Transportation Archives - Page 7 of 10

Artists announced for Natick Traffic Calming Public Art projects

April 13, 2021 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Natick Center Cultural District and the Public Art Committee last fall put out a call for proposals for the planned Traffic Calming Public Art projects at the intersection of Rt. 27 and Rt. 135. General parameters called for projects that were positive, original and colorful and that reflected the immediate environment; the character or culture of the Town of Natick; the history of the area; community pride; creativity; or other themes. Stipend of $500–$1,200 were thrown in to make things interesting.

Drum roll please for the finalists…

Jason Cheeseman-Meyer (check out our profile on the illustrator and painter)
Denise Girardin
Swati Dave
Kevin Baldwin
Polly B. Wright

The project, supported by a $25 K state Shared Streets & Spaces grant, must be implemented by Oct. 9, 2021.

Traffic experiment in Natick could get artsy

Stay calm, Natick: this is only a traffic test

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New MBTA commuter rail schedule means more evenly spaced out trips through Natick

April 3, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The MBTA, which has reduced services across commuter rail and other modes of transportation during the pandemic, introduces a new schedule on April 5 that includes more regular trips throughout the day that stop at Natick’s two stations. Feeling flush with hundreds of millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds, the T has begun restoring services across its bus, subway and commuter lines.

The T is going lighter on train frequency during traditional rush hour periods in the morning and late afternoon in light of changed commuter patterns, and introducing roughly hourly trips throughout the day. You’ll still have a few choices during rush hours, however.

The commuter rail remains fairly useless for those in Natick looking to attend events in Boston at night, especially on weekends, when the last trains from Boston leave at 9pm. Not that there are that many events going on these days.

Meanwhile, at Natick’s train stations

The MBTA is taking advantage of the lack of passengers to speed ahead with accessibility improvements at the Natick Center station slated for completion in 2022. When work is completed, the station will include 2 new elevators, 2 accessible ramps, 6 stairways, new platform, pedestrian bridge, drainage improvements and bicycle parking.

Looks like the MBTA has introduced new single-rider commuter vehicles in light of low ridership on trains. But no, it's just a construction vehicle working on improvements at Natick Center station @MBTA_CR pic.twitter.com/HtSIVCxMOr

— Natick Report (@NatickReport) April 2, 2021

Over at the West Natick train station, workers are preparing to install solar panel canopies in the parking lot that could save on electricity costs and reduce snow removal burdens. Let’s hope it’s a more efficient operation than the one that took place in Hingham.

west natick commuter rail train station work solar — West Natick commuter rail station, where solar canopies will be installed

For now, this curious little solar panel installed a while back above a trash or recycling can is the starting point.

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Bacon Street Bridge work on Natick line gets intense next week

March 16, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Major work on the MBTA’s Bacon Street Bridge Replacement on the Natick and Wellesley town line will take place beginning at 8PM on Friday, March 26 through 5AM on Monday, March 29. The around-the-clock work will be to install new bridge foundations at the track level.

To facilitate this weekend work, Bacon Street at Route 135/Central Street will be detoured beginning at 8PM on Friday, March 26 through 5AM on Monday, March 29. A signed detour route will be in place and a map can be viewed below.

Commuter Rail service will be suspended on Saturday, March 27 and Sunday, March 28. Alternate bus transportation will be provided.

You can sign up to get updates from the MBTA on its work. For questions or to report issues related to construction, please email BaconStBridge@mbta.com.

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Natick Historical Society talk to focus on Rte. 9

February 10, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

From Natick Historical Society:

Today, we think of Route 9 as a regional shopping mecca, but its history as a highway goes back 200 years. Join us for a virtual conversation on March 9 from 7-8pm with Terri Evans. We’ll share stories of Route 9’s role in Natick history, from the location of the town’s first post offices to the rise of retail after the Second World War.

Terri Evans, who serves on the Board of the Natick Historical Society, is a longtime tour guide with Boston By Foot and also leads walking tours of Natick.

This program is FREE and open to the public.

Advanced registration is required. Please fill out this form to register for a link to this virtual event.

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A new way to tell Natick officials how to make streets safer

January 28, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Natick is making available an online tool so that those who live, work, and visit the town can suggest ways to make streets safer and more useful for all, whether you’re driving, walking, running, cycling, or getting around in some other manner. The feedback tool was discussed during a Jan. 26 meeting of the Natick Transportation Advisory Committee and we’ve embedded the Natick Pegasus recording below.

I’m looking for an extension of the Cochituate Rail trail that would go between our house and any number of our regular haunts. But if you have more selfless and community-oriented ideas, dive in.

Act soon though, since the online tool is slated to disappear at the end of February.

The tool takes a little getting used to, but you’re basically invited to doodle on a map to point out where you’d like to see improvements, then can check off boxes to help the data crunchers categorize feedback. You can also fill in fields with descriptions of what sort of improvements you’d like to see. In addition, you can pile on prior suggestions left on the map.

A rep from consultant Toole Design says you can leave your name and email within the tool to get updates, but that your information is not associated with comments you leave.

The town will use the community feedback to help it update its Complete Streets prioritization plan, which will help put Natick in position to apply for competitive grants from state’s Department of Transportation that can be used to boost infrastructure. Expect to hear about public meetings once the feedback has been digested and other plans progress.

Natick was an early participant in the Complete Streets program and has garnered hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants for planning and construction on municipal infrastructure. Natick has already completed 10 of the 26 projects on its original prioritization plan, which Natick DPW Director Jeremy Marsette says “has been a great tool for us.”

The state doles out grants under Complete Streets in the $5M to $8M range every spring and fall, with awards up to $400K per community.

Download (PDF, 1.83MB)

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