By GREG LEVINSKY
Waltham Times Contributing Writer
Imagine a one-way Moody Street or even a main thoroughfare with no cars.
A recently published Moody Street Pedestrian Mall Feasibility Study envisions both scenarios.
Commissioned by the city and drafted by Boston-based Nitsch Engineering, the study outlines three distinct options for reconfiguring Moody Street’s traffic flow to improve walkability, formalize outdoor dining and enhance the space while keeping access for emergency vehicles and other transportation as well as for parking needs.
The Traffic Commission will review the study’s proposals at its Oct.17 meeting, scheduled for 10 a.m. at Waltham City Hall.
The study, which includes a 60-page narrative and 300-plus pages of supporting documents, details the three distinct options.
Two of the three options call for one-way vehicular traffic with protected bike lanes, community space and “green infrastructure” such as rain gardens and trees.
The third option proposes Moody Street with no vehicular traffic permitted.
According to the study’s executive summary, the proposed Moody Street reconfigurations weigh concerns from local businesses about how a lack of parking could deter customers.
Nitsch Engineering selected the first option, which includes one-way northbound vehicular traffic, because of its combination of new community and green spaces and changes designed to alleviate traffic delays.
Some, however, do not favor that option.
“This plan sacrifices the family-friendly atmosphere of Moody Street for just 34 parking spaces,” said former Ward 9 City Councilor and mayoral candidate Jonathan Paz. “The traffic data is misleading, focusing on minor traffic improvements while ignoring the benefits of a two-way bike lane, transformative green spaces and upgraded sidewalks for the Waltham community.”
City Councilor-at-Large Colleen Bradley-McArthur said she hopes the study isn’t the “end-all be-all” of the matter. She also said the majority of her constituents remain in favor of the pedestrianization of Moody Street.
“I don’t think we should act on it right now. I also don’t think we should rely on someone within City Hall. When have a credentialed city planner within the city (which we do not currently have), that person should develop a plan based on community input and consensus and then implement it,” she said.
From 2020 to 2023, the city closed much of Moody Street to motor vehicles during the warmer months. This year the city designated it a “safe zone” with a 20-miles-per-hour speed limit.
Yuen Kwan, a member of the Bike Together Waltham advocacy group and a Waltham resident since 2008, said she believes “all three options are better than what we have.”
A proponent of “full pedestrianization,” Kwan, who shared her opinion and an official statement from Bike Together Waltham, acknowledged the perspectives of local business owners who want parking.
“Full pedestrianization is much better for all of us, the people and the environment,” Kwan said, “but I also understand there’s a lot of pushback from local people and businesses [to proposals eliminating motor vehicle traffic on Moody Street].”
The Waltham Farmers’ Market first tested a car-free Moody Street in fall 2019. Marc Rudnick, a founding organizer of the market, was also part of the group that petitioned to close Moody Street during October Saturdays in 2019 to test it as a pedestrian plaza. A half-decade later, he recalled it as a successful experience,
Rudnick, a nearly 50-year Waltham resident, said he remains a proponent of a pedestrian zone. He said he’d like to see more information about the pros and cons of each of the study’s three propositions and wants to see the city’s businesses thrive.
“I think all of those are good ideas, but I would’ve liked a study that says, ‘How do we do this? How do we pedestrianized Moody Street and make it good for businesses and the community?'” Rudnick said. “A street that’s meant for residents to be strolling, who wants two lanes of cars driving by? One is better than two, but none is better.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify a comment made by City Councilor-at-Large Colleen Bradley-McArthur.
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