This past spring and summer we, the Board of Friends of Albemarle, successfully advocated to add a study for an indoor pool onto the CIP. The lack of a pool at Newton South High School creates a lopsided demand loop in Newton as their swim team requires the use of the pool at North, which in turn increases pressure and scarcity for swim team and community use of the North pool.
We are confident that an indoor pool at or near South would enjoy steady use and create breathing room in the rest of Newton.
With the acquisition of this parcel of land, linked below, and now the solicitation of developers, we are hearing from community members that this is a clear opportunity to create the NSHS indoor pool that our city needs. Please consider this city improvement.
Clocks back, leaves piled, soccer goals (soon to be) stored away can only mean one thing, right? Yes! It’s time for the Fall issue of Field Notes!
Our focus is usually on the Albemarle fields, pool, playgrounds, woods and brook, but…what about the roads? Safer crosswalks and improved traffic flow would make our park more accessible.
MassDOT identified the Albemarle/Crafts intersection as a “high-crash cluster” requiring the attention of the Highway Safety Improvement Program. Last June they led a Safety Audit meeting there, as well as on Albemarle/North and North/Crafts – and the final report is both attached and linked here.
Was Friends of Albemarle at the audit? You betcha! We spend time in these intersections – by car, foot, bike, or all three, and have children crossing this high-crash cluster intersection daily, if not 2-4 times daily for school and sports. This is one high-crash cluster close to our hearts.
Knowing that there is an extensive list of 34 recommendations is a helpful start to a safer neighborhood. The next steps? Prioritizing and advocating for change.
The Six Safety Issues
1. Speed Limits and School Zoning
2. Intersection Geometry and Conflict Points
3. Lighting
4. Pedestrian and Bicycle Accommodations
5. Intersection Signalization
6. Drainage
Of the 34 recommendations, we’ll highlight 5 with a rating of “High Safety Payoff” and one extra, just for you. What do you think of these? Read the rest in the attached.
Consider establishing a 20-mph school zone along Crafts Street and provide school zone flashers, and a 20 mph Safety Zone along Crafts Street from Waltham to Washington St. (abutting Fessenden School, Albemarle Fields, Avery Woods, triangle park, Ed Center).
Consider reconstructing the northeast corner of the Crafts Street at North Street intersection to provide tighter curb radii and help reduce vehicle speeds, improve sight lines, and provide a safer crossing for pedestrians and cyclists.
Consider adding painted crosswalks across Albemarle Rd at all four intersecting segments with North St.
At the intersection of Crafts Street at North Street, consider installing a blank out No Turn on Red (NTOR) sign for the Crafts Street westbound approach, to control right on red conflicts during the pedestrian phase; and a NTOR on the North Street southbound approach
Consider installing an APS push-button system and countdown pedestrian indications at Crafts Street/North Street.
Evaluate current roadway lighting and upgrade/replace any existing lighting structures at the unsignalized pedestrian crossings to increase visibility of pedestrians and cyclist; and improve roadway visibility. Street lighting can be incorporated into the traffic signal mast arm design, if a traffic signal is preferred.
We’d like to see all 34 goals achieved, and those are 6 good places to start. So…let’s get started!
To advocate for these updates, let your city councilor know about this report [city councilor contact list], and tell them it’s important to you – not just for those living in this ward [ward map], but for ALL OF NEWTON, since this is the most heavily used playing field in our entire city of 90,000.
Board highlighted all that FOA has accomplished this year including promoting community meetings, creating a logo and selling magnets with the logo on it, writing a seasonal newsletter, fundraising for chairs at Gath pool to take advantage of the matching grant offered by the City, monthly meetings with head of Parks and Rec to learn scope of projects throughout the city and writing and distributing a survey for the future use of Albemarle Fields.
Looking Ahead to 2022-2023
Pool Design and advocacy, details such as lift design, slide placement, etc.
Field and lights reconfiguration
Traffic calming/bike advocacy, bike lane, and drop off details, keeping Parks up to date with traffic improvements
Bridges over Cheesecake Brook, second one to be added, what will aesthetic be?
NECP construction
Brainstorming: more exposure, more members
Table at 4th of July celebration to sell magnets
More posters with QR code around Albemarle
Road race to raise money, awareness, highlight park
It was so hot we needed a tent. May 21! That’s how hot it was! 90 degrees!
It’s getting hot out here, so hot, put up all your tents….
Welcome to the spring newsletter of Friends of Albemarle!
When sports teams and forsythia pop out on the field, and Avery Woods gets leafy once again…it must be spring. Spring!
Well, this is one action-packed spring at Albemarle, and I’m not talking sports.
We’ve got updates on redesign of the fields and the pool, both of which will be discussed online this coming Tuesday May 3 at a Community Meeting from 6-9pm. Register here to attend. Before Tuesday, check out the plans linked below so you have an informed perspective.
We’ve also got an exciting update on badly-needed traffic calming initiatives at Albemarle. Yay!
But first….
Metal Surfaces Needed
Psssst – I’ve got something crazy to tell you. There are still cars driving around out there without a Friends of Albemarle magnet! I KNOW! How? Why?
If you know of cars in this awkward position (or mailboxes, or anything else), just buy them a Friends of Albemarle Magnet: Visit the side-door foyer of 29 North St. in Newton, leave $5 per magnet in the mail slot and take the number of magnets you’ve paid for. Please show your support for this treasured green space of ours.
Annual Meeting
It’s time for our second annual meeting! Join us to discuss the work of our nonprofit now and in the near future.
Meet us at the Field House at Albemarle from 4-5pm on Saturday, May 21.
Pool, fields, lighting, playgrounds and safer walking and biking are all leading priorities for the area
Strong agreement from users that planning should include mitigating effects of climate change
What are your thoughts on these results? Email us and let us know.
4 Options: Field Reconfiguration
Newton worked with consulting firm Weston & Sampson to develop 4 options for the field. The urgency to redesign now is to replace the lights – costly and badly needed.
Or, view the full presentation. There are many changes, and we’re excited to potentially see a turf multi-use field coming to Albemarle as well as a U-12 soccer field. Option C keeps the hard courts near Day, which uses them daily in the fall and spring. (What was a tennis court is now pickleball courts.)
As a reminder, the core themes are: More lanes, Zero entry, Extended pool deck, Eating/drinking area, Kiddie pool integrated into design, More passive play space and a splash pad, Greater accessibility, More independent private gender neutral space….and don’t forget functionality – it won’t leak thousands of gallons a day anymore.
We think this final design allows for thoughtful recreation space that takes a vast amount of users into consideration, as well as an exciting competitive pool area. Our Advocacy for an Indoor Pool on CIP Was Heard In March, the FoA board wrote a letter urging the City Council and Mayor to put an indoor pool on the CIP and to move forward with plans to make a great outdoor pool at Albemarle, and were glad to hear that this path has been followed. An indoor pool has been added to the CIP (Capital Improvement Plan, or list of projects needed for the city) – for the first time, that we know of – as a feasibility study. Read it here:https://friendsofalbemarle.wordpress.com/2022/03/24/letter-to-all-city-council-and-parks-rec-commission-membersOur proposal is to build an indoor pool as part of an addition at Newton South High School, thereby creating greater equality between the two schools and easing the heavy use a bit on Newton North, which we hope can be made available to offer indoor swim options for residents. Why not build an indoor pool at Albemarle? We would welcome that, as long as it accompanied an outdoor pool. However, it needs to go through the proper channels to get funded, and that process hadn’t been started (until now). The potential funding for an outdoor pool at Albemarle comes from the CPC (Community Preservation Committee) which can only cover outdoor recreation. In addition, there may be other places for an indoor complex that offer more parking and flood protection (like South).
Traffic Calming
Albemarle is not safe for walkers or cyclists, and backing out blindly into the road always feels a little risky. Newton’s Department of Transportation is focusing on the area. Check out the March 10 presentation of a thoughtful design plan to use flex posts, speed bumps, and paint to manage traffic flow – including back-in parking. Website and resources
Funding to put lights at the Crafts/Albemarle intersection is in place and scheduled for summer 2025. That will help. Next, we must find a way to get people to stop running red lights at North/Crafts so that people can cross to get to the park without regular “close calls.” (Yes, my fourth grader had to wait last weekend to cross as a *school bus* flew through a fully red light at that intersection.)
The Bridge – We still have a temporary bridge over Cheesecake Brook and there is talk of another one being built eventually. What do you think of it?
The NECP Preschool -Construction continues on the new school at Albemarle. The project is on track to be completed by Nov 2022.
Join Us!
It’s free and easy to join Friends of Albemarle so please encourage your friends and neighbors to become members today. Please forward this newsletter and let’s get to 1,000!
This picture was taken by a drone for the consulting firm working on field re-design. We’ve spent a lot of time zooming in to see our house. Do you see yours?
There are two upcoming city meetings about Albemarle – both on zoom.
Attend tonight’s meeting to view the plans for the fields and the pool, but not to make a public comment.
Attend Tuesday of next week to discuss the plans as a community. (Register in advance.)
Bottom line: attend!
We’ll see you there!
Cedar
From Newton Parks, Recreation & Culture:
We are excited to announce two upcoming meetings to introduce preliminary design options for Albemarle Park and to present the Gath Pool project preferred design. The projects will be discussed at the Parks & Recreation Commission’s 4/25 meeting. Please note that there will not be public comment on these topics due to the number of items on the agenda. However, the Department is hosting a community meeting the following week on May 3rd to allow for comments and questions from the public.
