WBIX Radio Signal So Loud on My Phones That I Can’t Use My Landline During Daylight Hours

I'd sure love to know who decided WBIX could broadcast at 40,000 watts of power from the WKOX transmitters. Whoever it was likely doesn't live within 3 miles of said transmitter. I do, and their signal is so loud on all the landline telephones in my house that I no longer can use my home phone during daylight hours.

It's so bad that people I've tried calling during the day complain about it. It's so bad that I cannot hear people I'm trying to talk to over the noise of the radio signal. It's so bad that the signal comes in louder on my speaker phone than it does on my radio.

I'm generally a fan or broadcast radio -- in fact, I'm an amateur radio operator and have made numerous transmissions from my own home station. But I'm responsible enough not to blast maximum power at all times (and have been off the air for the most part from home for several years now).

These kinds of problems are often caused by unshielded outlets or equipment. However, I've been at this location (with the same phone equipment) for many years, and there are several other radio stations in the area, yet I haven't had any problems with them like I've got now with WBIX. And I know I'm not alone. The recorded message at the station when I called offered an automated transfer for callers who were experiencing interference problems. (Of course, the resulting transfer led to an endlessly ringing phone, not even voice mail so you can leave a message. I'll try again tomorrow....)

Update: Just to be clear, when I said these problems are "often caused by unshielded outlets or equipment," I meant in the unfortunate RFI victim's home, not necessarily the radio station transmitter. They could be running a perfectly clean signal, and perhaps it's just my tough luck.

But before I go spending $100 or more on RF filters to try to get my daytime phone service back throughout our various phone jacks, I was hoping they'd have some information/advice for me, or even work with me to help solve the problem here (as a good amateur radio operator would do). What's really ticked me off is that there's a station in the middle of town that's recently started running quite a high amount of power, obviously causing interference issues, without anyone even answering the phone at their local office. There was no answer or voice mail for the "press 8 if you're having interference option" today during business hours either.

Natick Mall Condos an "Urban Lifestyle?" I Don’t Think So

In theory, I like the concept of urban-style living in the suburbs. It's what developers of Cronin's Landing pulled off in downtown Waltham, where residents can walk out their doors to enjoy a stroll along the Charles river or down Moody Street and its abundant offerings of restaurants or movies. And it's what I hope can be achieved in downtown Framingham someday, if the streetscape is ever improved enough so that people living in the planned new residences can and will want to walk out their doors and have dining, shopping and entertainment options within a 5- or 10-minute walk.

But the vision of "Nouvelle at Natick," the condos being built at the expanded Natick Mall, is something quite different, despite marketing literature promising "all the amenities and conveniences of urban living in the more pastoral settings of Boston's MetroWest suburbs." This is not urban living in the traditional American sense - where one of the key attractions is fabulous shared public space, integrated into the larger community. The appeal of living on Beacon Hill or Back Bay in Boston or in Manhattan includes not only stores and restaurants, but also cultural attractions like symphony, opera, ballet and museums, as well as the architecture, parks and public streetscapes. It's being able to walk out the door and experience all the excitement that a city has to offer.

"Nouvelle," however, offers only the most materialistic of these components -- stores and restaurants -- in what could be considered "public" space, the privately owned enclosed mall where non-residents are allowed to enter. But other aspects are decidedly private, such as the residents-only rooftop garden. Now, there's nothing wrong with private amenities in an urban setting; the issue I have here is that except for the high-capitalism ones, all the other amenities appear to be private. And the kind of cultural offerings that truly make great urban living remain unmentioned. When the only nearby entertainment is a multiplex cinema showing mainstream Hollywood movies - a theater that's less than a mile away but you have to drive to it because there's no way to walk from here to there - that's not my idea of city living.

"Nouvelle at Natick" may be a lifestyle that many will find appealing because of the luxury touches and proximity to high-end retail. But unless there are changes to the designs that I've seen to make it less physically isolated from the community surrounding it and offer more than numerous ways to spend your money shopping and eating, it's still very much a suburban design.

Northborough Committee Mulls Pedestrian-Friendly Zoning

A town subcommittee examining zoning regulations is considering changes that would favor a more walkable downtown, according to the Northborough-Southborough Villager.

"One way of making shopping areas easier for pedestrians to navigate is to move parking areas in back or to the side of buildings and have buildings close to the street," the article notes. "The idea of pedestrian friendly business areas came from a Community Development Plan done in Northborough a few years ago, said Rick Leif, chairman of the Planning Board and a member of the zoning subcommittee. He would like to see a move in that direction. Right now the town's business areas are dominated by Rte. 20, Leif said."

The point is to create a sense of place, one that would make a local business district more like a traditional New England small town "and less like a highway," Leif told the Villager.

Another Local Pedestrian Killed, This Time in Hudson

A man was hit by a minivan while trying to cross Rte. 85 in Hudson, the MetroWest Daily News reports. Kenneth White, 65, was crossing near Giasson Street by Brooks Pharmacy. There is a crosswalk in the area, although Hudson police said they didn't know if White was in the crosswalk when he was struck and killed.

Update: Police now say that White was in the crosswalk - where vehicles are required by law to stop for pedestrians - when he was fatally struck, according to the News.

A woman living near the intersection told the News that drivers regularly speed through. "Why isn't there a blinking light above the crosswalk so people know it's there?" she asked.

Good question.

I don't know the specifics of this tragedy; but in general, whenever there's not a large volume of pedestrians crossing, too many drivers assume they have exclusive rights to the roadways and speed through "thickly settled" areas, not looking for people on foot. This is becoming increasingly dangerous to those of us who either need or want to occasionally go someplace without using a motorized vehicle.

In fact, even when there are a large number of expected pedestrians, cars often whiz through well-marked crosswalks in broad daylight, such as on First Night in Boston near the Public Garden. Our intersections need to be better designed with pedestrians, not only cars, in mind; and our crosswalks need to be better marked. And there needs to be some enforcement when drivers barrel through crosswalks without regard for pedestrians.

Hingham Seeks to Beautify Downtown Streetscape

As the Greenbush commuter rail line is slated to come to the South Shore, Hingham officials are seeking to "restore the historic appearance of downtown," including "better lighting and sidewalk improvements to make it more user-friendly in the 21st century," Development and Industrial Commission Chairman Bruce Rabuffo told the Hingham Journal.

"The improvements are a cooperative effort involving the HDIC, Selectmen, the Hingham Downtown Association, and others to beautify the downtown area, improve parking, and to make Hingham Square and the surrounding area safer and more appealing for pedestrians," the Journal notes.

The town started back in 2003 with a working group "to find ways to improve the physical and business environment of the Square and surrounding area. The focus was on creating a more pedestrian-friendly environment."

It is, of course, a focus that downtown Framingham needs as well, if it hopes that transit-oriented development and new residential units will bring more economic vitality to the area. Pedestrian-appealing streetscapes have been all but ignored in most town development plans - a single walkway on the side of Lowe's is the lone exception that springs to mind, even as the front of the building remains as pedestrian-hostile as the rest of the Golden Triangle. We're still waiting to see if the Saxonville Walgreen's expansion plan will ruin one of the few walkable neighborhoods that exist in town, as current plans include a drive-through window (major mistake in a densely developed historic business district), three-lane-wide curb cut and complete screening between sidewalk and stores except for the vehicle driveways - i.e. no pedestrian path from sidewalk to stores, discouraging local foot traffic. Fortunately, Planning Board members seemed to acknowledge that pedestrian issues are an issue there.

Other communities in general seem to understand that current trends call for more than strip malls and big-box retailers; and things like filling in "holes" in your downtown streetscape and creating enticing walking environments are critical in order to make people want to spend time in an area. We ignore these trends at our peril.