Downtown Foxborough Parking Analysis

Posted on February 18, 2014 at 3:11 pm. Written by Kit Un

Background

At the request of the Town of Foxborough, MAPC conducted a parking study in Downtown Foxborough with the intent of creating an inventory of existing on-and off-street parking and making recommendations for new parking policies. As part of the study, MAPC collected and studied existing parking capacity, occupancy, and turnover data. In addition, a public workshop was held and an in-depth evaluation of existing parking requirements was completed. Download the Downtown Foxborough Parking Analysis and Workshop below.

Findings

The parking study analysis showed that there is adequate on-and off-street parking in Downtown Foxborough for all of its existing uses during weekday and Saturday peaks, with additional capacity for parking demand created by future development.

Recommendations

The study identified a number of recommendations in the following categories:

Parking and Safety
Parking Guidelines
Infrastructure

Melrose Commuter Rail Corridor Visioning

Posted on January 17, 2014 at 2:34 pm. Written by Kit Un

The final report for the Tremont/Essex Street Commuter Rail Corridor Plan is now available below!

Project Background

Between November 2012 and October 2013, MAPC will undertake station-area planning in three locations across the region as part of our Sustainable Communities Grant work. The three locations chosen for station area planning are Quincy, Beverly, and Melrose. MAPC will work with these cities to identify opportunities for and impediments to transit oriented development (TOD) around rapid rail and commuter rail stations.

MAPC’s Role

MAPC is assisting the City of Melrose in identifying opportunities for and barriers to transit oriented development along Tremont Street between the Cedar Park and Highlands Commuter Rail Stations. MAPC will help the community develop a vision for the area and make recommendations to the City on potential changes to land use and zoning. We will also develop recommendations for how to improve walking, biking, and transit access from surrounding neighborhoods to the two Commuter Rail stations.

Why It’s Important

Transit oriented development is critical to the success of MetroFuture and building a more sustainable MAPC region. Locating housing, jobs, and daily needs (goods and services) in walkable neighborhoods close to transit helps reduce household transportation costs, reduces reliance on personal automobiles, boosts transit ridership, and improves air quality and public health at the local and regional level.

This project ties directly to the goals in MetroFuture of creating sustainable growth patterns and enhancing transportation choices in the region. Transit oriented development facilitates compact growth and a mixture of uses in close proximity to transit services which provides a more economical alternative to driving.

Additional Resources

MAPC resources:

For more information on the variety and potential for TOD in the MAPC region read our report on Growing Station Areas.
To see MAPC’s previous work on TOD visit our Green Line Extension project page.

External resources:

For information on TOD in the Boston region visit the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University.
For general information and national research regarding TOD visit Reconnecting America.

Meetings and Presentations

The second public meeting was held on Wednesday, June 19th from 7:00PM – 9:00PM at the Milano Senior Center.

The first public meeting to kick-off this project was held on Tuesday, April 23rd from 7:00PM – 9:00PM in the GAR Room in Memorial Hall, 590 Main Street in Melrose.

Livable Communities Workshops

Posted on November 1, 2013 at 1:35 pm. Written by Kit Un

The Livable Communities Workshop series is a joint project of MAPC and the Boston MPO. The goal of the program is to educate local stakeholders on topics related to livability, complete streets, and smart growth. Each workshop is tailored to the needs of the community, and the range of topics has included town center revitalization, placemaking, sprawl repair, Bike/Ped committee strategic planning, and handicap accessibility. The program begins with a site visit between MAPC and/or CTPS staff and the local point person, often the municipal planner, to identify the local needs and goals for the workshop. Stakeholders involved in the workshop may include municipal staff, selectmen, members of town committees (such as Planning Board or Bike/Ped Committee), advocates, and business owners. The workshop itself consists of a presentation by MAPC/CTPS staff that provides a background on relevant concepts and outlines potential strategies for the municipality to address the local needs that they identified. Ample time is provided for discussion, and a walk-through of the area of focus is sometimes included as well. A final memo captures the content of the presentation and discussion, and recommends next steps for the municipality to take.

Apply here for your community to participate in the next round of Livable Communities Workshops.

2013 Livable Community Workshops:

Norwell Town Center Revitalization:

Norwell hopes to attract more people and new businesses to its Town Center. MAPC and the town planner conducted a walk-through of the downtown area. Using the findings, MAPC presented a Livable Communities workshop to the planning board, the chair and vice-chair of the board of selectmen, the town manager and the director of public works. The presentation included recommendations on transportation (improving sidewalks, adding bike lanes, calming the main intersection, connecting to nearby parks and trails); parking (no additional parking needed, strategies to improve utilization of existing off-street supply); and placemaking (streetscape, programming, special events).

View the Norwell Livable Community Workshop full report here.

Vinnin Square Sprawl Repair:

Vinnin Square straddles the North Shore towns of Swampscott, Marblehead and Salem. The area is characterized by auto-oriented, strip mall and big-box development, with heavy traffic exacerbated by the tendency for visitors to drive between nearby destinations, even if they are adjoining or simply across the street. Marblehead has created a smart growth zoning overlay district for its portion of Vinnin Square. The workshop included representatives from Swampscott and Marblehead, and focused on improving conditions for pedestrians, cyclists and transit riders. In particular, partnerships with businesses and landowners were recommended to improve pedestrian access to businesses from the street, nearby housing developments, and neighboring businesses. Short- and long-term strategies were proposed for reutilizing excess parking capacity, and for improving street operations.

View the Vinnin Square Livable Community Workshop full report here.

Melrose Bike/Ped Committee:

Melrose recently formed a Bicycle Pedestrian Committee, that is engaged in a strategic planning process to help decide how to focus its efforts for maximum impact. MAPC and CTPS worked with the Melrose Mass In Motion coordinator to develop a workshop that would educate the committee on how to be engaged in the project development process. MAPC and CTPS helped the committee compare the value of developing a strategy for creating a bike network plan, or advocating for the adoption of a Complete Streets Policy.

View the Melrose Livable Community Workshop full report here.

Re-Envisioning Wollaston

Posted on October 3, 2013 at 7:11 pm. Written by Kit Un

The final report for the Re-Envisioning Wollaston study is now available below ! The report is also available on the City of Quincy’s website.

Project background

Wollaston Base map Between November 2012 and October 2013, MAPC is undertaking station area planning in three locations across the region as part of our Sustainable Communities Grant work. The three locations chosen for station area planning are Quincy, Beverly, and Melrose. MAPC will work with these cities to identify opportunities for and impediments to transit oriented development (TOD) around rapid rail and commuter rail stations.

MAPC’s role

MAPC is assisting the City of Quincy in identifying opportunities for and barriers to transit oriented development in Wollaston Center. MAPC will help the community develop a vision for the area and make recommendations to the City on potential changes to land use and zoning. We will also develop recommendations for how to improve walking, biking, and transit access from surrounding neighborhoods to Wollaston Center and the Red Line station.

Why it’s important

Transit oriented development is critical to the success of MetroFuture and building a more sustainable MAPC region. Locating housing, jobs, and daily needs (goods and services) in walkable neighborhoods close to transit helps reduce household transportation costs, reduces reliance on personal automobiles, boosts transit ridership, and improves air quality and public health at the local and regional level.

This project ties directly to the goals in MetroFuture of creating sustainable growth patterns and enhancing transportation choices in the region. Transit oriented development facilitates compact growth and a mixture of uses in close proximity to transit services which provides a more economical alternative to driving.

Additional resources

MAPC resources:

For more information on the variety and potential for TOD in the MAPC region read our report on Growing Station Areas.
To see MAPC’s previous work on TOD visit our Green Line Extension project page.

External resources:

For information on TOD in the Boston region visit the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University.
For general information and national research regarding TOD visit Reconnecting America.

Meetings and Presentations:

RKG Associates Market Analysis for Wollaston Center:

Document

Materials from the April 25, 2013 public meeting:

Somerville Community Path

Posted on June 25, 2013 at 11:46 am. Written by Kit Un

MAPC, Somerville, and the Friends of the Community Path have been working together to study the benefits of completing the final two-mile segment of the Somerville Community Path, extending it from its current ending point at Cedar Street in Somerville to the Charles River Paths in Cambridge. Read more about the project and find our final report below.

Project Background

The Community Path in Somerville and Cambridge is an off-street multi-use pathway that spans from the end of the MinuteMan Commuter Bikeway at Alewife Station in Cambridge to the North Point development in Cambridge. The Community Path, once completed, will be a 4-mile pathway connecting the MinuteMan Commuter Bikeway to the Dr. Paul Dudley White Pathway and effectively creating a continuous path network of about 48 miles. Currently, there is a 2 mile gap in the Community Path that is not yet constructed thereby severing regional connectivity.

The Community Path Extension, defined as the Community Path between Cedar Street in Somerville and North Point in Cambridge, represents the 2-mile segment that is not yet constructed. By completing this final section of the Path, significant benefits in air quality, economic development, public health, and reduced transportation costs will be realized. The Completed Community Path would provide added transportation options for low-income households and would provide connections to the future Green Line Extension.

MAPC’s Role

Through the Sustainable Communities Grant, MAPC worked with the Friends of the Community Path group and the City of Somerville to develop a report detailing the potential benefits of completing the final 2 mile segment of the Community Path. This report provides quantifiable benefits related to transportation access, public health, economic development, environmental justice populations, increases in open space, and greenhouse gas emissions reductions. MAPC also developed projections for how many users may access the Community Path daily and annually.

Why It’s Important

Constructing additional bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure that is well connected to the rest of our region is critical to the success of MetroFuture and building a more sustainable MAPC region. These pathways, especially in urban areas, can provide alternatives to driving and bring active recreation opportunities within close proximity to densely populated neighborhoods. Creating additional walking and biking trips can help reduce congestion on local and regional roadways, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce instances of obesity and heart disease. This report and the accompanying methodology can be used on other pathways across the MAPC region to determine potential benefits.

The final data metrics report for the Community Path can be found here.

A map of the Community Path Extension and its connections can be found here.

Additional Resources

The Friends of the Community Path

Growing Station Areas: The Variety and Potential of TOD

Posted on February 20, 2013 at 6:07 pm. Written by Kit Un

Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is a strategy for developing residential and commercial areas in places that are already accessible by public transit.

Achieving sustainable and equitable TOD in the MAPC region requires varied strategies. Defining these strategies requires a detailed understanding of factors such as land use, demographics, and development plans of existing station areas.

Growing Station Areas report cover MAPC conducted an analysis to define the need for different financing tools or prioritization of investments in the Metro Boston region.

Download MAPC’s report – Growing Station Areas: The variety and potential of TOD below.

Partners

This analysis was conducted for the Sustainable Communities TOD Finance Advisory Committee with assistance from the Dukakis Center at Northeastern University.

Opening aqueduct trails to the public

Posted on December 11, 2012 at 4:10 pm. Written by Kit Un

Aqueduct Trail Network

Project background

Weston Aqueduct trails More than 40 miles of trails exist along the historic Weston, Sudbury, Cochituate, and Wachusett aqueducts. These aqueducts and reservoirs are part of an emergency backup system and are no longer in daily use for supplying water to the Greater Boston area, yet the land remained closed to the public for many years.

In July 1998, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), in cooperation with MAPC and the communities in Metro West, published a study on the feasibility of authorizing public access to retired aqueduct right of ways (ROW). The Aqueduct Trail system is an ongoing collaboration between the MWRA and MAPC. The focus is to identify and develop a connected trail system along the four aqueducts (Cochituate, Sudbury, Weston, Wachusett).

In the spring of 2012, MAPC revived the effort to open these trails to the public by working with the MWRA and municipalities. Watch the video here.

As currently proposed, the trail system, when complete, will total 67 miles along three main corridors running roughly east west between Chesnut Hill (Waterworks Museum) and the Wachusett Reservoir in Berlin.

Cochituate Aqueduct – Opened in 1851, the now closed 14 mile long aqueduct passes through Natick, Wellesley, Newton, and Brookline.

Sudbury Aqueduct – Opened in 1878, the 16 mile aqueduct passes through Framingham, Sherborn, Natick, Wellesley, Needham, and Newton.

Wachusett Aqueduct – Opened in 1905, the 9 mile aqueduct passes through Clinton, Berlin, and Northborough.

Weston Aqueduct – Opened in 1903, the 13.5 mile aqueduct passes through Southborough, Framingham, Wayland, and Weston.

Aqueduct Trail Network Status Maps

The two maps below provide a status of development of the aqueduct trail system. Public access on the MWRA controlled portions of the trail network (noted in blue on the first map below) require a public access permit between the respective municipality and the MWRA. Status of this process is identified in the 2nd map below.

The balance of the aqueduct trail system uses public conservation trails (as agreed to by the municipalities) and local roads to connect the gaps.

Aqueduct Trail System – Map of trail type (September 2014)

Aqueduct Trail System – Map of status of public access (January 2015)

For a more detailed map, please refer to our interactive trail map at trailmap.mapc.org.

MAPC’s role

ribbon cutting at Weston Aqueduct trail opening MAPC staff are providing technical assistance to the MWRA and communities along the aqueduct trails to help develop the planning and design changes necessary for making these trails available for public use. On October 22, 2012, a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Weston Aqueduct in Framingham marked the first section of the trails officially opened to the public.

Natick, Newton, Wellesley, Weston, Southborough, and Northborough, have started or are near completion of the necessary application process for opening aqueduct trails. The towns of Berlin, Clinton, Marlborough, Needham, Sherborn, and Wayland, as well as several sections of Boston, also have MWRA aqueducts where trails will eventually be opened, after holding public hearings and signing a formal agreement with the MWRA.

MAPC staff time for working with the communities on this project is funded through the Middlesex Community Transformation Grant.

Questions?

For more information about the aqueducts trail project, contact David Loutzenheiser at [email protected].

Healthy Dining

Posted on September 21, 2012 at 1:12 pm. Written by Kit Un

Background

The Healthy Dining project was started through the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Mass in Motion (MiM) initiative. It sets standards and guidelines for healthy dining restaurants in communities, increasing access to affordable, healthy foods for residents. MAPC is advancing this project in several communities in Middlesex County as part of the Middlesex County Community Transformation Grant (CTG).

Communities in Middlesex county that are implementing the Healthy Dining project include:

Everett
Malden
Medford
Melrose/Wakefield
Metrowest Group (Framingham, Hudson, Marlborough)
Somerville
Waltham

MAPC’s role

MAPC is facilitating the implementation of the Healthy Dining initiative through helping to establish a coordinating committee with representation from programs in each participating municipality that will oversee the implementation and expansion of the initiative as well as providing training and technical assistance to communities on specific areas such as outreach and engagement. A searchable database of participating healthy restaurants is included in the MAPC’s Our Healthy Mass data portal (beta version).

Resources

Questions?

For more information about the Healthy Dining program, contact Public Health Planner Lola Omolodun at [email protected]

MetroWest Regional Affordable Housing Trust Project

Posted on October 17, 2011 at 4:39 pm. Written by Kit Un

In 2009, the MetroWest Regional Collaborative (then named the MetroWest Growth Management Committee) received a District Local Technical Assistance grant through MAPC to research opportunities to collaborate regionally on housing activities and opportunities.

Regionalization of housing activities and services is a valuable collaborative approach to affordable housing solutions. By assisting communities with the implementing their goals to create permanently affordable homes for individuals and families with low, moderate, and middle incomes, the MetroWest Regional Affordable Housing project could help maintain balanced and diverse housing options.

In summer and fall 2009, a survey on housing was administered to MetroWest, MAGIC, and SWAP subregion’s communities. The survey collected data on municipal and private affordable housing goals, activities, organizations, agencies, and committees, municipal capacity to address affordable housing issues, activities and the possible activities and services of a regional affordable housing trust.

MAPC produced this report in partnership with three subregional committes — the MetroWest Growth Management Collaboration, the Minuteman Advisory Group for Interlocal Coordination, and the Southwest Advisory Planning Committee. Funding for this project provided by the District Local Technical Assistance Program.

An outgrowth of the MetroWest RHT report was the exploration of establishing a Regional Housing Services Office (RHSO).

The North Shore Wind Project

Posted on September 6, 2011 at 4:24 pm. Written by Kit Un

In 2003, MAPC received a grant from The Renewable Energy Trust to provide technical assistance for the siting of onshore wind turbines with the goal of increasing public acceptability in ten North Shore communities: Beverly, Essex, Gloucester, Ipswich, Lynn, Manchester, Marblehead, Rockport, Salem, and Swampscott.

The project included public forums on wind energy for the North Shore, presentations to each community on wind energy opportunities and barriers, a survey of residents, wind resource maps for each community, and a wind turbine siting ordinance for the City of Lynn.

Most of the communities are carrying forward under such programs as the Green Communities Program and the Energy Efficiency Block Grant Program funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Maps of Land Based Wind Energy Facility Siting:

Climate’s Long-Term Impacts on Metro Boston (CLIMB), is an EPA-funded project aimed at studying the potential impacts of climate change on metropolitan Boston’s infrastructure systems and recommending strategies to prevent, reduce or manage the risk.