Belmont Citizens Forum

Cochituate Rail Trail Shows Success

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, July-August 2021, Newsletter Comments Off

Jun 252021

By John Dieckmann After we published an article on rail trails in our January newsletter (“Bikeway Building Booms Beyond Belmont”), well-known cycling advocate and expert John Allen pointed out that we didn’t include the Cochituate Rail Trail in Framingham and Natick. Since then, I have had the time to ride this trail and write this update. The Cochituate Rail Trail (CRT) runs from the village of Saxonville in Framingham to the Natick Center commuter rail station along the right of way of the abandoned Saxonville Branch Rail Line. It is the culmination of advocacy dating back to the early 2000s. [READ MORE]

Belmont Community Path Moves Forward

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, July-August 2021, Newsletter Comments Off

Jun 252021

By Sara Smith, Jarrod Goentzel, and Eric Batcho Momentum is picking up again for the Belmont Community Path, a critical two-mile link in the Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT), a safe, off-road path that will ultimately link communities between Boston and Northampton. The 25% design is nearing completion, and the town has appropriated funds to begin securing the right of way. Both of these steps move Belmont closer to obtaining state and federal construction funds and bringing the path to fruition. Community path 25% design phase The town’s contractor, Nitsch Engineering, will complete the 25% design of Phase 1 in [READ MORE]

Bike Infrastructure Makes Belmont Safer

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, July-August 2021, Newsletter, Traffic, Transit Comments Off

Jun 252021

By Jeff Roth Few Belmont residents use bikes to get around this small town of only 4.7 square miles, although most live hardly a mile from schools, recreation facilities, stores, transit stations, and restaurants. About 8.2% of Cambridge residents commute regularly by bike, but Belmont’s car-centered infrastructure likely is closer to the state average of 0.9%. Given that short, local trips are responsible for 60% of automobile pollution, how can we encourage car-free travel? Benefits of Walking and Cycling There are many benefits to expanding cycling and walking options in Belmont. People who cycle regularly for transportation and fitness have [READ MORE]

Belmont Roots May/June 2021

BCF Events, Environment, May-June 2021, Newsletter Comments Off

May 042021

Now that the weather is at least occasionally balmy, local organizations are contriving new events that bear some resemblance to past years’ experiences. You may not get the thrill of the crowd cheering as you finish a race, or the warm glow of watching other concerned citizens clearing garbage from your favorite outdoor spaces, but you will get out of your home. The Charles River Watershed Association’s Annual Run of the Charles has “a virtual twist” this year. Register for the fundraising 5K or one of five different paddling races any time before Sunday, May 23. You and your paddling [READ MORE]

Belmont’s Invasive Plants: Asian Bittersweet

Environment, Lone Tree Hill, May-June 2021 Comments Off

May 042021

Belmont’s Invasive Plants: Asian Bittersweet

By Carolyn Bishop Asian bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), also known as Oriental bittersweet, is one of the most beautiful and problematic invasive plant species in our area. In the past, bittersweet was commonly sold in wreaths and floral arrangements, which were especially popular in the fall due to bittersweet’s brilliant yellow-shelled orange berries. Little did we know we were helping to spread a very invasive, damaging, non-native plant. Asian bittersweet was brought to the United States in the 1860s as an ornamental and for erosion control. Now it is found from Ontario and Quebec south through the Great Lakes states, from [READ MORE]

Restoration Projects Approved for Lone Tree Hill

Environment, May-June 2021, Newsletter, Open Space, Plants Comments Off

May 042021

Restoration Projects Approved for Lone Tree Hill

By Jeffrey North The Land Management Committee for Lone Tree Hill approved plans and funding for three 2021 forest restoration and meadow management projects for Lone Tree Hill at a March 3 meeting. The Judy Record Conservation Fund is providing matching funds for the projects, for a total of $22,000 for these initiatives. Area A1 Restoration Continues In early spring, licensed field technicians trained in identifying invasive plant species will cut, mow, and apply plant-specific herbicide in the Area A1 woodland. They will combat Asian bittersweet, buckthorn, garlic mustard, black swallow-wort (Cynanchum louiseae), and lesser celandine, and at least one [READ MORE]

The Roadmap Climate and Clean Energy Law

Air Quality, Climate Change, Environment, May-June 2021, Newsletter, Open Space, Solar Power Comments Off

May 042021

The Roadmap Climate and Clean Energy Law

By Representative Dave M. Rogers While policy makers are confronted by a wide variety of pressing policy issues, few if any compare to the complexity and scale presented by our changing climate. Most of us are long since familiar with the worrisome data, but two recent comprehensive reports thoroughly define the challenge. The most recent National Climate Assessment, a quadrennial publication of the US Global Change Research Program, and the October 2018 report of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) presents a wide array of troubling findings. The IPCC report concluded that limiting global temperature rise to [READ MORE]

Mass Central Rail Trail Comes Closer

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, May-June 2021, Newsletter Comments Off

May 042021

By John Dieckmann When completed, the Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT) will run from North Point Park in Cambridge to downtown Northampton, a distance of 104 miles, following the abandoned right of way (ROW) of the former Mass Central Railroad. The MCRT has been a long-time work in progress, with some segments completed, others in the works, and others yet to be pursued seriously. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) recently completed a feasibility study of the western part of the MCRT covering 68.5 miles from the Amherst-Belchertown border to Hudson. The area east of Hudson through to Waltham has been [READ MORE]

Four Projects Proposed for CPA Funds

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Construction and Housing, May-June 2021, Newsletter Comments Off

May 042021

By Elizabeth Harmer Dionne Belmont’s Community Preservation Committee (CPC) has recommended the following projects to Town Meeting for Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding in FY2022. Phase I Consulting Services for Payson Park Renovation Organization: Friends of Payson Park (Linda Oates, Susanne Croy, Jay Marcotte) CPA Category: Recreation Amount requested: $35,000 This is the first step in renovating Payson Park, which suffers from inadequate access, crumbling infrastructure, and haphazard layout. Phase I involves an assessment of existing site conditions, neighborhood consultation and feedback, a conceptual design, and a proposed budget for construction costs. Due to changes implemented by the CPC in [READ MORE]

Time to Fix the Town’s Historic Clock

Historic Preservation, History, May-June 2021, Newsletter Comments Off

May 042021

By Michael Flamang Since the invention of mechanical clocks in Renaissance Europe, town governments have installed clocks in prominent buildings in town centers to standardize time in support of commerce. In New England, many of the clocks that we see in historic churches on town greens were purchased and maintained by town select boards. In Belmont, in 1889, Town Meeting voted “that the selectmen be authorized to place a clock in the new Unitarian Church to be erected this year and the sum of $500 be appropriated for the same.” When the church was dedicated in 1890, the clock was [READ MORE]

Belmont Has One Year to Clean up Waterways

Environment, May-June 2021, Newsletter, Sewers, Water Quality Comments Off

May 042021

Belmont Has One Year to Clean up Waterways

By Anne-Marie Lambert A 2017 consent order from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gave Belmont five years to stop underground sewage from leaking into our waterways. We made a lot of progress in 2020, but there could be a long way to go before all our outlets run clean. In 2020, the town undertook a $550,000 sewer system rehabilitation construction project (SSRCP). More work is planned in 2021 under a sump pump removal and sewer rehabilitation contract. The SSRCP included significant work such as: Repairing and lining several sewer mains Lining many sewer service laterals Removing a few sewer [READ MORE]

Clay Pit Pond Deforestation Damages Wetland

Environment, May-June 2021, Newsletter, Plants Comments Off

May 042021

Clay Pit Pond Deforestation Damages Wetland

By Judy Singler In September 2020, several Belmont residents removed more than 80 trees and shrubs from the south side of Clay Pit Pond. In an unauthorized action taken ostensibly to “enhance” the view of the pond, individuals visited the site on at least three occasions that month, cutting down 50-foot-tall trees, shrubs, vines, and other vegetation. The remaining trees at the edge of the pond were pruned of side branches to a height of 20 feet and more. Town officials eventually ordered a halt to the illegal tree cutting after calls from several concerned citizens. Environmental Laws Exist to [READ MORE]

Events March/April 2021

BCF Events, Newsletter Comments Off

Mar 012021

By Meg Muckenhoupt So much is still uncertain. Organizations that normally form the bulk of the Belmont Citizens Forum’s event listings are quiet online, leaving their web pages blank and their calendars empty. No one trusts the future to allow us to meet, to learn, to pause to observe the natural world—or grieve the activists who are gone. The Belmont Historical Society, Friends of Fresh Pond Reservation, the Charles River Watershed Association, the Native Plant Trust; if they have anything listed, it’s for a Zoom video. We are all tired of Zoom videos. Here is what I know for certain [READ MORE]

Letters to the Editor March/April 2021

March/April 2021, Newsletter Comments Off

Mar 012021

To the Editor: Great articles in this issue, as usual. I know there’s an Earth Day cleanup at Lone Tree Hill, but can knowledgeable volunteers help with the removal of invasives and planting of natives that Jeffrey North described? Art Kreiger Jeff North responds: Thank you for your letter, Mr. Kreiger. Watch these pages for future announcements of volunteer days for invasives removal and restorative planting. The stewards of Lone Tree Hill are eager to organize volunteers for pulling garlic mustard and other restoration work as soon as we can safely gather. Look for an initiative following examples such as [READ MORE]

Belmont’s Invasive Plants: Garlic Mustard

Climate Change, Environment, Lone Tree Hill, March/April 2021, Newsletter, Open Space, Plants Comments Off

Mar 012021

Belmont's Invasive Plants: Garlic Mustard

By Jeffrey North Invasive plant species are disrupting ecosystems globally and here in Belmont. Biological invasions are a leading cause of biodiversity loss and even species extinction, and invasive plants are permanently altering the ecology of our forests, fields, and gardens. This article is the first in a series on invasive plant species found in Belmont and the implications of their presence, spread, and ecological damage potential, as well as hopes for their removal and remediation. Garlic mustard (Alliara petiolata) is changing the character of the woodlands in the Northeast. It can outcompete native herbaceous species, depriving the natives of [READ MORE]

How to Help Belmont Survive Climate Change

Climate Change, Environment, March/April 2021, Newsletter, Open Space, Stormwater, Water Quality Comments Off

Mar 012021

How to Help Belmont Survive Climate Change

by Anne-Marie Lambert Flooding caused the collapse of the Trapelo Road culvert over Beaver Brook in 2010, and inundated the train tracks at the Waverley MBTA commuter rail station. Belmont is expected to see its share of future big intense storms, extreme heat, and other disasters from climate change. If it’s any comfort, our town now has a preparedness plan, thanks to a state-funded program. The Town of Belmont Hazard Mitigation-Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Plan identifies local vulnerabilities to flooding, pollution, and traffic jams, and proposes mitigating actions, short-term and long-term, to help vulnerable populations safely shelter from extreme heat, rain, [READ MORE]

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