4-hour limit to events on the common is not a good idea

To the Editor,

I am a Waltham High School student. My friends and I started a petition about the restricted hours of events on Waltham Common because we like to attend events such as the Steampunk festival and others. But now with the time limit, these events may go away or be limited. As a kid growing up in Waltham, I would like to see these events preserved and not damaged by time limits. The time limit seems to benefit very few residents at the cost of the enjoyment of the city at large.

The Mayor has done many good things, such as making improvements to a lot of the parks around town and especially the new high school which I attend. But I think this time limit is not a good idea.

The new rule matters because a 4-hour time limit on these events puts an unnecessary strain on them. Four hours isn’t enough time for many vendors to justify the effort to come to the events or for restaurants and other businesses on Moody Street to benefit from the increased traffic. People like to go to these events for a few hours and then maybe get a bit to eat. The time limit forces people to prioritize their time. Why do that? A 6- or 8-hour run time would be far more accommodating. 

The time limit makes things harder for families as well. There was one dad who filled out the petition who wrote: “I’m a father of two young twins. We love going to events, but between meals, naps, etc., we often can’t make a 4-hour time window. When events run longer it really makes it possible for my family to participate.”

This also affects more than Waltham because many people from outside of Waltham have filled out the petition. We even got a person from Pennsylvania!

People ask why a kid cares about business. I’ve been getting my feet wet. I’ve sold some crafts online and it’s hard. It’s hard to make money. I’ve learned that. So, let’s not put financial and time strains on the events on the Common. Let’s keep Waltham fun!

Joshua Guerrero