Mayor Ruthanne Fuller has proposed a pilot project to build a temporary community plaza in Newton Centre over part of the central triangle parking lot that is bounded by Beacon Street, Centre Street, and Langley Road. The new plaza would be built on about one-fifth of the parking lot, on the western side of the lot adjacent to Newton Centre Green.
The project as proposed will take up the two rows of parking closest to Newton Centre Green, removing 51 parking spaces from the lot. To offset this loss of parking, the City’s project planning team has identified 67 new parking spaces around Newton Center that can be made available while this pilot project continues, according to the Mayor’s Office. The City has not yet published the locations of those 67 new parking spaces.
The Mayor’s newsletter notes that the new community plaza is envisioned to be like The Street in Chestnut Hill or Bram Way in Newtonville – a place for the community to gather.
The City has published a webpage for the project that includes a timeline with:
- Community engagement for design: Feb-May
- Construction: May-June
- Open plaza and launch programming: Starting in mid-June
Greg Reibman, President and CEO of the Charles River Regional Chamber, was introduced to this proposal shortly before it was announced in the Mayor’s newsletter. He said that while it could provide benefits in bringing more people into Newton Centre, the large loss of central parking could have a negative impact that outweighs the good.
“It’s a very interesting idea, and I appreciate that there’s thought going into how to reactivate and bring new people into Newton Centre, but I really worry that we’re rushing this because we haven’t fully learned enough about it to really feel good about it,” he said. “I know there’s a proposal to bring [parking spots] outside of Newton Center or around on side streets, but we really have to be concerned about whether or not that would discourage people from shopping and dining in Newton Center in times when the lot would be full.”
Some business owners are concerned that the replacement parking spaces may be too far away or may not be visible. President of Mosher’s Men’s Store Dana Mosher said that he does not think that the expanded green is a good idea because if parking is not immediately visible, that will deter customers from engaging with businesses.
“If people don’t see a spot to park, they’re not going to pull in,” he said. “If they see there’s a lot of congestion, it keeps them away.”
Not all business owners are opposed to the plaza. Lydia Reichert, owner of Jinny’s Pizzeria, said that she supports the initiative, seeing it as beneficial for customers who might appreciate an area for children to play while waiting for a table at a restaurant, attracting families and improving the area’s appeal.
“If [customers] have to wait 20 minutes for a table or something like that, and to have a place where they could go do something and get their wiggles out before they come sit down is great,” she said. “It makes it more of a place that you’re willing to go if you know that there’s a spot that you can go to right across the street to run around while you wait for a table.”
Some local business owners have expressed concern about not being consulted about plans for this project. Kay Masterson, owner of Johnny’s Luncheonette, said that she and in her view, many, if not all, of the small business owners in Newton Centre were not involved in the creation of the proposal.
“The announcement came as both sort of a shock and a disappointment to the business community. I have spoken to over a dozen businesses, and now have a list of probably 40 or 50 businesses in Newton Centre and so far no one was contacted by the city as they were developing this plan,” she said. “We want to be partners with the city, but that becomes challenging when things like this happen and you’re blindsided about something so impactful to the everyday economic success of our small business owners.”
The City’s Planning Department has said that it will soon be publishing the locations of the 67 replacement parking spaces. Community engagement regarding the design is scheduled to begin in February.
Bella Ishanyan is a Fig City News student reporter, Massachusetts High School Journalist of the Year, and a freshman at UMass Amherst.
