$64K Study To Focus On Route 9 Buildouts
If Route 9 were to be built out with no regard to regional planning, the major east-west thoroughfare running through the heart of MetroWest could become so crowded and jammed with traffic that it would make the area unattractive for future residents and developers, said Bruce Leish, executive director of the MetroWest Regional Collaborative.
To prevent that scenario, Leish and members of the Boston-based Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) have commissioned a $64,000-MetroWest Smart Growth Study to encourage efficient development across the region.
Leish wants communities along Route 9 to encourage developments that minimize traffic congestion, encourage pedestrian, bicycle and public transportation access, and include both commercial and residential components.
Leish envisions a MetroWest that has great interconnectivity between developments. He hopes the sprawl along Route 9 of the past few decades can be better controlled, and developers can instead be more thoughtful about where developments are completed in the region.
And now, after a vote last week, he and MAPC have some funds to work on those goals.
Stretching A Buck
MAPC, which is the Boston-based planning organization that covers 101 cities and towns in the greater metropolitan area, received a $4-million Sustainable Communities Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in fiscal year 2010. The grant gives MAPC money to study transportation, zoning and policy initiatives that help make the region sustainable.
As part of MAPC receiving the federal grant, various planning groups were eligible to apply for a portion of that funding for activities that help promote sustainable communities. Leish saw that as an opportunity to bring together some ongoing work of other study groups.
For example, there is a MetroWest/495 Development Compact study group at work right now. Planners working on that project expect to issue a report by the end of the year identifying the top sites for development and land preservation in the greater Interstate-495 region.
Leish sees this latest study focusing on Route 9 smart growth as a way to ensure that future developments contribute positively to the region.
The initiative received $42,000 from the steering committee charged with allocating the $4-million HUD grant, as well as $15,000 from MAPC and another $7,000 from the MetroWest Regional Collaborative. It will be focused on Route 9 communities Southborough Framingham, Natick and Wellesley, Leish said, but will encourage input from all members of the community.
After receiving approval from the steering committee to move forward on the project last week, Leish said details are still being finalized, but he expects work on the study to begin in earnest in January or February.
Eventually, the study could come up with a series of recommendations or proposed zoning changes to help encourage developments that are best for the region and local communities.
The MetroWest Smart Growth Plan is not the only study in MetroWest being funded by the Sustainable Communities Grant.
There is a study focused on the Framingham Technology Park, just off of Route 9 along New York Avenue, among other streets, in Framingham. It houses regional giants such as Genzyme and Bose Corp. Leish said that study is examining ways to make the technology park more pedestrian friendly and public transit accessible.
Amy Cotter, director of regional plan implementation for MAPC, said the sustainable communities grant from HUD is allowing the planning group to execute its 2008 MetroFuture plan, which is an overarching long-term vision for smart-growth initiatives throughout the region. She said projects like the MetroWest Smart Growth study and the Framingham Technology Park work do the same.
"Through projects like these we're working with communities to engage in conversations that lay the groundwork to create the places we want these areas to be," she said.
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