THANK YOU FOR YOUR ADVOCACY!

Vision and Groundwork

Washington Street is wide enough to accommodate parking, traffic lanes, bike lanes, and safer, more attractive pedestrian access. Eunice Kim, a former Bike Newton Steering Committee Member and graduate student at the Tufts School of Public Policy, researched and wrote, in 2009, a bike lane feasibility study. She noted the street-scape was both unsafe and unfriendly for non-motorists, but there were many potential improvements that would add both to safety and aesthetic appeal. She also collaborated with Northeastern University engineering students on a creative plan to make Washington Street into a complete street.

In that plan, some parts of Washington Street would have one car travel lane in each direction; this design is fully supported by studies of traffic counts. Other parts would have more than one travel lane in each direction. The critical philosophy in road design is to base decisions on actual and projected road usage by all forms of transport: cars, trucks and buses, bicycles, and pedestrians. Many parts of Washington Street had too many car travel lanes for the number of cars, which diminished the total road share of pedestrians and cyclists. In the parlance of urban planners, Washington Street needed to go on a road diet.

Planning

In 2019, the City of Newton undertook the Washington Street Vision Plan. Its goal was to evaluate how Washington Street, as a collection of neighborhoods and villages, should change over time consistent with City policy and objectives.” One aspect which the Vision Plan considered was changed in the transportation system. As one of the City’s major east-west connectors, one goal of the Vision Plan was to improve the driving experience, to reduce conflicts with walkers and bikers, and to ensure that safety and comfort were foremost goals whether somebody was walking, biking, taking the bus or driving. Creating a safe two-directional Shared Use Path on the south side of Washington Street, separated from motor vehicle traffic was a major goal of this project.

Ground is broken for the Washington Street Pilot

In 2025, Newton’s City Council passed what is now known as the Washington Street Pilot. Ground was broken for the Washington Street Pilot in spring, 2025, and the construction phase of the project is intended to run through the fall, 2025. Bike Newton and Bike Newton members played an important part in advocating for that project. 

Washington Street Pilot

The Washington Street Pilot, the culmination of years of planning and negotiating involving citizens and city government, came into being in 2025 but is soon to expire.

The article below this alert, excerpted from the City of Newton website, describes its many virtues, including:

• reduced traffic speeds
• a dedicated bicycle lane
• a pedestrian lane separate from motor vehicle traffic providing safer pedestrian passage along the busy stretch of Washington Street from West Newton to Newtonville
• a public park and dog park between Walker Street and Harrington Street, on the south side of Washington St.
• greenery, providing better air quality and separation between the shops and living areas and the MassPike

Marc Laredo, our newly elected mayor, solicited feedback about this pilot at “Laredo Listens” sessions both in person and online. He also received feedback by email. Budget considerations lead him to ponder which aspects of the Pilot to keep and which to let go. He has determined, with the help of responses from the public, to retain the bicycle/pedestrian pathway.

What Can You Do NOW?

You can express your support for the pilot and appreciation to him for his decision to make the bicycle/pedestrian path permanent by emailing the mayor at mlaredo@newtonma.gov.

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