The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

New MBTA commuter rail schedule spreads out

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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 Wellesley’s three 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 looking to attend events in Boston at night, especially on weekends, when the last trains from Boston leave at 9pm.

empty commuter rail platform wellesley square

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Linden Square, Wellesley
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Clearhaven Recovery

Bacon Street Bridge work on Wellesley line to get intense, section of Rte. 135 to close over weekend

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Major work on the MBTA’s Bacon Street Bridge Replacement on the Wellesley and Natick town line will take place beginning at 9PM 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 9PM 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. Rte. 135 from Bacon Street to Weston Road will be off-limits to motorists during this time.

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 [email protected].

MBTA E Central St Bacon St Detour Map

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Wellesley gets its very own ‘storrowing’ under Bacon Street bridge

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Page Waterman, Wellesley
London Harness, Wellesley

My Wellesley car is kind of a stud

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Wellesley snow tires
Studded snow tires, ready to roll.

The dog dropped flat to the ground in full submission mode. He knew he was in the presence of greatness. Eyes cast down, paws tucked under his chest, the beta bowed down as the strange alpha being rumbled past.

My car has that effect on every canine it encounters. We’re not talking about a massive Chevy Suburban or high-riding Range Rover here. The ride that strikes terror into pups out for their afternoon walk is a sensible mid-sized sedan tricked out in studded snow tires. It’s those snow tires and the weird, tearing-up-the-road rumble they make that scares the bejesus out of family pets.

You know the old saying, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog?” That’s partly what’s at work here. The sensible Camry is little, but when it struts out on the town tapping its studded stilettos on the pavement, the Camry likes to think it’s fierce.

You know what they say about overcompensation? That’s mostly what’s at work here. The sensible Camry is given snow tires in a somewhat futile effort to let it run with the big dawgs when the weather turns dicey. For the past two winters, those tires have spent less time ensuring a safe ride on snow and ice and more time chewing up the dry pavement. Studded snow tires, like a beta dog with no purpose in the pack, turn toward destruction when they’re not given a real job to do. Studded tires want to latch onto snow and ice. So far this winter, falling snow and icy conditions have been rare events. In frustration, the tires resort to poking small holes into the asphalt. That kind of attitude is what’s gotten snow tires deemed illegal in ten states. That’s why I keep the snow tire thing going winter after winter. It makes me feel badass to do something that’s illegal in ten states.

swellesley snow

Truthfully, even in wintry-weather years the Camry doesn’t see that much action. Once I see the first flake, I go straight to my baby, the trusty Subaru Outback, pampered and seldom driven. On the road we go, looking for photographic snow scenes for a Swellesley post. The beautiful golden retrievers of Wellesley greet us with happy barks as we pass. This is a vehicle they understand. Confident in its abilities, the wagon doesn’t need the adoration or fear of the small and meek. The Subaru was born to ride in inclement weather and needs no implants for its strut down the runway. Just give it a snowy day, and let the winter-worthy wagon do its thing.

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Spelling gives way at reconfigured Wellesley rotary

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I’ve long thought that many people don’t know what the word “yield” means and that this explains why they blow through or speed up at YIELD signs on highway ramps and at rotaries. In Wellesley in particular, “yield” might be better known for its meaning in economics.

Massachusetts driving rules specify that “When you see a YIELD sign, slow down and be prepared to stop. Let vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians go before you proceed. You must come to a complete stop if traffic conditions require it.”

That’s clear. Though I still think Australia and other countries have it right with their “Give way” signs.

Adding to the confusion now is this digital sign seen Thursday night at the mesmerizing orange-ringed rotary being redesigned on Great Plain Avenue in Wellesley.

yield sign
Photo courtesy of runner LC

 

The digital sign backs up and seems to overrule a smaller YIELD sign, which displays the correct spelling of “yield.” The easier-to-see digital sign misspells the word as YEILD in warning drivers how to negotiate the rotary. Language teachers could be seen swerving left and right last night as they approached the rotary, according to our intelligence.

Because we of course never make typos on The Swellesley Report, we’re allowed to poke fun at this one, as we’ve done over the years (recall 2010’s Post Office typo of “Wellesly”).

Anyway, don’t forget to give way the next time you drive or cycle through that rotary.

yield sign

  • Thank you Swellesley Report supporters & on to Year Sweet 16

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State bond bills could fund Wellesley train station accessibility, Housing Authority upgrade, infrastructure, historic building

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Transportation and economic bond bills approved by the Commonwealth’s legislature could bring some big improvements to Wellesley, including at its commuter rail stations and on its roads. The bills provide authorization (not obligation) to fund local projects, and await action by Gov. Charlie Baker.

(Thanks to a Swellesley reader for pointing this out to us.)

Among the $10M-plus worth of Wellesley-related earmarks in the $16.5B transportation bill, H.5248:
  • “provided further, that not less than $600,000 shall be expended to provide improved access for persons with disabilities at not more than 3 stations on the Framingham/Worcester commuter rail line in the town of Wellesley;”

  • “provided further, that not less than $675,000 shall be expended for sidewalk and roadway improvements in the town of Wellesley;”

  • “provided further, that not less than $300,000 shall be expended for signalization and other associated costs of the Bacon street and state highway route 135 intersection in the town of Wellesley;” (See: “Bacon Street intersection at Natick-Wellesley line to get safer”)

  • Bacon Street bridge now

  • “provided further, that not less than $200,000 shall be expended to delead, replace, and repaint the railings on the bridge on Cliff Road over the railroad tracks in the town of Wellesley;”

  • “provided further, that not less than $8,050,000 shall be expended for the planning, design, construction, and any other associated costs for drainage improvements along Route 9 adjacent to Boulder Brook and Morses Pond in the town of Wellesley;”
  • “provided further, that not less than $250,000 shall be expended for bicycle and pedestrian access improvements along the Route 9 on-ramp between Quinobequin Road in the city of Newton and William Street in the town of Wellesley;”

Among the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Wellesley-related items in the $626M economic development bill, H.5250:

  • “provided further, that not less than $75,000 shall be expended to the Wellesley Housing Authority in the town of Wellesley for the purpose of replacing in-unit natural gas appliances, including stoves, ranges, water heaters and dryers, with electric appliances;”
  • “provided further, that not less than $500,000 be expended for a competitive grant program to be administered by the department of early education and care for licensed early education and care providers in the city of Attleboro and the towns of Franklin, Millis, Natick, Needham, Norfolk, North Attleborough, Plainville, Sherborn, Wayland, Wellesley and Wrentham for the purpose of defraying fixed operating costs and costs associated with modifications to early education and care services necessitated by the COVID-19 public health emergency to be awarded based on demonstrated financial need and current reopening status or future plans to reopen during the pandemic;
  • “provided further, that not less than $250,000 shall be expended for, in consultation with the department of conservation and recreation, renovations and improvements to the historic Stone Building in Hemlock Gorge in Wellesley to establish a visitor center, including but not limited to: improvements to the interior and exterior of the building, the building’s immediate surroundings and the development of a paved trail from the parking lot on Ellis street in Newton along Route 9 to the Stone building, connecting to the sidewalk along the south side of Route 9 in Wellesley;”

Download (PDF, Unknown)

Download (PDF, Unknown)

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Wellesley to test out Uber-like bus service

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Wellesley’s Mobility Committee is working with the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA), the outfit that operates those small buses with stops around town, on a pilot for “microtransit” services that like Uber and Lyft focus on on-demand service calls.

The MWRTA will use accessible vans that seat up to five people for transportation mainly within town, but also to Riverside T station, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, and possibly Stop & Shop and other medical facilities. The service would supplement existing services, such as the Council on Aging van and The Ride from the MBTA, but also potentially be attractive for younger people.

A soft launch in January will include MWRTA’s Route 8 bus, which had very low ridership even before the pandemic. Expect more from the town soon on a broader pilot in February, Wellesley Executive Director Meghan Jop said during a briefing at the end of the Dec. 21 Select Board meeting. The hope is that electric vehicles will become part of the mix, too.

mwrta bus
Not many takers for the MWRTA bus

 

Select Board member Colette Aufranc initially reported on the microtransit effort in early November, and said that this offering for the general public could lead to the regular Route 8 bus being phased out. Existing Route 8 users would be targeted as possible users of the new service and would be informed about how to use the new Catch app to reserve a ride.

Details on pricing, how far in advance you can call for a ride, etc., are all issues to be sorted out as the pilot unfolds. MWRTA bus fares are currently $1.25 or $1.50 for adults depending on whether you have a Charlie Card, and other discounts apply to different customer groups. “This has the potential to be a very different way of doing transit” than the current Route 8 bus, which has had just a handful of riders a day, Aufranc said. It could lead to a service that is more nimble,  modern, and popular, she says.

In other Wellesley transportation news, the town’s Mobility Committee has selected Environmental Partners to conduct a $50K sustainable mobility study to come up with a plan that would focus on various modes of transportation, including use of the Crosstown Trail.

swellesley green ad

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Bacon Street intersection on Natick-Wellesley line to get safer

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The fraught-with-peril Bacon Street intersection that links Natick and Wellesley at Rte. 135 is going to get a much needed upgrade to go along with the Bacon Street bridge replacement project that the MBTA already has underway.

The 100-plus-year-old steel bridge is being replaced with a design that could accommodate possible construction of a future third track for commuter rail service. Work began last year on the project, which could be complete as soon as a year from now.

But what happens under the bridge might be more of interest to any of you who have driven, walked, run or biked there.

Wellesley Executive Director Meghan Jop shared a brief update from the town’s Traffic Committee at the Select Board’s Nov. 16 meeting, noting that the Bacon Street/Rte. 135 intersection is close to Wellesley Square but unsafe to navigate. There are limited sidewalks under the bridge and “terrible sight lines” that make it difficult to cross Rte. 135 to get to the Wellesley College side.

The town asked the MBTA to think creatively, and it did, Jop said. A sidewalk will be extended on the Natick side of the bridge underpass, and a rapid flashing beacon will be installed to help people cross Rte. 135. This work will be conducted while the bridge construction is being done.

State funding, secured via State Rep. Alice Peisch and her office, will also be used to explore the possibility of full signalization across Central Street/Rte. 135, and results of that study would be presented to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which controls that property. The results of that effort will materialize further down the road.

“We’ve made some really good strides in terms of pedestrian safety at the area when this is completed,” Jop said. “It sounds small, but I can’t tell you how much it means from a connectivity standpoint,” she added.

Now and after Bacon Street bridge photos, from the MBTA:

Bacon Street bridge now

Bacon Street bridge visualization

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