Mass DOT will provide an update on the Needham Street/Highland Ave project this Thursday May 24 at 8 a.m. at the Saco-Pettee Mill Building, 156 Oak Street, Newton. This is an event organized by the chamber for local businesses that have questions about the construction timeline but it’s open to all.
Mass DOT to update businesses on Needham St./Highland Ave project
by Greg Reibman | May 22, 2018 | Needham Street, Newton | 9 comments
Was there any mention at all of extending the Greenway over the river and 128, or has the Needham Select Board successfully burned those bridges?
As I understand it the Needham Selectboard favors crossing 128 with light rail. I couldn’t agree more.
Unfortunately they occasionally pay lip service to that as well as some silly “single-lane busway” – both of which they know won’t happen in the next 100 years – just so they can squelch any momentum for a multiuse path, which could be completed in a year if they wanted it.
I’d love to know where you’re getting your information. There’s no money, do design, no contractor, so therefore no way MassDOT, or anyone else for that matter, could do this in “a year.” Just look at how many years the Add A Lane project is taking.
More importantly, we shouldn’t just build something that’s the wrong thing. We’ll only get one shot at this. We need consensus as to what it is.
MassDOT has been awaiting Needham’s instructions on the 128 crossing for the last several years, and the Select Board has done nothing.
At the very least, Needham could open the bridge over the Charles so that the Upper Falls Greenway so there could be a safe way for pedestrians and cyclists to get across the river – but instead, we have a fence.
I haven’t heard any serious discussion in Needham about doing anything at all with the railroad ROW from the Heights to the river – but I’m encouraged if you think there’s some effort afoot to seriously explore the options and build consensus.
Many folks on both sides of the Charles believe the folks on the other side of the river are dead set against this.
But I spoke with the chair of Needham’s selectboard yesterday. He said Needham is anxious to have a discussion about this. I’ve has similar conversations in Newton.
@Greg,
I couldn’t agree more to your philosophy expressed above,..
“We shouldn’t just build something that’s the wrong thing. We’ll only get one shot at this “.
I just wish it could be applied to the DOT , “ improvements”, to Needham Street relative to the undergrounding of utilities!
I wish it could too Bill. Unfortunately delaying that project would very likely result in the loss of $30 million in federal highway funds.
In other words we may only get “one shot” at this money, especially with Donald Trump talking about overhauling the infrastructure funding. I don’t believe we can count on Massachusetts to do well under any new formula.
Greg, there was an opportunity to build a mixed use path. Needham Selectmen actively campaigned against it and made every attempt to silence any discussion on the topic. Even so, there are still some state and federal funds for these things, if both parties are serious. I’d be thrilled to hear there’s a change of heart across the river. Needham’s portion of the line is an eyesore. Making the connection just across the river might not be too difficult.
Can you clarify exactly what “this” is that Dan Matthews is anxious to discuss? A multi-use path? A busway? Light-rail that won’t be built in our lifetimes?