Transit – Page 2 – Belmont Citizens Forum

Readers Respond to LimeBikes

Bicycles and bike paths, Jan/Feb 2019, Newsletter, Transit Comments Off

Jan 142019

By Evanthia Malliris The article about LimeBikes in Belmont in our November/December BCF Newsletter issue drew several responses from our readers. Authors Sumner Brown and David Chase—both engineers, expert all-weather cyclists, and BCF board members—took a LimeBike out for a spin and reported on their experience. Rachel Berger expressed her concern that bike-sharing services don’t include helmets, and she encouraged potential LimeBikers to buy a helmet before taking their first ride. Sumner responded that he wore a helmet during his LimeBike test drive, though he “may be the only one.” Helmets are not expensive and are a handy place to [READ MORE]

LimeBikes: We Tested One for You

Bicycles and bike paths, Board of Selectmen, Newsletter, Nov-Dec 2018, Traffic, Transit Comments Off

Nov 052018

Two engineers analyze the pros and cons of Belmont’s bike-share pilot program By Sumner Brown and David Chase LimeBikes are not great bicycles, but they may be the best bike for you. They came to Belmont this past July, seemingly in plentiful supply. You probably noticed them. They are bright green and yellow and designed to be noticed. Anyone with a smartphone and a credit card can rent a LimeBike anytime. You locate an available bike with the LimeBike app, and when you finish your ride, you lock it and leave it. At $1 per half hour, LimeBikes are [READ MORE]

Belmont Community Path Update, Part Two

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, July-Aug 2018, Traffic, Transit Comments Off

Jul 172018

Feasibility Study Plan Offers Health and Safety Benefits By Vincent Stanton, Jr. Design and construction of a bicycle and pedestrian path through Belmont have been on the town’s agenda intermittently since 1993, when the selectmen first appointed a temporary committee to study possible routes. The motivation for a path has always been to provide recreational opportunities for Belmont residents and to connect Belmont to surrounding towns and to transit, particularly Alewife Station. Waltham, Cambridge, Somerville, Weston, and Wayland have all made significant progress toward path construction over the last five years. In the May/June issue of the Belmont Citizens Forum [READ MORE]

January/February 2018 Belmont Citizens Forum Newsletter & PDF

Air Quality, Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Construction and Housing, donations, Environment, Historic Preservation, Jan-Feb 2018, Lone Tree Hill, Newsletter, Open Space, Parking, Plants, Recycling, Stormwater, Traffic, Transit, Volunteer, Water Quality Comments Off

Jan 162018

View or download the January-February 2018 issue as a color PDF here, or read single articles below. . Articles in this issue: A Vision for Belmont Looking Back, Looking Ahead by Sue Bass Nearly eight years ago, in the spring of 2010, the town completed two years of work on a comprehensive plan intended to guide the next decade of change in Belmont. Looking back, how are we doing? The $148,000 plan, called “A Vision for Belmont: Mapping a Sustainable Future,” which was adopted by the Belmont Planning Board and is posted on its website, made nine primary recommendations. Read more. [READ MORE]

Remaking The Hell Strip

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Environment, Jan-Feb 2018, Newsletter, Open Space, Parking, Plants, Traffic, Transit Comments Off

Jan 162018

Pavement and Policy in Belmont by Kate Bowen In 2015, I wrote a story for this newsletter on “hell strips,” those swaths of dirt between the sidewalk and the street, where water-thirsty plants die and well-suited natives thrive. To recall the benefits, these planted strips cool streets in the heat. They provide filtration of fine particulate matter making sidewalk areas healthier. They provide food for birds and insects, and hold snow in winter. And, they delineate the vehicle travel/parking lane from the sidewalk area. This last function has become most important to me. In 2016, Bartlett Avenue, where I live, [READ MORE]

The Bradford Keeps Moving Ahead

Air Quality, Construction and Housing, Environment, Newsletter, Parking, Traffic, Transit Comments Off

Jan 162018

But Progress is Slow and Info Is Lacking by John DiCocco Would you buy a used car from Toll Brothers? Trust is difficult when repeated questions go unanswered. Since our last story in September 2017, “What’s The Latest in Cushing Square?”, construction has been slow and information flow has been slower. It’s wise for the town to continually kick the tires and keep having its own mechanic inspect the goods. Fencing, one lingering safety issue has finally been addressed, while another, contaminated soil, took a new turn. The project was shut down December 11 because of a permit problem. Ongoing [READ MORE]

Belmont’s Housing Future

Construction and Housing, Historic Preservation, Newsletter, Nov-Dec 2017, Parking, Traffic, Transit Comments Off

Nov 092017

Providing More Affordable Options by Julie Perkins Belmont is a wealthy town by most standards, with a higher-than-state-average median income. But a quarter of Belmont’s population would be eligible for affordable housing if more were available, according to statistics gathered by Metro West Collaborative Development, a nonprofit based in Newton. And creating that housing (also called “community housing”1) would get the town out from under the threat of unwanted development—because Belmont would meet the state standard of having 10% of its housing affordable. For the past two years, the Belmont Housing Trust has been working on a housing production plan (HPP) to encourage [READ MORE]

Belmont Citizens Forum Nov-Dec 2017 Newsletter

Air Quality, Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Construction and Housing, donations, Environment, Historic Preservation, Lone Tree Hill, Newsletter, Nov-Dec 2017, Open Space, Parking, Traffic, Transit Comments Off

Nov 092017

View or download the November-December 2017 issue as a color PDF here, or read single articles below. . . Articles in this issue: Belmont’s Housing Future. Providing More Affordable Options. Read more here. Belmont Traffic: Driving In, Out, and Through Everyone Is Someone Else’s Cut-Through Traffic Read more here. JKR Conservation Fund Charts A New Path New Structure, New Name Read more here. An Update On The Bradford Multiple Activities On- And Off-site Read more here. Environmental Events Read more here.

Belmont Traffic: Driving In, Out, and Through

Air Quality, Bicycles and bike paths, Environment, Newsletter, Nov-Dec 2017, Open Space, Parking, Traffic, Transit Comments Off

Nov 092017

Belmont Traffic: Driving In, Out, and Through

Everyone Is Someone Else’s Cut-Through Traffic by Aryan Mehrotra, with Sumner Brown Watching drivers trying to get through the railroad underpass at Belmont Center is unnerving, especially when someone who apparently did not learn to take turns in kindergarten starts swearing. Belmont’s traffic seems to be getting worse. Where does it come from and where is it going? How much traffic cuts through Belmont? On weekday mornings, traffic backs up from Belmont Center to the top of Belmont Hill, snagged by the three places where cars cross or pass under the railroad tracks. Cut-through = Congestion Many people in Belmont [READ MORE]

An Update On The Bradford

Air Quality, Construction and Housing, Historic Preservation, Newsletter, Nov-Dec 2017, Parking, Traffic, Transit, Uncategorized Comments Off

Nov 092017

Multiple Activities On- and Off-site by John DiCocco Excavation and foundation work continues at the Bradford, the apartment and retail complex in Cushing Square, previously known as Cushing Village. However, the contaminated soil remaining from the demolished Tops Cleaners continues to be a problem and has not yet been treated to a level that allows it to be handled as non-hazardous waste. A new round of tests is pending. A Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) site visit in early October found a new area of potential contamination. Since DEP visits infrequently, and Toll/Nauset Construction (the primary contractor) hadn’t flagged this area [READ MORE]

Older Entries Newer Entries

	April 2024
Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30