Newton City Council allowed the construction of three single-family attached homes at 790 Watertown St. in Newtonville, following debate over traffic safety implications at the council’s meeting on Tuesday.
The request included the demolition of the existing building on site, as well as a parking relief design and a combination of retaining walls exceeding 4 feet in height.
Newton’s Land Use Committee previously held a public hearing regarding the petition on June 17, at which several nearby residents raised alarm about the request, explained Ward 4 Councilor Randy Block.
Block cited comments from Newton resident Danielle Alves-Back, who was apprehensive about the construction, and came forward at the public hearing to voice her concerns. Alves-Back lives on the northwest corner of the intersection.
“She testified that she and other neighbors were concerned about how the proposed plan would affect the safety of the intersection,” said Block.
Alves-Back brought up two accidents that occurred at the Watertown Street intersection that led to vehicles crashing through her fence and into her lawn, according to Block.
“She concluded her remarks by asking, and I quote, ‘How are we going to improve safety at this intersection, and is there a possibility of installing bollards at the intersection to protect pedestrians?’” Block said.
Block emphasized the need to consider traffic safety implications when new development is on the table.
“I was surprised and dismayed that neither the petitioner nor the planning department mentioned safety issues in their presentations,” said Block. “Isn’t this a glaring deficiency in our analysis? Shouldn’t we expect any possible safety issues to be carefully considered by planning?”
A four-way stop sign was installed in October 2023 in response to frequent incidents, explained Block, but the crash rates remained similar to those before the installation.
“In other words, we still have a safety problem at the intersection,” Block said. “Now, will the proposed development aggravate the current safety issues?”
In reply to Block’s concerns, Ward 3 Councilor-at-Large Pamela Wright said that further signage has helped the intersection become safer.
“I go through this intersection probably multiple times a day, biking and also driving, and the stop sign, I think, has provided a safer spot than what it was before,” Wright said.
Wright also pointed out that a large portion of the included data could be misleading, as it was taken during the pandemic when restrictions limited the number of cars on the road.
Ward 8 Councilor Stephen Farrell raised concerns about the information being presented at City Council meetings, as data concerning a history of traffic problems at the intersection was not presented by the petitioner or Newton’s Planning Committee.
“We need to be looking at a lot of the ordinances about land use and how we make decisions of what information we should have before us,” Farrell said. “We get trained appropriately to do that.”
Farrell otherwise agreed that the on-site developer responded to all reasonable requests, and he found no issues with the requested project itself.
“This is a small project with three units that could be built by-right anyway, and I don’t think it’s the responsibility of small developers or homeowners who want to build a home to deal with traffic issues,” said Ward 2 Councilor-at-Large Tarik Lucas.
Lucas emphasized that traffic issues are the city’s responsibility and that the upcoming budget season is the ideal time to address any problems that might exist.
The motion passed 22–1, with one absent.
