Melanie Graham has a few helpful updates on Patch, including
- Tips for trash and recycling collection in the snow
- Why you don’t need to feed those parking meters that you can’t reach anyway.
How are the streets and sidewalks in your village this afternoon?
I have two unrelated questions I’ll throw out there, to see if anyone knows the answers…
1. How much money will Newton lose every day parking meters are not accessible?
2. Does anyone know why the water in Bullow’s Pond looks so funky? It’s got a green tint to it. I noticed work being done in the wetlands upstream by City Hall, and wondered if it’s related to that.
Walnut/Austin St parking lot got a couple of bucks from me today. The meter I parked at was accessible and I had no idea. Spend it wisely, Newton.
When I went out this morning the sidewalks along Rt. 9 (eastbound) near Eliot station were impassable (between Circuit Ave and access to pedestrian bridge). This is a serious safety issue. So people were walking along Rt. 9 to get to the T.
On number 2, I think Boullough’s pond is having issues. Not sure if it is related to the work upstream, but I think the pond also needs to be dug up. If they did, perhaps we could have skating on it again… ;-)
All that said, if anyone is in the know on the pond, I’d also like to know more information.
Mike & fignewtonville – I don’t know for sure but I’d guess that its related to the city hall work. This article says that they are “dredging the lagoons” and that “The lagoons are used for catching sediment from the nearby brook.”
I’d guess the dredging is stirring up sediment in a stream that flows into the pond.
fignewtonville, I read that as “…if anyone is the pond…” and I thought, “Ah HA! Maybe the skeleton of another long-deceased British monarch will turn up. Or Jimmy Hoffa!” ;-)
Newtonville is a bit of a mess. Commuter rail access is via a small cut in the snow bank that dumps you out into the middle of the bridge with cars that refuse to slow down even with pedestrians walking in the road. Accessing the crossing buttons at Walnut and Washington is a bit of an adventure but doable. Commercial district along Washington is a mess but better than yesterday (almost 100% due to dripping water off of the buildings). So I would say that no, things are not doing well up here, we have a full 4 auto lanes on Washington, no clearing for the commuter rail access, no clearing for express bus access, and limited clearing even for auto parking.
I am sorry but Newton can do a lot better here… A simple measure would be to reduce Washington to 3 lanes total with parking taking one lane on the westbound side. traffic cones could be put out to separate the snow from the parking area and create a safe passable sidewalk since the city does not seem to care about clearing that commercial district. Same thing could be done on the bridge, remove the right turn lane onto Washington and put some cones out, its really pretty simple…
At the start of the work day yesterday (Monday), I know of two municipal parking lots that had not been plowed out at all – Auburndale and Nonantum. I am curious to know if there were others. Can anyone comment, please?
@Native,
The Elm St lot in West Newton is still unplowed.
I understand that local businesses have had to pay to plow municipal lots in order to allow safe parking conditions for their employees and customers. If that isn’t the City shirking its responsibilites, I don’t know what is. And it certainly adds to the cost of doing business in this City, making it a less attactive place to do business.
When I was out at 5:30 this morning, they had several pieces of heavy equipment removing snow from on street parking spaces in Newton Center and Newtonville.
One of the cleanup crew told me he had less than 12 hours sleep in the last 3 to 4 days.
I think it’s remarkable that most things are getting back to normal little more than 3 days after the last of the snow stopped falling. And Newton looks in far better shape than Waltham, Wellesley, Allston, Brighton or Cambridge, all places I’ve been to since Sunday.
Nature is the great leveler.
The plowing in my opinion has been awful. And a couple of years ago I praised the mayor for a good job at this. Given that the snow plowing budget must be healthy, since we haven’t really had much snow this winter, I’d expect better. Many two-way side streets have room for only one car. I’d expect this for a day or so after such a major storm, but it was Saturday into Sunday and today is Wednesday.
Pretty poor given that the things a mayor has been elected to deal with are these local issues, and not helping Barack Obama or Elizabeth Warren or running for Senate himself. BOB BURKE is a knee-jerk Democratic apologist who never ceases to heap praise upon Democratic office-holders and candidates, so I wouldn’t go by him.
Ad hominem attacks are inappropriate. Be nice.
@Native,
Where did you get this information on business owners having to pay to have the city owned municipal lots plowed? I certainly cant say one way or the other but I dont think this is true….
Adam is correct. It’s just that over the history of these blogs, now matter what goes happens, this fellow gushes praise on all the Democrats and heaps criticism on anyone else. He probably has a position in the Newton Democratic Committee, though I could be wrong. So, his comments are never based upon reality, but rather upon putting out the best PR for people like Setti Warren.
The plowing was awful in Newton.
Barry, how many republicans hold office in Newton? Rather than showing bias, could it just be that Bob is a nice guy and an optimist?
Anything’s possible, Adam. I try to look at things more logically, I think, and a cheer-leader is not logical. He’s rooting for one team. That’s why I have trouble associating with any political party. Unless you’re lucky and a party totally reflects how you feel, you’re forced to support positions and people who really don’t deserve your support, all for the sake of the team, or you’re a non-thinker and just buy whatever the platform is and whomever the selected candidates are.
@whole truth: it is absolutely true in auburndale. my employer had to call a private plow company at crack of dawn on monday morning.
Native: Did your employer call the city first? Or since?
Adam – I’m guessing Bob is also someone who doesn’t walk much or doesn’t seem to notice the kids walking on busy streets, like Waverly Ave, at 3:10 after school lets out.
Greg: No, and yes. Did not have time to call first, before plowing. There are too many employees here and we do not the luxury of opening late. Had to have a place for people to park safely, then open on time for our customers, who, BTW, also needed a place to park. To my knowledge, calls since have not been returned. Our plower even came back on Monday night and hauled away the snow that “had no place to go.” All on my employers “dime”, so to speak.
@Native,
I understand now. The business owners took it upon themselves to have the lot plowed rather than wait for the City to get there. This is not quite the same as the implication that the owners “had” to pay as if the City was charging them. Thanks for the clarification.
I guess you are correct, WholeTruth, now that I think of it! We should have stayed closed until the city was ready to open for business. Or the city state of emergency should not have been lifted until the village centers could safely be opened for business. Not just some of the village centers, but all of them.
@Native
Dont misunderstand me, I’m not defending the City, just trying to get the facts of what happened.