The 60 trial to ban parking on Walnut Street in Newton Highlands is underway, potentially forcing commuters, residents and folks who work in the neighborhood to find alternative places to park — but also potentially making the street safer for abutters and pedestrians (or so supporters have argued).
Is this a good idea or a bad idea? After you vote, go to comments to explain why.
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Could some no voters give their reasons? Do they want to park in front of their houses on Walnut or for the T? Do they live on side streets and worry parking will move there? Is it because parked cars slow traffic? Other?
Yesterday I biked the new bike lanes on Walnut and thought they were great – but I also saw adults still biking on the sidewalk. Maybe because they felt Walnut St. traffic was to fast? Not sure, but if there is a dedicated bike lane, bikes shouldn’t be on the sidewalk.
Listening to the various conversations it seems that there are some valid safety concerns due to parking near intersections and driveways. That said, one of the advantages of having some parking is its impact on traffic calming which is also needed for Walnut Street but is not on the near term list for the City due to the high costs to add medians, lights or other measures. It will be interesting to see where the cars go during this period and what the new average speed becomes on this widened stretch of Walnut.
As a commuter who works in Newton Highlands, I’m really upset by the no parking on Walnut Street. While I can appreciate what the neighbors are feeling, the answer is more enforcement, not less parking. I won’t bother doing business during my lunchtime in Newton Highlands if I have to park a mile away to get to my office. This ban will force more cars into neighborhoods and result in less T usage. Parking meters? No way – I can’t run out of my busy office every 2 hours to pop a few quarters in the meters. That’s why I’m not parking closer to my office already.
How about simply painting parking space lines to help with enforcing the issue with intersections/driveways? Or at least painting the curbs yellow where parking is not allowed?
I think restricting parking on Walnut St is stupid. Has any one considered the homeowner, this looks like the creation of a bike lane which is stupid also. I would bet that the person or persons who started this are bikers, who could care less for the home owners. Has any one seen bike riders riding side by side, thinking of only them self and not the traffic they are obstructing.
I expect speeds to pick up quite a bit on Walnut. I like the calming measures with the parking so that when I am turning onto Hyde Street on my way home, I don’t have to worry about the guy going 45 who is going to (hopefully) slalom around me.
Smart idea. I drove down Walnut today after shopping in the Highlands and it felt much safer. I had an easier time turning left at the curve heading north, and the street looked like the lovely Newton street that attracted me to the city 30 years ago. I had no trouble finding parking and rarely do in the Highlands which is just one of the reasons why it’s my favorite village – there’s easy parking, some nice shops, it’s aesthetically pleasing (thank you John Rice and the Area Council!), and you can pick up a a quick treat at Lincoln St. Coffee.
In addition, these parking regulations are similar to those on other major thoroughfares in the city. If we’re going to be a biker-friendly community, these regulations need to be in place to keep it safe for everyone.
Smart idea but only half of the battle. The key here is safety. What is needed are cross walks to get across Walnut Street. As for parking on Walnut the bulk of people using this is for commuters using the T. Most folks are from outside of Newton and using the “free” parking uinstead of using the T parking lots. I don’t think Newton needs to be in the business of providing free parking to commuters. As for the comment on “persons who started this are bikers” is short sighted. The idea behind this was safety. There has been a number of serious accidents on Walnut because drivers could not see on coming traffic because of the number of cars parked on the street. A number of home owners would love to have some compromise where there is stricted parking on Walnut to support the local business but not to promote long term commuter parking.
I would love for there to be a happy medium for all.
1. I have a hard time turning on to Walnut from a side street when I am in my car due to parked car. This is a problem as mentioned.
2. I often do like to bike and when I go to newton highlands to take the T I ride my bike and the road is super narrow and it is tough to “share the road” especially in rush hour traffic. I’ve felt the heat of the bus exhaust many a time. I admit I am lucky to only live a mile from the train station so I riding my bike is very easy.
3. When I do drive to the highlands I am extremely frustrated by the inability to leave my car there. I admit I often choose not to drive there b/c the lack of parking although I have never used the walnut free spots mostly b/c there aren’t any available.
4. I have conflicting feelings about parking around the T stations. One cold and rainy foul weather days, it can be really tough to get to a T by car. I think a lot of people do throw up their hands and just drive all the way then. I know I have had to drive into work b/c Waban was full and The Highlands, nor Newton Center have longterm parking. It was raining and I was late. However I do make the choice to bike to Newton Center. Not everyone can choose that. But my ability to bike to train stations should be supported as it makes one less car on the road for those that MUST drive and one more parking space for them as well.
The trick is, how to bring all these points to a happy medium. We shouldn’t be fighting about bike lanes vs parking spots vs safety. Let’s work on it all.
The one thing I say is NO to free parking. Any spot should be paid for esp if it’s for communting/shopping. I say again- change the meter system so one doesn’t have to hoard change- but make it card driven or whatno so that it can simply be the cost of parking for a full work day where ever that parking spot may be.
Another attack against cars and drivers. Was this Sean’s idea?
Assuming the pilot works successfully, bike lanes will be painted (apparently there isn’t space for both AND since almost all houses along this stretch have their own driveways, they don’t actually need parking. Much of the parking (in Newton Highlands anyway) was taken up by commuters. Some of the parking was taken up by employees of a New Hglnds restaurant that employed 75 people and has recently gone out of business. So it seems like a perfect opportunity to put in bike lanes on this MAJOR north-south roadway.
Since facilities for driving cars take up roughly 10% of Newton’s land area, I’d hardly say that taking away a few parking spaces is an “attack against cars and drivers.” Maybe a nibble at the edges of the easy convenience of parking in one location, but an attack? Please. Secure parking for bikes at the Highlands T station is woefully inadequate; on most days, the single rack is full, and bikes are locked all along the walkway railings. If not having sufficient parking qualifies as an “attack,” then bikes and bikers have it pretty bad.
Wasn’t there supposed to have been a survey recently about the parking along Walnut? I’m curious what the majority of those drivers are parking for & where they’re coming from. Do they have other options for parking at a T station, and they’re just avoiding inconvenience or parking charges? If that’s the case, then by eliminating this free parking, we might discourage a few drivers from taking the T, but my guess is that the majority of them will continue using mass transit, but will just explore and find other options. So, out of the 50-100 people parking there to use the T, maybe a few dozen will give up and drive the whole trip instead of using mass transit. Not a major loss, in my mind, when balanced against the probability of many, many more bikers using Walnut to get to Highlands and to the Highlands T. (We need better bike parking facilities at Highlands T!)
In the long term, more bike-friendly roads = more bikes and fewer cars. It’s been true in every city so far. That’s a win for drivers, actually: fewer cars = less congestion.
Bikes or no bikes is not the real issue in my opinion. Walnut St is simply unsafe when parking is allowed. There simply isn’t sufficient width for cars to pass in opposite directions and visibility is horrible when pulling onto Walnut from side streets. I hope similar plans are on the table for Cherry and Webster Streets especially since both of them have schools and playgrounds.
And think about no parking on Beacon Street in Newton Centre too.
While I can certainly empathize with the neighbors who sought this change, it’s unfortunate that this step was taken instead of first seeking to step up parking enforcement, and painting parking spaces to make it clear where one can legally park or not.
When this issue came up before the Newton Highlands Neighborhood Area Council, the neighbors who spoke on the matter all favored the ban. (I’ve since met some who oppose it). When I asked about enforcement, abutters said they had no faith that the city would carry that out. That’s a sad reflection on the lack of confidence some people still have of city hall. Even though I think this administration has worked hard to change that perception — it clearly hasn’t reached everyone.
Smarth writes:
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And what happens when/if another business looks to move into the Bakers Best location (or one of several other vacant properties in the village) and also has a need for employee parking? Does this move make it harder for Highlands landlords to find tenants?
A better solution for parking would be to allow more of it on areas of Lincoln St. where it’s currently limited. Lincoln St. is much lower traffic, plus easily accessible to the stores.
Greg-I’m not sure that it’s a lack of faith in anyone, but a realization that cutbacks on the municipal side have consequences. We simply don’t have enough employees to enforce parking regulations around the 11 villages, near 21 schools, don’t know how many parks, etc.
@Jane: Nope. I was there. It was lack of faith.
I asked if that’s really what they meant. I was told it was.
I drive down that stretch of Walnut a lot, and have never really felt the cars parked along there were an impediment. On the other hand, as someone else on this thread pointed out, if trying to get out from a side street is what you’re doing, it is a problem.
To Greg’s point about a lack of trust, I’m disappointed to hear that, as I think Setti’s administration has done much to counter the old view that city hall couldn’t be trusted [I was one of them]. Regaining citizens’ trust is critical going forward, as we have important infrastructure issues that need tackling and the funding fro that depends on a belief our city knows what it is doing. In my view, Setti has done much to demonstrate he’s taken seriously and made great strides in managing the city’s fiscal problems, certainly enough to justify supporting him as he goes to us citizens looking for the necessary funding to allow for those adjustments in infrastructure to occur. [And I was opposed to the last override].
I actually meant to make a different point. Budget cuts to municipal services have consequences – certain services become a lower priority. Trust me, I hear all too often about how public employees don’t do their jobs, have it easy, have such a deal, etc. etc. I also happen to know a little bit about being an abutter whose concerns about inappropriate behavior weren’t adequately addressed. However, I never blamed the police/parking meter folks or the HS for that or implied that people weren’t doing their jobs.
The simple fact is that you get what you pay for. You’d have to be living under a rock for the last 3 years not to know about the budget cuts and/or understand the implications of the cuts to daily life.
The parking ban is a bad idea. Cars are now driving much faster than they used to (40-50 mph!) which makes it much more dangerous for us bikers. I no longer bike on Walnut St as a result of the parking ban (I take Lake Ave instead)
We have lived on Walnut Street since 1985 and have noted that the area between Hyde and Lakewood Streets is especially prone to accidents. With cars parked on Walnut Street, backing out of our driveway is often a perilous undertaking due to lack of visibility and can result in squeeling as cars, that we can’t see, suddenly apply their brakes. In the time that Walnut Street was been heavily parked I have never known the city to ticket cars that crowd the mouth of our driveway(despite calls by me pointing out the parking violations.) The lack of parking enforcement by the city as well as no good line of sight to the South on Walnut Street are primary reasons that I am voting for a parking ban on Walnut Street. I would be in favor of resident only parking with placards to accomodate contractors or visitors or alternately no parking first thing in the morning so that businesses in the Highlands can still have customers park.
I agree with the others that it can be difficult to turn onto Walnut Street from a side street. However, this has nothing to do with parked cars.
People are simply driving WAY TOO FAST on Walnut Street! We need to lower the speed limit, install speed bumps, and add a traffic light or two.
@dean Sorry but many Newton residents do use this area contrary to your posts. I’ve been going through Newton Highland stations for 7 years now and most of the people there are from Newton as am I. The bus serving Newton Highlands only runs every 30 mins at best and stops early. This means if I’m late dropping my daughter at school and miss the bus, or I have to stay late at work, I have to drive into the city and out. That promotes pollution instead of a cleaner society. Most other major cities in the world are increasing access to public transit instead of decreasing as many posters here are suggesting.
All of the issues listed here, aside from the biking lane, are attributable to bad parking enforcement. If cars are parked an appropriate distance from driveways and intersections there are no visibility issues. People park on streets in most cities and towns everyday without incident by enforcing the appropriate rules and clearly marking where people can and cannot park. This is the solution Newton needs to move toward. And this is not a budget issue as most of these vehicles are parked in the same spot for 9-10 hours so there is plenty of time for a police or parking enforcement official come by and ticket violators. We could even step up enforcement like Cambridge does and look into towing violators as an added deterrent.
In the end you’re punishing all users of this parking area, including many Newton residents, because a handful of people broke the rules and the city did nothing to enforce them. The city needs to be friendly to all commuters not just bikers. Having a bigger biking lane won’t get more people to bike as the bigger deterrent of this behavior is the weather and time not the space on the street. There are plenty of side streets to ride on, as some have mentioned they already do, that get you to the station today if you really want. But there is no parking alternative to those who don’t have the time to bike into work in the morning.
This parking ban is BANANAS! I am a high school student (Go Lions!!) and my family has three cars all parked in a row in a narrow driveway. It is such a pain to have to move our cars out of the way for each other since we can no longer park on the street. My parents are in their late 70s and have to work in retail as a greeters because they lost their life savings in the stock market. Car pooling is not an option because my mother works at the Walmart in Framingham and my father works at the Walmart in Braintree. This parking ban is taking away from their lives just so the self-centered bicyclists who started this ban can have their way.
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Please reconsider this parking ban for the sake of my elderly parents who work so hard to support this family.
Hmmm – There is no Walmart in Braintree. Your parents were in their 60’s when you were born. Changstein is a very unusual name. Are you sure this is a real post? (Go Lions!)
… it’s also a very interesting coincidence that you share an unusual name with a character from the Jerry Seinfeld show (Go Lions!)
Aw Jerry, don’t be so hard on Donna, she has to walk uphill both ways to South daily and twice on Wednesdays when she picks up extra money working as a bagger at the Chestnut Hill Wegmans during her lunch period.
I live near Whole Foods and I don’t understand why the ban has to stretch all the way down to Beacon St. I share a driveway with a roommate and this ban is making our parking situation very inconvenient. I think they should get rid of the ban between Lakewood Rd and Beacon St.
I reside by Crystal Lake and commuters have started parking outside my house as a result of the Walnut St parking ban. Some of these people drive such hideous cars that the neighborhood is starting to look akin to Dorchester. I propose shutting down the Newton Highlands MBTA station altogether to keep these people who cannot even afford to drive to work, out of our neighborhoods.
Sean, well said. That is exactly what Newton should do, drive everyone out of town that can’t afford to pay $300 or more a month just to park in Boston. Especially, if they have young children and can’t afford to get stuck in the daily rush hour traffic and risk not making pick-up times. These low class ruffians aren’t good enough to even pass through town let alone live there.
The parking ban has NOT made Walnut Street any safer for Newton residents. Some of us who live on Walnut prefer to park on the street rather than in our driveways because it can be extremely difficult and dangerous to enter Walnut Street from our driveways, especially if you are backing out. Visibility has always been poor due to the curves and bends of the street, and the situation has become even more hazardous now that traffic speeds have increased. Drivers seem to have forgotten that they are driving in a residential area!