Residents Sound Off on How They Would Like to See Watertown Look Like in the Future

Today Watertown is seen as a place with welcoming neighborhoods, interesting diversity with the beauty of the Charles River, but also as a place that people drive through to get to other town, unfriendly to pedestrians and overdeveloped areas.

Residents got their another chance to share their ideas about how the town will look in the future during the second Comprehensive Plan workshop on Monday at Watertown Middle School. 

Consultants from VHB took the input from the first workshop and created some goals and mission statement for the plan. (More details are available at the two project websites http://www.vhb.com/watertowncompplan/ and http://www.envisionwatertowncompplan.com.)

Among the goals the consultants highlighted were:

• attract businesses and restaurants to draw people to center's like Watertown and Coolidge squares
• calm traffic on the town's major roads
• preserve and enhance the Charles River
• redevelop underutilized buildings and parcels in town

Residents said they thought the consultants missed some imporant part of the vision.

The top one may have been the town's schools. A number of residents brought it up, and State Sen. John Lawn summed it up.

"When I grew up there were 8 grammar schools. Now we have three aging grammar schools," Lawn said. "The fact we are not even talking about schools is a shame." 

In addition, a number of people said more attention should be paid to adding more trees to the streets of Watertown. That would provide more shade, make the air cleaner and make the area more beautiful.

Playing up Watertown's historic roots also was a popular goal. One resident suggested creating a local version of the Freedom Trail to highlight Watertown's historic resources and past.

Along with attracting cafes, restaurants and businesses that will draw people to town, many talked about how they dislike the large housing projects being built in town - particularly on the West End of town along Pleasant Street.

Lawn, who is also in the real estate business, warned that what residents want is not always what makes business sense. He noted that a building on Pleasant Street originally was meant to be lab space, but had to be converted into housing.

"The town does not own the property along Pleasant Street," Lawn said. " Development is driven by the market."

The next community meeting on the Comprehensive Plan will be held in the late summer or early fall, according to the consultants.