Traffic Commission in brief: National Grid catches flak for neighborhood disruptions, Main Street plans

National Grid is moving forward with plans to replace significant amounts of old gas pipe in the Felton Street neighborhood this year, but the company’s other construction ambitions are currently hitting roadblocks.

The utilities company received preliminary approval for the work from City Council in November, but the council required it to make a plan to mitigate the project’s traffic impacts and obtain approval for the plan from the city’s Traffic Commission.

At its Thursday meeting, the commission approved National Grid’s plans to manage traffic on Felton Street on the condition that it create a plan for parking construction vehicles off the street and coordinate weekly with a liaison from the Police Department on traffic and parking issues.

The company’s plans involve narrowing the travel lane for the length of construction, and potentially closing parts of the street during some phases of construction and redirecting traffic through Main Street. It estimated the project would take three to four months, and would need to be completed by September to avoid conflicting with the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s plans for utilities work.

The company also proposed a new project that hasn’t yet come in front of City Council to replace gas lines along Main Street. It presented a traffic management plan from The DDS Companies that involved 18 separate phases that included reducing travel lanes and restricting turns.

City officials said they were hesitant to approve the project and were not impressed with National Grid’s previous track record.

“I know this [work] is a public safety issue. I don’t contest that. What I contest is the process being used,” Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy told the commission. 

She said that during previous construction, National Grid had disrupted city equipment such as traffic detectors and failed to properly coordinate work with the city. “I’m just here more frustrated than anything else, because they just come in and they do what they want … they leave it a mess.”

Some members of the Traffic Commission agreed. City Clerk Joseph Vizard complained about equipment and cars left around the city during previous projects. 

“There has just been rampant disrespect for the city from National Grid,” he said. “I think there is a level of frustration for National Grid in the city at this point [and] that you might need to slow down.”

McCarthy pointed out that City Council’s bylaws require utilities companies to submit two-year plans for the projects they intend to complete before receiving approval for plans that would involve excavating roads. She said this measure is supposed to help the city make its own plans for public works projects and road resurfacing.

Ward 9 Councilor Robert G. Logan expressed incredulity about the city’s capacity to handle the proposed construction on both Felton and Main streets at the same time. 

The commission decided not to vote on the Main Street plan yet, asking the company to submit a sheet outlining the timeline of projects it plans to complete in Waltham in the near future, as well as a more detailed plan about the impacts of the proposed construction.

Additionally, the Traffic Commission:

• Approved 30 parking passes in the Embassy garage for exhibitors at the STEM Education Free Festival on May 30.
• Approved a crosswalk at Gardner Street proposed to the commission in September.
• Approved an outdoor dining plan for Moody Street this summer.
• Approved a plan to restrict parking on Elson Street. Vehicles will be able to park on the north side of the street only, except for a stretch between Hammond and Prentice streets where vehicles will be able to park only on the south side of the street, and two buffer areas where the city will not allow any parking.
• Approved a preliminary budget for the Traffic Engineering Department for FY2027.
• Approved the YMCA Dash & Splash Road Race for August 1.
• Authorized traffic engineer Mike Garvin to study how best to address a citizen petition requesting a “blind driveway” sign at School Street near Mt. Pleasant Street.
• Authorized Garvin to study the potential installation of an all-way stop sign at the intersection of Adams and Walnut streets.
• Discussed the effects of heavy snow on the city’s streets. Ward 8 Councilor Cathyann Harris thanked the Department of Public Works and first responders, suggesting that the department may need additional resources for future years to get snow cleared faster. She said she was considering legislation to address the issue and asked to return to the commission with updates.
• Voted 4–1 to replace the portable speed cushions the city plans to install on Crescent Street this summer with longer ones that would be slightly less effective but also slightly less noisy and disruptive for neighbors. This passed despite Garvin’s recommendation to wait to decide until finalizing a general traffic calming policy.
• Voted to improve signal timing at the intersection of South and Bedford streets. Garvin speculated that the reason his department has recently found many intersections see lower levels of traffic than they saw a decade ago was a result of post-COVID commuting changes.