The Spirit of Watertown on a Bike Path Mural

The Watertown Public Art Committee has raised funds and hired an artist to design a mural for the wall on Linear Path between Whites Ave and Waverly Ave. We would like the mural on this wall to reflect something special about Watertown and hope you participate as we choose themes.

Let us know what you find special about Watertown by answering the five questions on this survey. Just click on this link.

The Watertown Public Art Committee is made up of members from the Watertown Citizens, Watertown Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee, Sustainable Watertown, Arsenal Center for the Arts and Watertown Community Development and Planning. Additional information about this project can be found at wickedlocal.com or watertowncitizens.org.

Tufts Health Plan Crosswalk Featured by Walk Boston Newsletter

The new crosswalk at Tufts Health Plan on Mt. Auburn St. was recently featured on the WalkBoston newsletter. Thanks to Tufts Health Plan for helping to ensure pedestrian safety in Watertown!

Here's the content from the WalkBoston newsletter:


WalkBoston believes that making our communities safe and convenient for walkers requires the participation of many different stakeholders. Large employers can play an important role by paying attention to walking conditions for their own employees, and providing resources to help ensure that their employee wellness programs work outside their doors as well as inside. Tufts Health Plan recently made such an investment, and we hope that they will help to set an example for other Massachusetts companies and institutions.

Tufts Health Plan headquarters sits at 705 Mt. Auburn Street in Watertown. More than 300 Tufts Health Plan employees arrive daily via bus service along the street, and each of them must cross the street to get to or from work. After hearing about many close misses and receiving a large number of complaints about the danger of crossing Mt. Auburn Street, Tufts Senior Safety and Security Specialist Emidio DiVirgilio and Director of Facilities Ronald Reppucci decided that they had to find a way to improve the safety of this busy crosswalk.

In September 2012, Tufts Health Plan and the Town of Watertown announced the installation of a new fixture to make the crosswalk highly visible to drivers. The installation includes a solar panel with a battery backup and a crosswalk sign with flashing yellow LED lights to alert approaching drivers. The WALK signal can be activated by pushing a button or by a motion sensor. The new fixture cost $17,000 and was donated by Tufts Health Plan to Watertown.

DiVirgilio and Reppucci were the driving forces behind the project, and for them it was all about the safety of walkers. They explored several different options for the crosswalk including installation of a new traffic signal and adding stop signs before eventually settling on the bright flashing warning signs. Because the sign system is a relatively new kind of technology, some research, education and convincing had to be done that this was the right approach. In the end, the crosswalk signals were seen as a benefit to both Tufts Health Plan employees and to all Watertown walkers and bus riders who cross Mt. Auburn Street in this vicinity.

Tufts Health Plan’s investment is a great example of a business looking outside its front door and working to make walking safer, easier and more convenient for their employees and local residents alike.

Winter Riding Workshop

Please see the information below from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council about an upcoming workshop on winter riding. Space is still available (but limited). There is more information available at http://www.mapc.org/biking-everyone-winter-workshop.

The Boston Collaborative for Food & Fitness, MassBike and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council invite you to participate in

Biking for Everyone:

Winter Workshop

We will discuss topics including bike gear, route planning, safety tips in tricky situations, rules of the road, and tricks on how to stay warm and dry during this winter season.

Where: MAPC 3rd fl Conference Room

60 Temple Pl, Boston, MA

When: Monday, December 17, 2012

12:30 - 1:30pm

RSVP: Education@MassBike.org

(617) 542-2453

Seeking Communications/Web Expert

The Watertown Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee is currently seeking one or more individuals to take over the month-to-month obligations of maintaining the BikePed Website as well as this blog site that you're currently reading. The amount of time needed to sustain this effort ranges from three to five hours per month. The compensation for this activity is the knowledge that you would be making a meaningful contribution in support of the rights and responsibilities of the Bicycle and Pedestrian community (plus, occasionally, the MBTA mass transit system which bikers and walkers must often rely on). A qualified candidate should expect to attend monthly meetings of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee which usually occur the first Monday of every month at 7:30pm in the Watertown City Hall.

If you or somebody you know are interested in this role, please contact watertown.bikeped@gmail.com with your inquiry. Additionally, contact this e-mail address with any questions, comments, suggestions, or thoughts related to this matter (or any other matter affecting biking and walking in and around Watertown). Students and young professionals in related fields are especially encouraged to volunteer for this unique opportunity.

Thank you.

Watertown Bike Thief Foiled

This news comes from the Watertown Patch and the Watertown Police.

An alleged thief, Nicholas Alexander Scheff, was recently caught in Watertown attempting to sell stolen bikes on Craigslist. Scheff may have been planning on using the income from illegal sales to fund a heroin habit. But, long story short... Watertown Police are in possession of as many as five bicycles that were stolen from the area of Belmont and Keenan streets.

Officials are seeking out the victims of recent bike thefts to hopefully reclaim their property. If your bicycle has recently disappeared, contact Watertown Police and they might have it.

Community Health and Wellness Survey

Today's post is a message from the Watertown Community Development and Planning Department.

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The Town of Watertown has received a Community Transformation Grant to look at wellness in our community. Wellness to a community means looking at how easy it is for residents to access the Town’s amenities and resources in daily activities like commuting, shopping, exercising and leisure time.

Each survey should take about 5-10 minutes:

-Active Living
-Healthy Eating + Smoking

Raffle prizes include gift cards to local Businesses such as Maximo's, Mount Auburn Club and more! If you would like to be included in the raffle, please include your contact info at the end of the survey. Also, please forward e-mail to other Watertown residents or to people who work in Watertown.

Ultimately, we will be evaluating the Town’s role in providing options for physical activity and access to healthy foods. We would like to receive information from as many of Watertown’s residents as possible. If you can assist another resident or family member in completing the survey please do so. The information collected in this survey will be helpful in creating a baseline report that will inform the Town’s new Wellness Policy and future programs and projects. Individual information and responses will not be shared.

Thank you very much for taking the time to complete the survey. If you have any further questions or comments feel free to contact the Community Development and Planning staff at (617) 972-6417.

Hubway and Parks

The title of this post is Hubway and Parks. To be clear, these to two different topics that are only related tangentially.

Watertown residents who want Hubway Stations in town are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to click the following link that will take you to a page that displays the current Hubway and has an interface for Suggesting Locations.

http://www.thehubway.com/stations

I have personally suggested locations with proximity to the Watertown Greenway (i.e. the former railroad right-of-way) by dropping markers at (a) intersection of Nichols Ave and Arlington St, (b) Arsenal Center for the Arts, (c) Watertown Square, (d) City Hall/Library, and (e) by Russo's which is near the Charles River Bike Path.

Topic two is an article called "Parks Are Path of Our Health Care System". I encourage you to read this article.