How can we create a more active and vibrant downtown Framingham?

Framingham is having a drop-in meeting tonight to get ideas on how we can "create a more active and vibrant center in Downtown Framingham." Some of the questions they're asking:

• What businesses would you like to see in Downtown?
• Are there opportunities to encourage more people to live in Downtown?
• What rules should guide new development, and how can our transportation systems support it? 

All good questions, but in order to make "an active, walkable, safe and vibrant Downtown," there's got to be a lot of emphasis on walkable. And that means creating an attractive, appealing, compelling streetscape that makes people want to stroll to multiple destinations instead of visiting one place, turning around and leaving. 

Without that, getting another new business won't help -- anyone who goes to that business won't go anywhere else; they'll just come and go. And even if you could attract more people to live downtown, they'll get in their cars and drive places if there's not an environment that entices them to walk.

The train station already draws people downtown, but there's simply no synergy that attracts them elsewhere. That's because the critical corridor between the train station and many downtown businesses is not one that encourages people to stroll -- and not only because it's unattractive.

"While many factors contribute to [pedestrian] comfort of a place, the most significant is probably its degree of architectural enclosure -- the amount that it makes its inhabitants feel held within a space," write Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk and Jeff Speck in Suburban Nation. While downtown Framingham was not designed in a post-WWII sprawl pattern, in fact much of downtown also suffers from a lack of attention to what will entice people to walk around.

"People are attracted to places with well-defined edges and limited openings, while they tend to flee places that lack clear definition or boundaries," Duany, Plater-Zyberk and Speck continue. "For this reason, the most effective technique for designing successful urban spaces is to think of them as outdoor living rooms. To feel like a room, a street must have relatively continuous walls, whose design calls attention to the space as a whole rather than to individual buildings. . . .

"If a street is to provide the sense of enclosure that the pedestrians desire -- if it is to feel like a room -- it cannot be too wide. To be precise, the relationship of width to height cannot exceed a certain ratio, generally recognized to be about 6:1. If the distance from the building front to building front is more than six times the height of those building fronts, the feeling of enclosure is lost, and with it the sense of place."

"Sense of enclosure" definitely doesn't define Rte. 135 around the train station! One low industrial building set far back from the street can ruin the entire area. Why not try at least to landscape the sidewalk-facing edges of such parking lots?

Other issues of note: The area immediately around the library does not signal to patrons that they should be strolling and enjoying nearby retail the way the library in downtown Natick is so obviously surrounded by retail. Panza Shoes is a regional destination store and it should be surrounded by several other destination retail sites on that same block instead of the hodge-podge of storefronts that are there now. Pho Dakao, the new Vietnamese restaurant downtown, is drawing patrons; a priority should be surrounding it with some other businesses that are open during the dinner hour and would appeal to people going to or leaving from dinner, instead of having people walk by a bunch of shuttered storefronts.

The potential of Framingham State to energize downtown Framingham is lost, too, because there's not an appealing pedestrian corridor between the campus and downtown, nor a great sense of place if students wanted to drive/take a shuttle bus and then walk around.

There are some useful examples here of how important aesthetics are in planning:

http://www.miami21.org/IllustratedGoodPlanning.asp

I realize that professional planners in Framingham and at MAPC know these things, but for whatever reason, we have not been able to implement them successfully in downtown Framingham to date. But until residents and Town Meeting Members as well as professional planners understand that these kinds of aesthetics are not frills, but are absolutely essential if we are ever to transform downtown into a compelling destination, revitalization can only go so far.

Residents, officials urge state to improve Rte. 9 pedestrian environment

The Commonwealth plans to do some sidewalk improvements along Route 9 as part of a Stimulus-funded resurfacing project in Natick and Framingham. However, the plans also call for eliminating some existing grassy strips between blacktop sidewalks and the roadway, instead relying on painted lines to mark walkways, Department of Transportation officials said at a public hearing tonight in Framingham.

Fortunately, several town officials objected to this idea, suggesting instead either a change of material -- such as concrete -- or even raised sidewalks, to "restore not the privilege but the right of walking on the right of way," as Planning Board Chairman Carol Spack said. (That whole painted line idea didn't work very well when it was tried next to BJ's.)

Several officials including Selectmen Chair Ginger Esty urged the state to work on the Rte. 9 median, making a more visually pleasing separator such as has been done in Shrewsbury. Alas, due to the $12.5 million budget limit, it sounded unlikely there will be any improvements on the median for this project. However State Sen. Karen Spilka said that separately, the Metropolitan Area Planning Councilis working on a longer term Route 9 corridor study that will hopefully deal with issues such as this. "That is taking place now in a much more thorough way" than the resurfacing project, which is in design now with hopes to advertise for bids next month and start construction in April.

The project includes plans to fill in some gaps where there are no sidewalks at all, although Sue Bernstein's query about adding sidewalks to the south side of Rte. 9 across from the reservoir near several apartment complexes, allowing people to walk to Temple Street, received a negative response (it's not included and there are no plans to do so). It's still unclear whether there will be a sidewalk in front of the State Police barracks, as apparently there are some security concerns.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much of tonight's comment time was spent talking about pedestrian needs -- adequate and safe sidewalks and crossing areas. One resident of a condo complex along Rte. 9 who came primarily to find out about noise issues during the roadwork, also complained how difficult it was to walk on Rte. 9. In fact, she said one night she tried to walk and ended up calling a taxi because it was so scary. Walking right next to zooming traffic doesn't feel good. Which is why removing grassy barriers is absolutely the wrong way to go.

I added to that plea for better sidewalks, building on those comments to zero in on one of my favorite themes: Sidewalks need to be aesthetically pleasing, and streetscapes need to be walker-friendly, if people are going to use them. Simply installing concrete (or even worse, painting lines on asphalt) will not get people out on foot.

William Hanson, chair of the Framingham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, outlined several steps that could make Rte. 9 safer for cyclists, including striping a bicycle lane near traffic on ramps to give motorists a heads up that there may be bicycles on the road. He also asked state transportation officials to make sure they maintain pedestrian access during construction and ensure "the sidewalks is not a free staging area for materials."

I also submitted written testimony to the Mass. Dept. of Transportation. If you'd like to, you can send it to Frank A. Tramontozzi, P.E., Chief Engineer, MassDOT - Highway Division, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA  02116-3973 and reference Project File No. 604991.

Aesthetics, sidewalks matter: My testimony to the state Dept. of Transportation

I delivered this written testimony to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation at a public hearing tonight on a federally funded Route 9 road resurfacing project:

Lessen traffic congestion, improve aesthetics, create a more successful retail corridor and make for happier residents. The Route 9 corridor project can achieve all this at once by keeping one goal in mind: Design for "park once, walk to multiple places."

People who come to the Framingham/Natick retail corridor should be encouraged by the environment to leave their vehicles in one place and then go to several destinations by foot.

It dumps unnecessary traffic in an already congested area, when people feel they must get in their cars to travel half a mile or less. But that's the case now along Route 9. Shoppers feel uneasy or unsafe trying to cross Rte. 9 on foot - or even walk on one side. There are ugly, unappealing sidewalks that are constantly broken by huge floods of traffic spilling onto Rte. 9. And extremely inadequate pedestrian crossings.

I urge you to include in this project:

• Adequate crossings that are more than lines painted on a road. We need permanent physical markers such as a raised or brick crossing -- not only for crossing Rte. 9 but also the roads that intersect it.


• Traffic signal timings that don’t make pedestrians sprint across the street.


• If possible, an attractive separator between east and westbound traffic that would allow pedestrians a safe place to pause.


• Aesthetically pleasing sidewalks. The mere existence of sidewalks is not enough. If they are unpleasant, they will not be used, even if it is theoretically "possible" to walk on them.

Research has shown that most walkers need an environment with a feeling of "architectural enclosure"  making people feel "held within a space." As the book Suburban Nation demonstrates, without that feeling of enclosure, streets don’t attract pedestrian life. City Hall Plaza in Boston is a prime example.

I know this project can't move buildings closer to the sidewalk to compensate for a wide traffic channel. But trees and other landscaping can help separate the sidewalk from the major traffic artery nearby and encourage walking, by creating a more compelling space. This kind of landscape architecture is not a frill that can be cut to save money. It is critical if the corridor is ever to evolve from inefficient sprawl to encouraging a reasonable amount of foot traffic for trips under a mile.

For a model, I urge you to look at the busy Beacon Street corridor in Brookline, which has a vibrant pedestrian life in addition to a heavy flow of vehicle traffic. It's no accident that there is also physical separation between the sidewalk and the traffic, in some cases by brick design and in many cases by on-street parking.

Closer locally, an aesthetically pleasing pedestrian walkway along the side of the new Lowe's on Rte. 30 has encouraged a few more people to be out on foot. Much to my surprise, on the big Black Friday shopping day last month, I was not the only person walking from Lowe's across Rte. 30 to Kohl's and Shoppers World -- I saw a number of people out doing the same, even though it was raining. You'll see many more people trying to walk from place to place along Route 9 if there are sidewalks that provide a more visually compelling streetscape. That means more than a strip of cement inches away from 8 or 10 lanes of traffic whizzing by.

As the Department of Transportation's own Web site says: "Walking is key to a successful multimodal transportation system, contributes to community quality of life, and enhances personal wellbeing." That's true not only for Brookline, Cambridge and Boston but for Framingham and Natick as well.

I urge the state to design Route 9 through the Framingham/Natick retail corridor to encourage - not just enable, but promote -- walking between nearby destinations.

Thank you.

Also see my write-up of tonight's public hearing.

Here's our chance to have a say on Rte. 9 walkability

The state plans to resurface about 8 miles of Rte. 9 in Framingham and Natick. As part of the project, Mass. Dept. of Transportation will hold a public hearing aimed at "fully acquainting" us with the plans, but the public will be able to offer comments as well.

Part of the project includes "sidewalk and wheelchair ramp upgrades" as well as "new pavement markings and signs." Dare we hope there might be some consideration for walkability? For creating an appealing walking environment, not just installing sidewalks within inches of 10 lanes of traffic whizzing by that no one would want to use? For usable crossing areas that feel safe to traverse?

I hope to be there to find out (and report). The hearing is on Wednesday, December 23 in the Memorial Building (Framingham Town Hall) Ablondi Room, beginning at 7 pm.

Black Friday ... on foot

I find sitting in holiday shopping traffic about as appealing as fingernails on a blackboard, which is why I decided to try a bit of local Black Friday shopping as a pedestrian. Instead of driving over to Kohl's, across from Shoppers World and all its traffic, I left my car at Stop & Shop and walked.

How did it go? Thanks to the pedestrian path alongside of Lowe's (back to back with Stop & Shop), the walk from my car to Rte. 30 was actually pleasant. Thumbs up to the new sidewalk that's actually designed to make walking attractive as well as safe -- as opposed to the ludicrous yellow stripes painted on the busy street that was supposed to pass for pedestrian access between BJs and Target across the way.

Crossing Rte. 30 is always a dicey proposition, and trying to cross an intersection on foot with 5+ lanes of traffic and no pedestrian-friendly separator is even more so. However, at least there are clearly painted crosswalks (although I'd prefer something like the brick crossing at Elm Street & Potter Road), as well as traffic signals that stop traffic all ways.

It's still a bit scary crossing Rte. 30 on foot, even with the light, since most drivers don't expect pedestrians at that intersection; if they're looking to make a right on red, they may be checking for oncoming vehicles to their left and not walkers to their right. Plus, you've got to use a pretty brisk pace to make it across the multiple lanes of traffic in the short amount of time you're given to cross a rather wide multi-lane road.

However, it all worked out fine. It only took me 7 or so minutes each way -- really not much longer than driving through traffic-choked roadways. And much to my surprise, I saw other people out walking between Target, Shoppers World and/or Kohl's, despite the light rain. I'm not the only one who's discovered that even in an area not well designed for pedestrians, it can be less hassle to walk from place to place than take your auto.

Bonus: When I got back to my car, I was well positioned to pop into the grocery store and pick up some post-Thanksgiving, non-turkey-related weekend dinner ingredients, without having to make multiple stops.

As I've said in earlier posts, it's unlikely many of us who need to travel to work each day can realistically live car-free in a suburb like Framingham. Existing development patterns tend not to support meaningful public transit, especially in areas of town with lower population densities. Instead, planners need to strive toward commercial and retail development that encourage parking once and walking to multiple destinations. How much traffic would be reduced if there were a safe and visually appealing way to walk between destinations like the Natick Mall, Shoppers World, Target, Kohl's, the Logan Express Bus and nearby offices on Speen Street, Route 9 and Old Connecticut Path?

New pedestrian crossings in town

A look at two upgraded pedestrian crossings in Saxonville, at the McAuliffe branch library and Potter Road/Elm Street.

[gallery]

Walkability: 2 local events tonight

There are two events of note this evening for those interested in livable, walkable communities.

In Framingham, there's a Cochituate Rail Trail workshop if you'd like to find out more about trail plans and offer comments of your own.  The design will be ready for preview starting at 6:30 pm, with a formal presentation beginning at 7 followed by comments and Q&A. That's in the Memorial Building (town hall) Blumer Room, 150 Concord St.

Or, attend a talk on "Mode Shift:  moving from driving to transit, biking, and walking" hosted by LivableStreets Alliance in Central Square (100 Sidney St.) from 7-9 pm in Cambridge. Jason Schrieber discusses what factors get people out of their cars. Better mass transit, bike lanes and sidewalks? Financial incentives such as gas tax and parking prices? Better land use patterns?

Hospital hypocrisy

Does anyone else find irony in a company that brings for-profit capitalism to healthcare complaining about "unfair competition" if another institution invades what it considers its monopoly-protected turf?

MetroWest Medical Center is owned by Vanguard Health Systems, a multi-billion-dollar company that turned a $16 million profit from the (continuing) operations of 15 hospitals around the country in the last quarter. Vanguard Health Systems' Web site boasts that the company brings "the business acumen of a privately owned organization" and "the strengths of a for-profit corporation" to its hospitals (although good luck finding anything about that on the MetroWest hospitals' own site).

You can't have it both ways. You can't take advantage of free-market capitalism to earn a profit for investors from treating people's injuries and illnesses, and then complain about competition.

Rte. 126 Corridor Study in the Works

A Route 126 Corridor Transportation Improvement Study will soon be underway in Framingham, Ashland, Holliston, Medway and Bellingham. The goal is to improve access to commercial, retail, educational and services.

The study, under the aegis of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, will recommend design, traffic and other changes to the corridor. There will be "special emphasis on the effective and safe accommodation of pedestrians and bicyclists," according to a statement issued by state Rep. Pam Richardson. "Bus service improvement recommendations may also be developed."

Rte. 126 in Framingham is one of the roadways desperately needing a better pedestrian environment, especially when it comes to crossing intersections on foot. If you check out a map I created a couple of years ago of accidents in Framingham where pedestrians were injured (2003-2005), you'll see a huge cluster of pins along the Rte. 126 corridor. Improved walker safety in this area is clearly needed.

Aesthetic improvements are also needed, as well as better walkways: Many sidewalks are narrow with no buffer between walkers and traffic, and some almost impassable in spots due to poorly situated utility poles and other obstacles.

The project will start with "formation of an advisory task force that includes town officials, affected residents, members of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), the Massachusetts Highway Department, and the Executive Office of Transportation and Public Works, as well as local Senators and Representatives," Rep. Richardson's statement says. The task force is supposed to meet in mid-June and then again "within 12 months."

Good news: Local officials get serious about mall-area walkability

I was heartened to see a piece in today's Globe West focusing on attempts by Framingham and Natick officials "to make the retail sprawl of Route 9 more pedestrian friendly with better sidewalks, benches, and other amenities."

Great news! ... especially for those of us who work within walking distance of the stores, but who can't actually walk to the mall because it's so dangerous and unpleasant to cross major intersections in the way.

It's all but pointless to promote a retail district like "the Golden Triangle" without offering an attractive, appealing way to walk within it. After all, if you've got to get in your car and battle traffic congestion to get from one place to another, it no longer matters much whether you're going half a mile, a mile or a couple of miles; the synergy of a retail district is lost. Without a walkable "park once, walk to multiple destinations" retail center, you lose the advantage of serendipity -- stumbling upon a destination you didn't know would interest you until you saw it. This is the philosophy behind any well-designed individual store -- put related attractive products close together -- or shopping mall (not to mention Web site). But you can't browse or window shop while you're in a moving vehicle. Nor do you want to in the current hideous walking environment within Golden Triangle destinations.

Walkability means more than the presence of barely usable, ugly sidewalks that make it theoretically possible to get from one place to another on foot. Most people will not walk between retail destinations unless there is a pathway that feels safe and comfortable, and is at least moderately aesthetically pleasing. A sidewalk with 8 lanes of traffic on one side and acres of asphalt on the other, with no buffer or greenery on either side, will not be used by any but the hardiest of pedestrians. To encourage widespread walking will require more than adding a few benches and pretty lights; we need appealing streetscapes that offer buffers between walkers and vehicles and sizeable medians (think Beacon Street in Brookline) for pedestrian crossings. Based on today's article, I'm cautiously optimistic that some of our planning officials support the need for true walkability.

Life in downtown Framingham this weekend

It was what I called "artists' weekend" in Framingham last weekend, with open studios at Fountain Street downtown and in Saxonville, as well as a free family afternoon at the Danforth Museum. Plus the usual cultural activities at the Amazing Things arts center. And while it's a cliche that artists taking advantage of cheap loft space can help bring vibrancy to a downtown center, well, cliches often become cliches because they speak (some) truth.

I went with a friend Saturday first to Panza Shoes downtown, which was surprisingly bustling; and then to the Fountain Street open house. There's a sizable free parking area at the Fountain Street studio building, and still tough to find a spot there; turnout was strong, and the event larger -- and more enjoyable -- than I expected. We got there around 3 and didn't get to see everything before things closed up at 5.

What was missing, though, was an appealing pedestrian streetscape between destinations like Panza and Fountain Street. There was a ton of auto traffic, but few pedestrians. And foot traffic is key in order to take advantage of multiple attractions and create a critical mass.

Downtown Framingham does have some compelling destinations: Amazing Things, Panza, the Danforth. What it does not yet have is synergy between them, because there are too many unattractive gaps between them. It's not yet a "park once, walk to many" environment. But there's potential. However, people must realize that creating a compelling ambiance for walkers is not a frill; it's essential for the next step of downtown revitalization.

Financial meltdown silver lining: Boston City Hall to stay put

I detest the appearance of Boston's City Hall as much as the next person. It's a hideous building that looks like a low-budget parking garage, in the midst of a plaza that seems ideally designed to be vacant with trash blowing through. That said, though, Mayor Menino's plan to move City Hall to the South Boston waterfront was a bad one.

There are many ways to bring life to a new area of the city that officials believe is prime for (re)development. However, moving critical government services to a place that is less accessible to the citizenry is not one of them.

The waterfront is tougher to get to from many areas of the city, is served by fewer mass transit routes and is not really walkable from other neighborhoods. City Hall belongs in the heart of the city.

So, I was glad to read the news that Mayor Menino is dropping plans to relocate Boston City Hall, citing the financial situation. "I could not get value out of the City Hall property right now with the real estate market down," he told the Boston Globe, denying the decision was due to criticism of the plan.

Separately, that's why I think it's too bad Framingham town services are clustered on one side of our community. While it may make sense from a population density standpoint to have town offices, the main library and the police station downtown, it makes the pulse of our community unnecessarily far removed from a number of neighborhoods and many residents.

Framingham is a physically large community (in square miles, half the size of Boston). Combine that with too many people who believe that investment and services should be centralized (such as those South Side Town Meeting members who voted against rebuilding the grossly inadequate branch library in Saxonville, believing all of us should drive downtown for our services), and you end up with a lot of Framingham residents who are significantly separated from  municipal services.

For example, I am closer to the public libraries in both Sudbury and Wayland than I am to Framingham's main library; I'm closer to Sudbury's and Wayland's police headquarters than I am to Framingham's.  If I want to take an adult education class, I'm closer to Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School than I am to Keefe Tech (while Framingham High School is convenient, there are no programs for adults there that I know of beyond a fitness center open to the community 10 hours/week for a fee). And there are plenty of people who live farther from downtown Framingham than I do. When the heart of a community is off to one geographic side, it's not a good recipe for making all neighborhoods feel like they have equal access, and thus an equal stake.

Saxonville Lumber site plans: Details and my comments

I got a look at Tony Kwan's plans for the old Saxonville Lumber site yesterday. While as Brett said in the comments, the plan isn't everything I hoped it might be, it's a huge improvement over what's there now, and a lot better than plenty of other possible site uses.

[caption id="attachment_744" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Model of Riverview Plaza project at the old Saxonville Lumber site. Click image to see larger version."][/caption]

Here's a photo of the model of what the Saxonville Riverview Plaza would look like. The existing larger building will be kept where it is, but renovated  to become a "two-story facility with a contemporized colonial facade." An "ornamental exterior deck" would be a covered walkway with planters.  This building would be used as a health club, medical offices and small bank area. The new, smaller building would be for retail.

[caption id="attachment_748" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Artist rendition of proposed Riverview Plaza building facades (click image to view larger version)."][/caption]

You can see an artist's rendition of what the building facades would look like in the photo at the right.

Developer Tony Kwan says he's willing to donate some property to widen Concord Street there and provide an additional travel lane. The big intersection on the model photo above is at Concord and A streets.

I'm not a traffic-flow expert, and am not sure how you'd keep traffic from backing up on Concord and School streets with a traffic light at Concord and A. But I  hope that can be figured out.

I do know something about pedestrian-friendly development and walkability, and that entrance/exit with the three lanes of  cars going in and out needs to be redesigned; an unbroken driveway three lanes wide is a walkable-streetscape killer. This can be easily fixed by cutting the entering and exiting driveway to two lanes; or, if that's not possible, by putting a decent divider between the entering and exiting lanes, giving walkers a wide enough place to pause and not feel threatened by the traffic. In addition, a great deal of thought needs to be given to that intersection to make it not only theoretically possible to cross the street safely, but make it feel safe and like a compelling walking corridor.

[caption id="attachment_746" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Poster explaining some features of the proposed Riverview Plaza. Click image to see larger version"][/caption]

One of the most intriguing parts of the project is a so-called "pocket park" that will give both access and view to the Sudbury River. Here's a photo of an explainer for the park. Plans say it will include paved walkways, benches overlooking the river, bicycle racks and a drinking fountain. I hope he'll consider including a restaurant or cafe with outdoor seating facing the river and that park, to integrate the two and make the park part of the retail experience, instead of having a big blank wall with no windows or doors facing the river.

In general, though, this is a great addition to the Saxonville business district, since right now it's all but impossible to see or enjoy the river from most commercial areas of the Saxonville business district.

The Conservation Commission is scheduled to consider the project on Oct. 1, and the Planning Board on Oct. 16.

Redevelopment plans emerge for Saxonville Lumber site

The owner of the 5+-acre site housing the one-time Saxonville Lumber business has plans to put two buildings there: one housing a health club and medical office, the other for retail space, the MetroWest Daily News reports. This looks like good news indeed for the neighborhood, which has seen a key piece of the business district lie mostly fallow for more than a decade.

I'll be very interested to see details , which the News says may be before the Planning Board Oct. 16. I'm hoping plans include an attractive pedestrian streetscape -- meaning at least one building near the sidewalk, with an attractive facade and landscaping that make it appealing to walk by and to; there should be an obvious, appealing way that pedestrians can get to the businesses by walking. Saxonville is (for the most part) one of Framingham's few walkable neighborhoods, and we need to keep it that way. What we do not need is another strip mall with a moat of asphalt between pedestrians and businesses.

My ideal for the parcel would include a restaurant, cafe or other eaterie of some sort with outdoor seating in nice weather; nice landscaping, and some way patrons could take advantage of the river view. It's completely insane that we have no businesses in Saxonville that take advantage of proximity to the river.

First, owner Tony Kwan will be going to the Conservation Commission due to potential impact on nearby Cochituate Brook and the Sudbury River. Hopefully, that won't be a problem.

Route 30: What Could Be

With numerous nearby office buildings and hotels and loads of retail, Framingham's Route 30 still has the potential of being a park-once, walk-to-many destination with a real sense of place (despite the numerous chain stores).

Rte. 30 now has two specialty food shops with the potential to draw traffic from miles around: B&R Artisan Bread (a Boston Magazine Best of Boston for bakery bread and North End Treats (run by the same family that owns Bova Bakery in Boston's North End).

Imagine if you could park someplace and had a pleasant -- or even possible -- walking environment to go from one to the other, how many more people would be drawn to come to the area and patronize these local businesses? Now imagine they were up at the sidewalk - wide, attractive sidewalks with landscaping between walkers and the cars whooshing by. Imagine some attractive outdoor seating to enjoy a cup of coffee and pastry at North End treats.

Add to that some interesting restaurants, both ethnic and chain, -- which already exist in the area -- all in an attractive walking corridor, which doesn't exist. Actually, Rte. 30 already has several eateries with outdoor seating -- John Harvard's, Panera -- but you'd never know it from driving or even walking down the street, since both seating areas are surrounded by oceans of asphalt. Imagine if these establishments were at the sidewalk too, all in an appealing pedestrian corridor.

This is the potential of an area that already has the necessary critical mass of retail. However, we need town officials to make it more of a priority to create a walkable destination, so people who live and work (and are visiting) in the immediate area would find it attractive and compelling to walk from one place to another, instead of needing a car to drive a quarter-mile because it's either impossible to cross a street or feels dangerous and highly unappealing to walk down the street.

It would help, too, to encourage clustering of same-type businesses within walking distance (like Waltham did with restaurants; right now, B&R Bread and North End Treats are separated by the Mass Pike exit dumping cars onto Rte. 30, making it impossible to walk between them even if they were a bit closer). But even without that, it's crazy that there's not a more appealing walking corridor from the nearby hotels and offices to North End Treats.