I agree that the MBTA needs to take Lincoln’s needs seriously if the Housing Choice Act is to have any meaningful impact at all in this area. And, (pre-pandemic) the need for more parking was very apparent at Lincoln Station, and plans were in process to do improve the situation by re-configuring and re-striping the commuter lot to add a few more spaces; though I doubt that would have had a significant impact upon the situation. Building a two level parking garage (perhaps similar to the one in downtown Waltham between Lexington and Common streets) is, I think feasible, and would help a great deal.
I believe another (and better) solution - as I’ve advocated for years - would be a modest van or small bus service circulating through town with routes timed to mesh with the MBTA train schedule. It could run routes designed to service commuters and town residents in the mornings and late afternoons/evenings; then shuttle tourists around town the rest of the day. This would reduce overall traffic, reduce the need for more parking at Lincoln Station and elsewhere, be a “greener” solution from several points of view, make it much easier for those without easy access to a car to get around town, would likely increase the commercial viability of Lincoln Station, and would improve access to our many cultural institutions and tourist destinations in town. - Allen Vander Meulen > On May 28, 2022, at 15:20, Stephanie Smoot <stephanieesm...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Maybe not but we as residents decide whether it is context appropriate. Rural > context which Lincoln has preserved in the last decades, unlike suburban > Wayland and Sudbury, and is also different than urban towns like Arlington > and Newton that have an embarrassment of options. > > Worth noting also many workers simply can’t get to their 5 am jobs on > transit-not on commuter rail and not on our 2a bus stop. They need a car. So > Mbta needs to up their game first. > > But i like the idea of more commuter parking because we all remember the > crazy pre pandemic scrambling for legal parking spaces. And many nearby towns > (such as Wayland and Sudbury)have no public transportation. > > On Sat, May 28, 2022 at 12:35 PM John Mendelson <johntmendel...@gmail.com > <mailto:johntmendel...@gmail.com>> wrote: > Though not really in the spirit of the Housing Choice Act, though is it? > > > On Sat, May 28, 2022, 12:17 PM Sara Mattes <samat...@gmail.com > <mailto:samat...@gmail.com>> wrote: > Increased parking is one step-a relatively easy step…no septic issues to > address, no question of service costs…. > ------ > Sara Mattes > > > > >> On May 28, 2022, at 12:03 PM, Rich Rosenbaum <s...@bcdef.com >> <mailto:s...@bcdef.com>> wrote: >> >> For years I have advocated an increase in parking at station >> >> I am not sure that is what Allen meant when he said >> >> improving (for instance) the Lincoln Station area to be a more attractive >> retail center >> >> I don't mean to imply meaning when none is there but I think Lincoln Station >> needs more than increased parking to remain viable. >> >> Rich >> >> >> On Sat, May 28, 2022 at 7:45 AM Michelle Barnes via Lincoln >> <lincoln@lincolntalk.org <mailto:lincoln@lincolntalk.org>> wrote: >> Hi Allen, >> >> Related, have you seen the recent My Turn: More Affordable Housing Will Not >> Burden Schools” statement from the School Committee? >> >> I will bring up the idea of a similar statement sharing what we know about >> the impact of more housing on our water permit with the water commissioners >> at a future meeting as we have discussed and researched this. >> >> Regarding septic, perhaps eventually, when more is known about the density >> requirements of the Housing Choice Act, the Board of Health and/or >> Conservation commission can weigh in on septic. It seems quite likely to me >> that larger projects would likely need sufficient economics to treat their >> waste with a waste treatment plant of sorts given the land, wetlands and >> conservation restriction constraints within half a mile of the MBTA station. >> >> First though, I think It will be interesting to see how the State responds >> to the feedback it has received from Lincoln and other small towns in >> similar boats. I am under the impression that even if you change zoning >> there could be other legal constraints regarding Title IV septic, wetlands >> and conservation restrictions that could still prevent the development from >> taking place. Of course the Housing Choice Act, as I understand it, isn’t >> requiring production of housing, just the “by right” capacity. Depending on >> what they ultimately determine around how flexible they are willing to be >> with density requirements within the half mile of the MBTA station, there >> will be different implications for septic (and actual produced versus >> theoretical zoned development) I would think. >> >> Thank you, >> Michelle Barnes >> South Great Road >> >>> On May 27, 2022, at 9:34 AM, Allen Vander Meulen <pastorall...@gmail.com >>> <mailto:pastorall...@gmail.com>> wrote: >>> >>> >>> I think we could add a couple more questions to this list: >>> >>> - What is the impact of AirBNB (and other short term housing rental >>> services) upon the availability of apartments in the area? >>> (I suspect it’s had a far greater impact in Lincoln than we realize.) >>> >>> - Will the MBTA ever commit to providing adequate bus & rail service in >>> Lincoln, and not cutting it back? >>> (e.g., The MBTA’s recent announcement of a "25% increase in bus service >>> throughout the system" actually reduces service on the one MBTA bus route >>> in town - #76 to Hanscom: >>> https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/Bus%20Network%20Redesign/5_Bedford.pdf >>> >>> <https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/Bus%20Network%20Redesign/5_Bedford.pdf>.) >>> ...It’s hard to justify the creation of moderate or affordable housing in >>> a town when you can’t count on the availability of public transportation. >>> >>> - Does the town have adequate resources and infrastructure to support a >>> significantly larger number of homes? >>> (Not too sure on this one. In particular, adequate water and septic will >>> be major issues.) >>> >>> - And a final thought: several towns around us are building significant new >>> housing developments, such as the one on Rt 117 in North Sudbury. Even if >>> we do nothing, traffic through town will increase because of this. We can >>> take advantage of that - improving (for instance) the Lincoln Station area >>> to be a more attractive retail center and/or public transit access point >>> for these new residents - or ignore it, in which case our existing retail >>> center at Lincoln Station will gradually whither away and die, as the RTF >>> has already said is inevitable if nothing changes. >>> >>> - Allen Vander Meulen >>> >>> On Tue, May 24, 2022 at 5:01 PM dilla tingley <dillating...@gmail.com >>> <mailto:dillating...@gmail.com>> wrote: >>> I am not against building more congregate housing in Lincoln. The Selects >>> and Planning Board have sent a very reasoned response to the State Housing >>> Mandate. >>> >>> Some issues I think are worth exploring as we face a "Housing Crisis". >>> >>> --Who is tearing down housing? >>> -Where are neighborhoods being gentrified? >>> -As luxury high rises spring up in Boston >>> -How many units across the city are purchased as investment and remain >>> unoccupied? >>> -Does Inclusionary Zoning make any significant difference? >>> Dilla Tingley >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >>> To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org >>> <mailto:Lincoln@lincolntalk.org>. >>> Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/ >>> <http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/>. >>> Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ >>> <https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/>. >>> Change your subscription settings at >>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln >>> <https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln>. >>> >> -- >> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >> To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org >> <mailto:Lincoln@lincolntalk.org>. >> Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/ >> <http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/>. >> Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ >> <https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/>. >> Change your subscription settings at >> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln >> <https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln>. >> >> -- >> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >> To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org >> <mailto:Lincoln@lincolntalk.org>. >> Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/ >> <http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/>. >> Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ >> <https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/>. >> Change your subscription settings at >> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln >> <https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln>. >> > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org > <mailto:Lincoln@lincolntalk.org>. > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/ > <http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/>. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > <https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/>. > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln > <https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln>. > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org > <mailto:Lincoln@lincolntalk.org>. > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/ > <http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/>. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > <https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/>. > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln > <https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln>. > > -- > Regards, > Stephanie Smoot > > 857 368-9175 work > 781 941-6842 personal cell > 617 595-5217 work cell > 126 Chestnut Circle > Lincoln, MA 01773 > > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >
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