Let me say this up front: Newton Planning Director Barney Heath makes a great veggie chili. Though, I could do with a bit more spice (my version will make you sweat). Yes, the “Hello Washington Street” pop-up portion of the design and review process ended with a chili cookoff in the auditorium at the Jackson Street School.
Unfortunately, I was out of town for most of this portion of the process, so I missed the block party and the pop-up itself. I heard mixed reviews on the storefront. Some thought it was very interesting to see how Principle Group handled the input sessions, while others felt it was easy to game. Given the barrage of posts and emails I saw from the Newton Villages Alliance, I’m guessing that a lot of their members came out.
I’m not going to try to summarize everything from the presentation that Principle Group founder Russell Preston gave to the mostly gray-haired people assembled in the auditorium (the woman sitting behind me commented on the overabundance of white hair; I’m included in that group), but I want to hit the high points. The slides are now online at the city portal and I encourage you to review them even if some are confusing. There is some great information here.
A lot of Preston’s discussion set up the idea that Newton has a look and feel in regards to its villages, pointing out how, as a society, we used to know how to build in human scale but have forgotten over time. But the big idea here was that Newton likes the human interactions that happen within its villages and, according to feedback, wants to retain that. As a community we like running into our neighbors and having conversations, we like getting to know shop owners and like supporting small businesses.
He showed this image of Eden Ave, but what he pointed out wasn’t the street or the houses or the greenery, but how the church steeple rising from the end of the street is positioned to let us know that a village is there, just beyond view. This, Preston told us, is intentional and something that we used to know how to build into our cities.
However, what we built over the second half of the 20th century doesn’t square with this desire for human scale. We must rethink the idea of the car. That is, the 4-lane road of Washington Street, while great for driving 40+mph in a 35 mph zone, isn’t conducive to human experience. Preston pointed out that many people are in fear when they are on Washington Street. He showed an image
of a person crossing the street in Newtonville from the shops on the north side of Washington to a car parked next to the tracks, we all know what that feels like. He pointed to sidewalks that gave pedestrians a scant 3 feet of broken asphalt (with a pole stuck in the middle) as their only little lane. He showed the cyclists on the road who cower on the side or ride on the sidewalk. These are all signs of us as humans operating in fear of our own environment.
His message: we can fix that.
One of the big ideas that I personally loved is the concept of smaller buildings on the south side of the street abutting a sound barrier that should be bulit to block the Pike. A sound barrier is the easiest solution to the noise and grime problem of a major highway, but it’s ugly. The concept as laid out is a series of smaller, flexible, rentable storefronts that are much like you would see in Europe but unlike anything available in the Boston region today. It would allow for experimental retail, crafts stores and maker concepts that aren’t conducive to the 5 or 10 year leases that the current retail locations demand. It could also make the area a destination that would bring in foot traffic and encourage more rentals in the villages themselves. We already have one building like this across from Whole Foods (a jeweler is in it now).
Another key part of the proposal was a road diet. I know that many people don’t understand how this will work, but the concept here was carefully laid out. Right now, with 4 lanes, drivers simply don’t know where to go. You see this when people are in left lanes, then swerving into right lanes, etc. By creating a 3-lane situation with a turning lane and multiple bike lanes, you clarify that issue. They showed some wonderful designs that offer parks and landscaping closer to the Pike, and when you combine that with the small shops, you end up transforming a 4-lane wasteland (6, if you include the parking lanes) into a world-class outdoor location. More aggressive forms turned Washington Street into a two-lane road that is more pedestrian friendly while still maintaining the current speeds and traffic volumes.
It was pointed out that we can test those changes today with paint in a way that is much cheaper than a full traffic study. We just repaint the road, try it out for a time, then assess what happens.
Then there is the issue of parking. When they looked around, the planners realized that there is plenty of parking in a place like West Newton or Newton Corner, it’s just not well identified and, in some cases, underutilized. We have entire parking decks that go unused most of the time because they’re private. As a city, we should look for ways to use those more effectively. But as a society, we also need to get ourselves out of this idea that you will always be able to park right in front of where you want to go. If we park and walk, even a block or two, we’re more likely to see the people who make our lives rich.
A few additional points: Trees and greenery played a huge role in their discussion. The tree canopy, it was pointed out, slows down traffic and should have a place in poking out through whatever infrastructure we build. Also, the variety of building types that make up the area should be factored into the streetscape, so not every building starts to look the same. Yes, we will need more dense housing to make this work and if we choose to build over the pike, we will need larger/ taller structures to help offset the costs associated with that kind of build. Also, our parks are often designed in such a way that discourages use. For example, Captain Ryan Park has benches that are positioned to look at nothing but could be positioned to look at other people, making them more usable.
I’m sure everyone has opinions on this and not all of them line up. But the good news is that you can still get your voice heard.
The evolution of tech has altered society for the worse, unfortunately its unlikely to go back to how it was 50 years ago
– retail mom pop stores are dying except for service oriented
– even if we built an area to mingle, everyone will just be staring at their phones anyway
– teens are driving less and spending more time online.
– people just want to order online and pick up their packages. This is not going to change
– outdoor meeting space is nice, but lets get real, due to weather it will only have active use 3 months out of 12.
– indoor mall like space may more popular.
Whuch town or city in the northeast is most similar to the desired outcome?
It seems like we’re describing something that doesnt exist anywhere in the northeast. Great if it works but a disaster if todays community is simply not interested in this lifestyle
Perhaps if they make the street more pedestrian friendly people will use it, and then start to care about things like the pike noise, the trash along the street. An example of this is the charles river. 30 years ago I stopped canoeing in the charles because of the sewer overflows after rain that made it foul. Not that the bike path has expanded long the river, and the canoe rental and the crew boats have expanded, this has reinforced the cleanup of the charles river. It’s going to be a tough slog. I’ve lied a block from wasfor 30 years, and walked it, biked it, and driven it. The pike and its noise are thing single thing that makes it unpleasant, and really divided the village.
Perhaps, though, if Washington Street becomes more pedestrian friendly people will notice the noise pollution and like the charles river, start to think of ways to clean it up.
Eek what a lot of typos. Sorry, but you can perform the auto correct in your brains :>)
Bugek, there are some good examples from Arlington, VA. You can read and see pics here:
http://www.walkarlington.com/the-promise-of-complete-streets/
I think we could find ways to make an outdoor space viable for more than 3 months a year. City Hall Plaza has had success and I think we could make something much nicer looking than City Hall Plaza. Autumn and the holiday season are rife with opportunities – fall festivities, pumpkin patches, Santa visits and carolers, tree or menorah lighting, snowman building contests. I certainly spend time outside year round and so do most people I know. I’m surprised to see Bugek suggest something akin to an indoor mall when most indoor malls are suffering.
I LOVE the small shops on the pike side as a sound barrier. So many good ideas came out of this that haven’t been part of our community conversations up to now. Really impressed with this process and hopeful that we’ll get some real followthrough to improve our city while preserving it’s character.
Mmqc,
I was thinking more of an attrium type space where you could still hold events. Perhaps only occupied by a few food stores with food court or a public reading area.
We still want ppl to stick around when the weather is bad
@Bugek the way you phrased it in this comment makes a lot more sense. My guess is that you could create some kind of covered walk for part of it and maybe even run heaters through it for some flexible indoor/ outdoor kind of environment, but that’s getting deep in the weeds that I don’t think we need to worry about right now.
The big idea here is that we can an inviting environment for creativity with smaller, more flexible spaces for businesses (they don’t need to be retail) in an area that is today, nothing more than a noisy, dirty, windswept, forgotten stretch of land.
I think a food court is a cool idea. Something like a mini public market with different foods and vendors could be well used.
Chuck,
A few examples would be the attrium portion of the winter garden next to the WTC in NYC, the sony attrium in NYC in midtown 55th ave.
Compromise with a developer to create a large public attrium in exchange for few extra stories in height would be a good compromise .. because that large space would bring no revenue or incentive to build
Mmqc
Would kill to have the equivalent of ferry building food market in San francisco or the chelsea food market in NYC..
Both those businesses are absolutely thriving and bring in lots and lots of outside vistors. No reason newton could not match the quality and demand.. except whole food would likely lobby against it
Let’s get real about where we’re talking about. Besides the ‘pike noise, there is some pedestrian traffic, but it isn’t Rockefeller Center, Harvard Square, or some other major gathering point. Those tend to be at major transit/retail hubs, not occasional commuter-rail stops with some neighborhood businesses.
And while I agree that the second half of the XX century was a horror for urban planning, we can’t unscramble the egg and suddenly have a non-car-based society. Too many folks live in houses where you drive, not walk, to the village. So if there isn’t enough parking, they’ll drive to where there is enough. Maybe the Natick Mall. Likewise, road diets don’t reduce traffic, they increase congestion and at best force drivers to use other roads, like say Comm. Ave. or Watertown St, to get around a narrowed Washington. BTW with the Orr Building demo today, Washington was narrowed to one lane each way, and it was backed up for blocks at midday.
It’s already been determined that the city can’t force parking-lot owners to open them for other-hour use. That nice garage in West Newton is for the office building, and that’s that. Bad planning and a legal problem, but we can’t just order it to open. We need a mix of parking and pedestrian facilities.
And as to putting buildings along the ‘pike side of Washington, at least here in Newtonville Square, we desperately need those angle parking spaces, and it would make more sense to widen the ditch where the trains run in order to have a better, 2-platform station there.
Fred,
Certainly in today’s environment it would be crazy to not assume majority car use.. but I feel it could be a lot different 10 years from now. So its worth creating a design which can switch to car minority use
– If the MBTA ever implemented the DMU (diesel multiple unit) plan, then the commuter rail would be just as frequent as the T. Thus making this potentially a major transit stop
– A NYC Chelsea market / SF Ferry building. This is definitely a “build it and they will come” possibility if the quality and ambiance was on par.
– Within 10 years, I believe we will have ‘local’ trip autonomous Ubers (very low overhead costs). Imagine going anywhere within Newton for only 3 dollars.. this changes everything
– Depending on how many residential units are built, the commercial could be self-sustaining from the 5-min walk-able radius residents. It wont even need to care about people who need to drive. Maybe a pipe dream but theoretically could happen with enough units. However the schools would be pretty overcrowded…
I’m with Fred.
We just can’t have a build-it-and-they-will-come mentality. Many of the examples given are in metropolitan areas much larger the Newton with much more natural foot and transit traffic.
Same with building shops against the pike an atrium or food court. There’s no evidence that we have a need or want ( i.e. willingness to spend substantial $ supporting ) these things.
Form follows function.
Both the influence of the internet and the decline of consumerism has made owning and running a small mom-and-pop business near impossible.
Think of the actual physical stores that you have gone to in the past month… Food, pharmacy, hair salon, hardware … Gone forever is the daily/weekly trip into town to go to the bank, the post office and browse the stores.
I heard a story recently where they studied what middle upper and upper income families spend their money on.
What they found was people with expendable income spend money on better food, better health care ( Includes personal trainers, massage) and travel.
Also, millennials just don’t spend like Baby Boomers. Holiday spending has been scaled way back many don’t even buy the traditional engagement wedding rings. Ask any jeweler how businesses is.
Also, assuming that we will be driving less in 10 years would be a huge mistake. Our cars may be smaller, more energy efficient/ electric. Bike lanes are a nice touch but they can’t take substantial resources away from cars and parking.
I’m not a fan of a road diet, but if there was one along the pike I’d rather see bike paths versus bike lanes next to traffic.
The only real problem that I see with Washington Street is that it is difficult to cross over on foot or bike. I don’t have a solution for this but I’m sure one must exist.
I noticed that a lot of the housing sketches that hello.Washington Street presented as options had a wall of garage doors at street level. I think that this would create a very uninviting back alley feel for Washington Street.
I sorta rambled here in this post, but wanted to get all my thoughts expressed. Thanks for reading.
My question is how do they expect to fill all of these Washington Street storefronts when those Elm Street storefronts have been vacant for several years? Are we going to look at blocks of empty stores for years on end?
30 years ago, biked to work many, many days a year when I worked as a software engineer on Western Ave in Brighton. I would bike in the winter when there was no snow. My kids were young, and my wife managed dealing with kids doctors appointments, etc. When the kids got a few years older, this as no longer possible. Sometimes my daughter would be dropped of at my office, and I would take her home with me in the car. Other times, I had to leave to pick her up from school to take her to the doctor or some other appointment. Then came after school activities. It’s very difficult if both parents work, to manage a bike commute, well into high school years.
Now that my kids are grown, and out of college, I have my own ( numerous)
well care visits during the dare. Doctor, then another Dentist, then a trip to banker to discuss all the numerous financial obligations many older folks have now. And the amount of stuff I have to take back and forth to work everyday is a lot – a heavy developer workstation class laptop ( to put in a few extra hours In the evening) and sometimes good stack of books, documents. I have a 2017 Hybrid car that gets 40+ mpg around town so I feel better about it. Anyways, for many people, true bike commuting is not so easy, and even while I’m in good health, it’s no longer very appealing.
So, my concern is that the bike lanes will not reduce traffic as much as desired, as even the younger people will have a short period of childless time where a real bike commute can happen. Weekend recreation I expect would be a larger proof the use. I may be wrong- perhaps the younger generations will work harder to make it happen. And, if some of the building long Washington include medical offices, that would be convenient both for all people. But, I think that the bike lanes will get less use than desired.
I am not sure if this has been been addressed in any of the threads but how are store deliveries going to be handled with road diets? I have noticed several times this week (and for years) delivery trucks park in the middle of Walnut St. The trucks get unloaded, the driver makes deliveries, the truck remains unmoved in the middle of the street. Certainly with the proposed road diets this can not longer happen. This may be good for the residents but bad for the merchants
I totally agree with you, Rick. It’s hard for families to give up their cars just as a practical issue. Would I like to be less reliant on my car? Yes, but are families going to bike from, say, West Newton to their child’s swimming lessons at Goldfish in Needham on a weeknight? (Just an example) No, probably not. I know that the Chucks and the Seans of Newton think that if you eliminate off-street parking among these developments you’ll eliminate cars, but the reality is that lots of people already don’t have good parking situations in Newton (my family included) so we park on-street and make do all winter long with arrangements to avoid being ticketed overnight. I’d love to bike more and improved bike lanes would certainly help my comfort level of biking, but it would likely be more for recreation and exercising and not in lieu of trips that I do by foot or car.
MMQC for the record, I don’t believe that if you eliminate parking you eliminate cars. I do believe that we have too much parking and that we need to find a different solution. As an example, there is a lot of “parking” on Waltham Street that is available to cars, but never used. We need to rethink how we use the street in that situation.
And no, someone is not likely to bike from W. Newton to Goldfish Swimming. However, there are many situations in which people can use a bike and it makes for a better life for everyone.
Try drawing a 1.5 or 2 mile circle around your house and see how many stores that you frequent fall within that radius. That’s not a long bike ride and for many of us, it’s quite easy.
This isn’t about making everyone commute, but about rethinking the small trips. Yes, it is possible to bike to Russo’s, Whole Foods, Star and Trader Joe’s. It is possible to bike to West Newton Cinema. It is possible to bike to a dinner at Paddy’s or to get a beer at Brewer’s Coalition or to get coffee at George Howell, or to go to Down Under Yoga, or the Paint Bar, or to any of the dozens of barbers in any of the villages.
This won’t work in every neighborhood in Newton, but for those of us on the north side of the city and especially in the neighborhoods around Washington Street, it’s a blessing. We should enjoy it.
Washington St was backed up for demo because there was no turn lane at all at Walnut. The three-lane proposal would not have that problem. Washington Street’s four lanes are generally unnecessary between major intersections and flat-out dangerous at the major intersections, with cars veering suddenly from left to right lane, etc., to bypass a turning car. There are numerous examples where the road diet has made a street more pleasant and alleviated traffic concerns. Newton needs to stop saying “no” to everything.
I doubt that in today’s work with big data/market research, the developers would want to put storefront shops in an area where in the end they will all be empty. I saw the video of Wash street and it looked a whole lot more attractive than what we have now.
I hope that whoever moves in will create spaces geared at teens to hang out and have fun (afternoon and evening hang outs/second hand clothes like Plato/games). I think that we could use a couple of places where moms with little kids can come together – spaces for moms to connect with each other, while the little ones safely play, and I wouldn’t mind another escape room or two to have fun in as a family. Whenever I try to meet a friend at George Howell’s it’s full, we absolutely could do with more coffee shops (with good coffee like at George’s :)). And that’s just off the top of my head.
World, I meant world of course…
Patricia, I agree about the coffee. And I was recently lamenting the lack of places in Newton to get coffee and perhaps a pastry in the evening. I believe the only ones open past 6 are Starbucks and Panera. I wish a L’aroma-type place was open later.
You are actually describing exactly what those smaller shops can be. The goal would be for them to be cheap enough to allow for experimentation with different concepts.
A friend of our remind us of a photo essay book about the development at Newton Corner. The photographer of the book was Jon Chase. His website is here:
http://www.jonchase.com/the-fight-for-newton-corner/
This was around 1979-82. I recall it quite well. In one of the photos you can see the wires for the green line that went down Galen Street.
There are still used copies of the book on Amazon.