register pointed to a small space-heater-looking machine hanging over the door.
They’re piping in a cocoa smell. It’s like taking the faux chocolate-factory tour at Hershey Park.
Not sure whether to be appalled or amused, but it does smell purty.
*Village 14 smell-enhanced hyperlink technology not currently working.
Convoy on the Esplanade in front of Arthur Fiedler
It’s a ton of fun and an especially good way to dip a toe into the waters of bike-commuting. Led by experienced bike commuters (your humble scribe usually rides sweep and takes pictures), joined by cyclists of all stripes and abilities, and proceeding at a crowd-friendly pace, the convoy goes from Newton City Hall, through Newtonville, to Watertown Square, along the Charles, and up Congress Street. The ride starts at City Hall (6:45), with stops at the corner of Walnut and Washington Park (a few minutes later) and the Laundry Brook footbridge near Watertown Square (7:00ish).
Convoys from all over the area converge at the festival at Boston City Hall, where there are refreshments, bike-related organizations, free bike repair, music, and general merriment and good will.
Don’t forget the League of Women Voters’ No Parking! forum tonight at 7 at the Newton Free Library (even the parking is free!).
Come learn how getting parking right could make Newton a more pleasant place to walk, bike, and even drive and park.
See you there.
Newton North Junior Vanessa Battista won a Honda Civic the other day but she can’t keep it because some of the kids who were supposed to participate in the contest were taking AP exams at the time.
Principal Jennifer Price originally told the Newtonite: “I think it is great that Vanessa won. She is an excellent representation of what this school is all about and very deserving of the car.” But apparently Price was also involved in the decision to redo the contest.
Why do I think there must be more to this story?
Lower Falls Pedestrian Bridge
In a piece in the latest TAB, Anatol Zukerman explores the same thing I couldn’t help but notice when none of Newton’s Ward 7 4 aldermen showed up at the very impressive May 8 Lower Falls bridge dedication:
Notably absent from the celebration were the three aldermen from Auburndale: Leonard Gentile, Jay Harney and Amy Sangiolo. They had a good reason for skipping the read more…
As @Saltwaterhill reminds us on Twitter, it’s some sort of annual senior tradition at Newton South. But the rest is a mystery to me. And do Newton North seniors also “play” assassins?
Don’t be alarmed by teens w/ water pistols sneaking round #Newton. South seniors playing end-of-yr “assassins” game.
— Mary Ann Hill (@SaltwaterHill) May 16, 2012
Photo by akakumo on Flickr
As someone who talks a lot about Internet and web-based communications a lot in my work, it seems natural to me to think that schools would communicate electronically and use Web-based teaching tools.
This is not necessarily so, according to this Slashdot article by Amy Vernon, “K-12 Education Remains Stubbornly Outside the Cloud.” (The “cloud” being Internet -based storage of shared information, in this case school assignments, notifications, et al).
I read this with curiosity, as my experience in Newton Middle Schools (my son goes to Bigelow) has been that the read more…
Here’s a dilemma that I’m certain will spark a heated debate at our next shareholders’ meeting: Should Village 14 invest its multi-million dollar marketing budget into naming rights with the Newton Schools or with the MBTA?
If you haven’t read it yet, take a few minutes to read Joanna Weiss’ terrific interview with Barney Frank from the Globe today.
