Join Historic Newton volunteers for walking tours of two of the city’s historic villages, both of which sprang to life around the mill industry on the Charles River.

Lower Falls circa 1905, from the collection of Historic Newton. Click for more historic images.

[Read more →]

Findings of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute pedestrian study illustrate that the city has room for improvement for safe walking in at least four villages.

The findings appear on the website of the League of Women Voters of Newton, in a new section addressing the group’s efforts to study pedestrian mobility.

You may download the findings for each village from the LWVN page, or download the PowerPoint presentation (large file) here: WPI presentation.

The league collaborated with the city’s planning department to sponsor this study by Worcester Polytechnic Institute students. The student group studied existing conditions and possible improvements to pedestrian crosswalks and other facilities in Newton Centre, Newton Corner, Chestnut Hill, and West Newton.

The study identified pedestrian problems in four villages, including 12 problems in Newton Corner.

During April, a group of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) students is studying pedestrian mobility in the city.

The group is focusing on improving pedestrian mobility in three village centers and in Chestnut Hill. For more details, download the complete research proposal (a PDF file).

[Read more →]

The desirability of walkable cities, town and village centers, is coming to the forefront of city and town planning. It’s so obvious, we might think “Why didn’t I think of that?” Of course people want to walk!

If there is a coffee shop, ice cream store, drug store, market, restaurant, dry cleaner, school, and subway station or bus stop, within walking distance from home — terrific. These amenities bring value to our communities and our lives (and our real estate), not to mention that compact villages create a healthy environment reducing reliance on fuels, helping the environment, and getting us outside for exercise and visiting with our neighbors.

City planners have a new term for this: Pedestrian Oriented Development (POD).  For a nice primer on the subject, including examples, download Chapter 3.2 from the sustainable development handbook published by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.  [Read more →]

[UPDATE: March 24, 2010--This post was adapted and published by the Newton Tab.]

One of the first things we can do, as residents and merchants of Newton, to improve our village centers may begin with our feet.

At Mayor Setti Warren’s summit in December,  pedestrian and bicycling improvements were identified as a city-wide goal. The summit groups on Infrastructure and on Environment and Energy both suggested improvements to mobility and access, as did the Community Life group: “Walk-ability, bike-ability, and better public transportation will help improve access for all.” Even in the summit discussion group on Public Safety, in which I participated,

Concern was expressed about the safety of our streets and sidewalks including maintaining and improving the infrastructure of existing ways, pedestrian safety at crosswalks, traffic calming measures in high risk areas, bicycle lanes, bicycle safety promotion, and evaluating vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian safety needs.

At the Newton Villages organizational meeting in January, participants echoed many of the same goals:

• Walk-ability, bike-ability, public transport, driving/parking.
• Pedestrian scale/access: walk-ability, bike-ability within the village centers should priority over autocentrism.
• Villages must be accessible by bike and foot.

[Read more →]

Here’s a thoughtful book review written by Newton resident Jim O’Connell, who served on the team that created Newton’s Comprehensive Plan.  Even if you don’t get Leinberger’s book, which sounds like it’s worth a read, the review itself has a lot to say about the direction development ought to take in Newton.  I urge you to read this.

Review of Christopher B. Leinberger, The Option of Urbanism: Investing in a New American Dream (Washington, DC: Island Press, 2007); $25.95. [Read more →]