An updated version of the Newton Centre Public Plaza—a plan to transform a Newton Centre parking lot into a multi-purpose outdoor space—will come with more parking than previously promised, according to a presentation from Zachary LeMel, long range planner for the City of Newton, on Wednesday.
The initial proposal was to create a 16,000-square-foot temporary public plaza using a significant portion of the Langley “Triangle” Parking Lot in Newton Centre. This plan would have displaced 52 parking spaces, roughly one-fifth of the total area of the parking lot.
Upon its announcement by Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller in January, the proposed plaza met criticism from business owners who said the plaza would take away parking spaces they called essential to their businesses.
At Wednesday’s Newton Public Safety and Transportation Committee meeting, Barney Heath, director of planning and development for Newton, said the city decided to modify the plan after conversing with citizens.
“It’s been informed by lots of conversations that we’ve had with many folks, many emails that we’ve received, all of which we’ve tried to incorporate into this modification that you’ll see tonight,” said Heath.
The updated proposal would remove just 24 parking spots, or roughly 7,000 square feet, while also opening up a parcel of 16 spots—currently reserved for employees, Zipcars, and Bluebikes—to the public, resulting in a net loss of eight spaces.
LeMel said the city updated the plan primarily because of concerns about a lack of public parking near local businesses in Newton Centre.
“We’ve been able to find and create a situation where there are only eight lost spaces from the triangle itself,” LeMel said. “And again, overall, we are creating even more parking.”
The Langley Lot contains 152 parking spots of the approximately 1,200 within a quarter mile of Newton Centre, according to LeMel. A part of the projected plan is to create around 60 new parking spaces in or near Newton Centre. The additional parking redistribution proposal involves Lyman Street, Pleasant Street, Pelham Street, Centre Street, Beacon Street, and Dalton Road.
“We want to bring new people into Newton Centre that are going to frequent the local businesses,” LeMel said. “And just in general, build off of what makes Newton Centre great.”
According to LeMel, the city will also repave the Langley Lot to both permit more uses for the space and transform it back into a parking lot after the trial period if necessary.
“When it comes to adaptability and flexibility, if we’re able to use a paved flat surface, we can move things around,” LeMel said. “We can change things. It gives us just the maximum ability to create the best possible space.”
LeMel proposed to use the space for both quiet and active areas. The plan includes utilizing space for seating, games, lights, performances, and active recreation.
“These are the things that bring people in,” LeMel said. “These are the experiences that, again, just build upon the amazing retail environment that is Newton Centre.”
According to the City of Newton website, Newton will host opportunities for public involvement in early spring so residents can provide feedback on proposed uses for the new space.
“We’ll have a kind of revised design feedback session where we can present a kind of fully drafted proposal for public comment, and then all these other ways that we will plan to stay in touch and move this along,” said LeMel.
The city’s website outlines the details of the updated proposal through a slideshow accessible to the public. LeMel said this was a way for the community to learn more about the project and to give feedback.
“We really also hope to bring out the community,” said LeMel. “We want the community to be a part of the construction process. So a lot of these types of things, the elements rely on volunteers, I think we’ll be able to do a little mixture of both. So we want to make sure that the community feels like this is their space.”
According to the proposal, the repaving of the Langley Lot will begin in April, and the Pilot Plaza will be launched to the public in June.
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