Posts Tagged ‘Main Street’
Envision bike lanes
I have some bad news and some worse news. The bad news: Bike lanes are coming to Wakefield Square. The worse news: There’s not a thing you can do about it. Why, you ask? The answer can be expressed in one word: money. The town wants $15 million from the state for a Main Street […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 5 Comments
Tags: automobiles, bicycles, bike lanes, cars, design, downtown, Envision Wakefield, Humor, infrastructure, Main Street, Mark Sardella, millennials, money, Opinion, parking, Politics, roads, sidewalks., stakeholders, Town Meeting, traffic, VHB, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Square, WakefieldMA
Taxation without occupation
First, they came for your plastic bags. Now, they’re back for your property rights. Article 26 on the April 29 Annual Town Meeting warrant proposes a new bylaw that would pertain to vacant storefronts. Under the proposed bylaw, property owners of first-floor storefronts that are vacant for more than 90 days would have to register […]
Filed under: Art, Columns & Essays, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Americans for the Arts, Art, building, business, bylaw, commercial property, fee, Humor, landlord, Main Street, Mark Sardella, Opinion, plastic bags, private property, profit, property tax, public art, real estate, rent, retail, store, storefront, taxes, Town Council, Town Meeting, vacancy, Wakefield Cultural Council, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Fine for parking
It was heartening to see the Wakefield Town Council take an action recently that will benefit those who drive automobiles, because the trend across the Commonwealth and the nation in recent years has been to treat motorists as the scum of the earth.
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: automobiles, bike lanes, Boston, Burrage Yale, business district, Cambridge, cars, downtown, drivers, Ed Dombroski, Green New Deal, Harvard Square, Humor, infrastructure, Jame Hartshorne, Main Street, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, motorists, Opinion, parking, pedestrians, Politics, public meeting, social media, Town Council, upgrade, VHB, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Pretty Vacant
“Isn’t it a shame about all the empty storefronts downtown?” “Which ones are empty?” “Well, I haven’t been downtown lately. Nobody goes there anymore because there’s too much traffic and not enough parking.” “Oh.” There’s one myth almost as persistent as the one that Wakefield has become so overdeveloped that there’s no room for an […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Boys & Girls Club, business, economy, hippies, John Devlin, Main Street, Mark Sardella, Molise, myth, Nonnos, Piece O Pizza, Procol Harem, Sixties, social media, storefronts, stores, Tommy James & the Shondells, vacancy, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Yogi Berra
Running down the downtown
“Wakefield has such a pretty downtown,” my friend in the passenger seat said as we drove past The Rockery on the right, with its rows of bright red and white tulips leading up to the Hiker Statue. It was a few weeks ago and the fountain hadn’t been turned on yet. “That’s not what our […]
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Tags: Albion Cultural Exchancge, business development, business district, commercial, downtown, economic revitalization, economy, ghost town, Lake Quannapowitt, Main Street, MAPC, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, merchants, parking, real estate, restaurants, retail, stores, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Main Streets
Make Main Street one-way
Sometimes the solutions to our problems are so close we overlook them. I am speaking of course of the new “Wakefield Walk” proposal that would make Main Street one-way heading north from the Melrose line to Lowell Street. The northbound lane would remain open to vehicular traffic with no changes. The southbound lane would become […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: automobiles, bicycle path, bikes, business, carbon footprint, cars, Climate Change, earth, environment, Festival Italia, fossil fuels, Fred's Franks, Holliday Stroll, Lake Quannapowitt, Lynnfield, Main Street, Mark Sardella, Mother Earth, One-way, pedestrians, planet, rail trail, restaurants, sustainability, The Farmland, vendors, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Walk, walking trail
Fantasy League
The irony of the moment was not lost on acting Planning Board chairman Bill Spaulding. “I do find it interesting that you’re questioning the parking – the amount of it,” Spaulding told Bronwyn Della-Volpe at hearing last week on Town Meeting Article 12, which was aimed at revitalizing the downtown with more mixed-use, residential-above-retail development. […]
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Tags: Brightview Senior Living, Bronwyn Della-Volpe, commuter rail, downtown, housing, Main Street, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Melrose MA, mixed-use development, parking, Pat Bruno, Paul Reavis, Planning Board, residential, retail, Town Meeting, Wakefield Civic League, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, William Spaulding, zoning
