What’s going on in West Newton on Washington Street? A redesign, traffic calming and, according to neighbors, a lot of frustration.

The city’s Washington Street Pilot Program is underway—aimed at slowing traffic on that busy street in West Newton along the Turnpike by redesigning parking and bike paths—but residents in that neighborhood are not happy with it.

The city had a study conducted on that area of Washington Street years ago, before the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, Cross Street resident Tim Techler said, officials were gathering feedback from neighbors on various potential plans.

“All the neighbors in this section, the kind of ladder streets off of Washington Street, said, ‘Please retain parking spaces on Washington Street.’ So did Trader Joe’s, and so did other businesses along there,” Techler said.

But now, there are about a dozen parking spaces blocked off along Washington Street near Trader Joe’s.

“So, enter human nature,” Techler continued. “Let’s say you work at Trader Joe’s. Where are you going to park? The closest place that’s it.”

Both Cross Street and nearby Wiswall Street were lined with cars, and Techler waved to a young man getting into his car in a Trader Joe’s uniform.

The city’s plan is to reopen the spaces, but a recent email update to the community from Mayor Ruthanne Fuller mentions parking meter posts set to be installed later this summer, “to align with the adjusted parking spaces.”

Neighbors worry that having  meters will drive people to keep parking along their side streets.

“I can say that if they end up anywhere near Trader Joe’s or this block, we’re screwed,” Techler said.

City Councilor Julia Malakie said she asked about the meters and was told the city wasn’t expanding the number of metered spaces from before the Pilot.

“I have not yet attempted to figure out if the ‘readjustment’ of the parking meter posts to correspond to new lines/locations is eating up space that had been unmetered parking spaces, even if the number of metered spaces is, for now, staying the same,” Malakie said.

“I also don’t know if changes have already been made to the Pilot layout, or will be. People have already pointed out that it’s hard to exit the Trader Joe’s parking lot especially to turn left, because they can’t see around the parked cars. So maybe at least one of the parking spaces on the left of the exit will have to go away.”

Malakie shared an email from the Planning Department in which Jennifer Martin says, that at this point in the Pilot, “we do not plan to add more metered spaces than were on site before the Pilot.”

The mayor’s office has clarified that there will be metered spaces on that part of Washington Street, just not more than there were before.

Drivers engage after a near collision at the intersection where Washington Street meets Cross Street, a side street that has seen an uptick in traffic and Washington Street business employee parking lately, and where space has become tight. Photo by Bryan McGonigle

Calming or chaos?

Some of the newly-lined parking spaces are so close to the intersections with side streets, Techler said, that drivers can’t see when they pull out from those streets onto Washington Street.

People have complained that the bike paths were given too much priority, with that stretch of Washington Street now having two paths next to each other so bicyclists and pedestrians can pass each other safely.

And there’s a strip of roadway adjacent to the bike/pedestrian paths separating them from the lanes and parking spaces, taking up more room. There’s also a bus stop there, and Techler worries there’s not enough room for buses to stop.

“Now you’ve got slowed traffic, and when a bus stops two or three times between West Newton and Lowell Street, all the traffic stops behind the bus,” he added.

Fuller, in her email update on the Pilot, acknowledged potential issues with the traffic lights causing congestion and confusion.

“We are still refining the signal timing so you may notice some changes in how traffic flows—we ask for your patience as this adjustment continues,” Fuller wrote.

Tim Techler of West Newton shows how various types of bushes and trees can withstand the tough conditions along the Massachusetts Turnpike. Photo by Bryan McGonigle

Cooling down with green

The Washington Street Pilot isn’t just about traffic. It’s also about combatting a heat island. The city has been working for years to plant greenery in its hot areas, including along the Turnpike.

The plan for that section of Washington Street is to plant trees and bushes along the fence and roadway to cool the air for neighbors, bicyclists and other visitors to that section of West Newton. That’s a part of the plan Techler and his neighbors like, but that part is going to take a while to produce the benefits that outweigh the traffic and parking issues.

“I’m patient and I will wait the years it takes for something to get more mature and do that,” Techler said. “But the material they’ve chosen does not look like it’s going to do any of that. And I don’t want my tax dollars spent on one-foot-high grass.”

Techler was part of a commission established by former Mayor Setti Warren tasked with planning greenery to go along the chain-link fence that separates Washington Street from the Turnpike.

At the time, he pushed for Bayberry bushes, and he still does. That’s because they withstand the damaging effects of salt, so in winter the salt thrown into the air by passing vehicles won’t harm them.

Now, there’s a mix of trees and shrubs growing along that fence that will hopefully help cool that part of Washington Street for generations to come.