I’m very excited and pleased by the recent approvals of money to fund new sidewalks in Waltham’s downtown and a special permit for a new development at 200 Moody Street (Delayed for over 2 years). Both of these projects are wise investments in the future of our city’s commercial center and the vitality of our community as a whole.
We should celebrate this stage of accomplishment. But that celebration should be very short. And when it ends, it’s time to Step On The Accelerator. As any resident knows, many forward-looking ideas in Waltham languish too long before becoming reality. They languish to the point where we just stop asking about them and they become just more projects on that on-hold heap.
The mayor and city council must commit now in getting these two vital projects done in a timely fashion. Let’s build on the energy that we’re currently enjoying. Let’s get the correct constituents together sooner rather than later and smartly and efficiently work through the next steps to get these two important projects done.
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Since we are on a roll, let’s double-down on these efforts. There are two downtown-focused projects that have seemingly been lost in the shuffle over the past few years. They demand our attention now.
The first is a collaborative project between the City of Waltham and the Waltham West Suburban Chamber of Commerce to design, build and install new signage around the Main and Moody streets area. This is a great project to create more informative and attractive signage. It will not only let visitors know where to park, shop and eat but also how to find our great cultural and historical sites as well.
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This signage project has already been funded with $200,000 by the city council. But, unfortunately, the project is a year past its projected completion date, according this Waltham News Tribune article from December 2011.
The second project is Embassy Park. You may remember that three years ago now, there was an excellent design competition to re-imagine this unique, but little-used, urban park on Moody Street. While the city is under no obligation to re-build the park to the beautiful winning design, there is the hope that it will eventually get done.
This is the time to press the accelerator and get all of these great projects going. The work is far from over and the challenges are great. Let’s build on this momentum because our city deserves to see these and many other ideas become reality.
Carlos Vidal candidate for at-large Waltham City Council
@carlos4waltham
