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- Ford Mustang Mach-E sedan
- and more
Since 2005: More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.
Register now. Some of the vehicles expected to be available for a test drive:
Following up on a couple of public meetings about the Grove Street/Benvenue Street intersection, the Wellesley Traffic Committee has now posted an online survey to gain additional public feedback.
The survey is open until Monday, April 29 at 4pm. Have your say on possible safety measures, including: Changing the Two-Way Stop Control to an All-Way Stop Control; Adding Speed Feedback Signs on Grove Street; Adding an Overhead Flashing Beacon Above the Intersection.
As we reported earlier this year, residents have raised concerns about crashes and near-misses at this intersection.
by Bob Brown
Find out about the latest plans to address safety concerns at the intersection of Grove Street and Benvenue Street in Wellesley when the town’s Traffic Committee hosts a public meeting on April 4, 6pm online. An in-person meeting was held earlier this week.
As we reported earlier this year, residents have raised concerns about crashes and near-misses at this intersection.
Possible safety measures that could be employed: Installing speed feedback signs on Grove Street, and if they don’t work, 4-way stop signs.
Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 814 7193 1790
Passcode: 130645
by Bob Brown
Early birds in Wellesley on Tuesday saw quite the unusual site: A couple of old MBTA Orange line trains being carried through town on tractor trailers.
Resident Tim Lysaght says he was on his way to work when “I noticed many vehicles with yellow emergency lights flashing on Oakland street between Washington and Route 9. The curious me decided to go see what was going on. There were two very large tractor trailers carrying two old MBTA Orange line trains.”
Not only was the sight of the trains curious, but also the route being taken. They were headed west on Washington Street and wound up taking a 5-or-so point turn onto Oakland Street before going east on Rte. 9.
We reached out to the MBTA, and they passed us along to MassDOT, which had the skinny on the situation. The state’s Department of Transportation defined this cargo as “super loads” at 168,000 lbs. and approximately 125’ in length. So they required special permits, which in this case involved “an in-depth route analysis and survey to ensure turning radius are sufficient for roadway layout, and structural analysis of bridges, culverts and other structures to ensure they can carry the load safely on the number of axles for the configured vehicle.” Due to size of these loads, they had to avoid a certain structure, requiring the “west to go east” turning movement that was a smaller part of the entire route.
Their point of origin was Presidents Landing in Medford and their destination was Wareham Street in Middleborough. A couple of readers say they were headed for scrapping.
Meanwhile, a sigh of relief to those in town working on MBTA Communities zoning compliance. Apparently the Orange Line trains weren’t here to stay.
by Bob Brown
If you’ve got plans to take the commuter rail on Saturday, March 2 in or out of Wellesley, you might want to build in a nice big cushion into your schedule. Free shuttle buses will be on the job between Framingham and South Station as the MBTA works to make safety improvements involving the signaling system.
The “diversion” schedule is available, and the T is throwing in a few more curveballs regarding express buses and other options that are worth reviewing before setting out (I’m not even going to try to explain it…though note that the Wellesley Farms station is not on the routes).
As usual, the commuter rail won’t support late night hi-jinx: The last bus out of South Station is scheduled to leave at just after 11pm.
I was recently surprised when my ancient CharlieCard wouldn’t work upon taking the green line. Turns out it had expired, which I don’t ever recall happening before.
I knew I had some money on the card, and assumed I’d never see that again. But I was able to create an account online via the MBTA site & reorder a card—and sure enough, the amount from the old card was transferred to the new one.
The new card (no cost) arrived within a week of ordering it. The whole process was simple and smooth.
by Bob Brown
Wellesley has begun installing new road signs at major roadways entering town warning drivers to give vulnerable road users such as cyclists and pedestrians at least a 4-foot berth as they pass.
The signs read “MOTORISTS GIVE 4 FT TO PASS” and feature a bicycle symbol on them. We spotted 1 on Rte. 16 east in Wellesley just over the Natick line attached to a pole also including a sign about Wellesley overnight parking and a tractor warning sign (rarely if ever have we seen a tractor crossing).
Wellesley Police Lt. Scott Showstead recently told the Select Board that the state was offering free signage to communities, so the town has taken it up on that.
The signs reinforce the vulnerable road user law passed in 2023 designed to reduce traffic fatalities. The law does allow drivers to cross yellow lines on roads, if it can be done safely, to give cyclists, pedestrians, and construction workers a safe amount of space.
I only half jokingly asked Lt. Showstead whether the police might, when it comes to road signs, borrow a system from our house under which we need to get rid of an item of clothing if we bring a new one in.
As anyone who has traveled Wellesley’s roads knows, the town has rarely seen a sign it doesn’t like (and I’m not even talking about lawn sign litter). Our otherwise beautiful town is absolutely unsightly with signage in certain parts, including the stretch of Rte. 16 in Wellesley just over the Newton line where at my last count there were more than 10 signs even before you got to 1 Washington St. I’m no traffic engineer, but I’d think at some point having too many signs is a distraction and makes the signs that are posted less effective.
Showstead said he’d take a look at the situation, but didn’t think the police would be able to remove any signs. In the meantime, watch out for those vulnerable road users… not to mention tractors.
by Bob Brown
The town of Wellesley held the first of 2 forums designed to update people on its plans to comply with the state’s MBTA Communities zoning law and to answer questions.
The in-person Feb. 8 meeting, an intimate gathering at the police station that consisted mainly of town board and committee members, elicited questions from the public on issues such as parking, traffic, and the scope of zoning (see Wellesley Media recording of the roughly 1-hour meeting below). Executive Director Meghan Jop and Planning Director Eric Arbeene hosted the event. An online-only sequel is slated for March 7 at 6:30pm (registration is open) and the town has been collecting resources about MBTA Communities on its website.
The state has put rules in place requiring communities like Wellesley where public transportation stations exist to zone for multifamily housing development nearby and by right (no special permit needed) to help address the regional housing crisis. Wellesley is practically already in compliance, with historic density rules that fit the bill and the big development at Wellesley Office Park counting toward its magic number. Though the town does need to make a few tweaks that Town Meeting will be urged to approve this spring so that Wellesley can meet its year-end compliance deadline.
Some, like the Charles River Regional Chamber, would like to see the town go even further in its efforts to encourage a wider variety of housing, though town leadership will look to an upcoming housing study to help inform a strategic plan for doing so. As seen during recent hearings about proposed housing developments in town that would require zoning changes in residential districts, existing residents have been resistant to new buildings being approved on an ad hoc basis. The recent multimillion dollar sale of numerous office properties by Haynes Management has some in town optimistic that these could be redeveloped to support Wellesley’s housing needs in commercial districts.
While the state rule is designed for new housing to be able to take advantage of public transportation, so that an influx of new residents won’t greatly worsen traffic, the shortcomings of the commuter rail both in terms of accessibility and scheduling currently work against that (try to get to a Celtics game via the commuter rail from Wellesley or slog it on the green line from Newton, for example, or negotiate a kid school drop-off and get to the office in Boston by 9am).
Jop expressed optimism about the MBTA’s improvement efforts, however, including the promise of local and express trains down the line. She also pointed to the availability of fixed stop and on-demand buses, plus efforts by Wellesley Public Schools to increase bus use through lowering and eventual elimination of fees. One attendee urged town officials to think about transportation options not just for those in MBTA Communities districts, but all across town.
Another attendee wondered about how the town plans to address possible increased traffic: “Oftentimes the argument for gridlocked traffic is well it’s already gridlocked, so it’s just gridlocked.” The combination of commercial and residential traffic would be a concern, she said.
Jop contended that more housing won’t necessarily mean worse traffic based on the spread of trips throughout the day typical of residential properties vs. commercial ones. (Anecdotally, since we’ve been working at home in recent years, we’ve seen big traffic increases in our mostly single-family neighborhood not near a public transportation station—a combination of remote workers zipping out for multiple trips per day, ubiquitous landscaper and construction vehicles rambling through, and seemingly non-stop package and food delivery vehicle traffic. I’m not saying we’re not part of this problem.)
Town officials were able to clarify some of the finer points of complying with the MBTA Communities rules, such as that refurbishing some existing multifamily housing like that along Washington Street in Wellesley Hills, could count toward Wellesley’s compliance numbers. It was asked whether parking requirements for developers might be changed for those building in MBTA Communities areas, with the assumption that these residents might be less reliant on private vehicles, but Arbeene said no immediate changes on that front are planned.
Jop said more underground parking facilities could be built, and that in some cases, space behind buildings can be reconfigured to be used more efficiently to accommodate parking and other amenities. “There really is a lot of opportunity for redevelopment even within the existing footprints for potential mixed use or residential,” she said.