There is a need for readers to be able to respond and comment on my View of things and to have their responses given the same audience as the View from Under the Bus. I can't do that. For those who may not know, VUTB is an email that is distributed directly to those persons who have agreed to give me their email addresses for that purpose. Those of you who choose not to do that must log on to this site to participate. Email is my medium of choice. Blogging requires more spontaneity than I can fit into my schedule. So please check this page from time to time for View - Another View and frequently - my View on their View which will be part of this page. Only those responses that contribute to the discussion will be published. Calling me a jerk is not contributory no matter how accurate. Comments should be forwarded to me at cantonbarkingdog@verizon.net.

Living off Chapman Street I know how you feel but putting a traffic light at the intersection of Washington and Chapman doesn't do anything but what our traffic planners/consultants have done for years. That being, improving the flow of mostly non-residential traffic through town. A good example of what I am talking about is the difference between Norwood and Canton.

If you drive into Norwood via Neponset St the traffic in the morning backs up all the way in some cases to the Sunoco gas station in Canton and even backs up on the off ramps onto RT 95. That is because the traffic light priority is for Norwood side street "resident" traffic. Any wonder why Norwood is all for the new off ramp.

Now take Canton, we widen intersections for more traffic, change the traffic flow from Pleasant to Washington St which then really becomes Sherman to Washington.

In the afternoon we make the light priority at the other end of Chapman work the best for Neponset St traffic, while allowing a very short left turn light cycle (4 cars at the most) only to have the light at the end of Jackson street go red at the same time. All of the "cut through" traffic is going right. So much for us residents.I remember when my children were over at the Kennedy School Coming home I would drive down Fairview in the morning. I can remember counting 7 of 10 cars one morning with Rhode Island plates. Aghhh!!!!!

All good points and well made. The Neponset Street lights are in desperate need of re-synchronization and better law enforcement. Living on Fuller Street, I use that complex several times a day. It is much better than it was but not as good as it could be. Take care and I may see you at the lights.

These are three emails and responses from the same reader.

Hi Carl,
Good to have you writing again. But...
You are wrong. Defending Canton is money well spent.
Was it wrong to defend Canton against Roseland? Roseland may happen one day. But was it wrong to take a stand? Canton is fast becoming more urban than suburban. I say let the battleground be WCS and let it be now before it is built. The project impacts did not receive adequate review. Why did the MBTA garage take 2 years of environmental review and WCS require only 6 months when it is 50 times the size of the garage? How could the FEIR be published 30 days after comments closed? The developers own calculations are contradictory.

Do you also think it wrong that so many businesses surrounding Westwood City Station also are defending themselves by seeking relief by law suit? Why are they smarter than TOC?

Don't think so.

Help me understand just one of the questions that Westwood BOS and now others ignore:
Why did the MBTA garage take 2 years of environmental review and be required to have all traffic and infrastructure plans in place BEFORE permits and then
WCS comes along requiring only 6 months of review and an FEIR is published 30 days after comments closed when WCS is 50 times the size of the garage?
It wreaks of political payoffs at our expense. There is rumor that Jay Doherty himself got to review the FEIR before it's release.
Hopefully there is a judge in the world that won't ignore the obvious.

Because the Garage took two years. Because the Add a Lane project took more time than that. That area has been studied to death. Because the project deals with previously disturbed wetlands and had virtually no adverse impact on undisturbed wetlands. Because the primary concern was Phase I and II stormwater management which was understood going in and addressed by the developer up front. Because the plan as proposed addressed issues that were commonly known and in fact their solutions enhanced the availability of new water sources for the Fowl Meadow and state of the art water conservation methods. The guy that studies and does his homework gets through the test faster than the guy that crams the night before the exam. There was so much that had been hashed out for previous projects that there were very few suprises. A Westwood Planning Board member that has been a NepRWA member for decades had eaten the MBTA and MHD's lunch so many times on environmental and habitat issues in that area that everybody had the menu memorized and prepared accordingly. I have hiked that area with the Friends of the Blue Hills and the Friends of the Warner Trail as well as NepRWA. The fact that those organizations supported the project affected the outcome. DCR gives a bit more credence to people with mud on their boots than they do to people with shiny shoes.

I love your passion but don't always agree with your logic.

On Tuesday night Westwood BOS changed the Development Agreement to allow CCF flexibility to rent all 1,000 units as apartments indefinitely.

Yeah, great project. Now with a capital P.

Instant 40B protection. That's what we did with Windsor Woods (plus playing fields) and what we are paying more lawyers to do with Roseland. How's it going with Roseland's appeal? Yours is the second comment I have heard lately indicating that the Roseland dragon has not been slain.

*****

I was off by 1 year. I predicted that 6 years after the Pleasant street lights went in someone would start yelling about needing traffic lights at Chapman Street. And I also expect loud yelling for lights at Randolph Street to start any minute. It is not out of the realm of possibility that lights will be needed at First Parish Road/ Police station between Pleasant and Randolph streets. Sooooo....within a quarter mile stretch of Washington I expect to see 4 sets of lights and maybe 5. Sure sounds like a city street to me. And I NEVER wanted to live in a city. Character of Canton is not what it used to be and I for one am not liking the direction it has taken.

Is it the traffic lights that change the character or is it the lines of waiting cars spewing their noxious fumes into the air? I opposed the Pleasant Street lights primarily because of the lack of due process, the arrogance of the Selectmen and the total disregard for the rights of the property owners. Traffic is an issue or it's not. Thousands are being spent to forestall real or imagined traffic increases while we are not addressing the traffic problems that face us today. Except as a streetscape improvement in the downtown. The First Parish issue is an enforcement issue. I see CPD stopping people for illegal left turns off Pleasant which increases the probability that First Parish will be used as a turn around for the "left turners" who refuse to use Sherman Street. I agree with your Randolph Street expectation. When the folks on Wentworth Street get sufficently annoyed with their cut-through status it could happen. Lets hope that the intersection work that is part of the Canton Whatever development at that corner will do some good. To be honest - I am amazed that someone hasn't suggested the lights at your end of Chapman Street before. The lights at my end of Chapman Street seem to be working pretty well.


	Another View
	There is a need for readers to be able to respond and comment on my View of things and to have their responses given the same audience as the View from Under the Bus. I can't do that. For those who may not know, VUTB is an email that is distributed directly to those persons who have agreed to give me their email addresses for that purpose. Those of you who choose not to do that must log on to this site to participate. Email is my medium of choice. Blogging requires more spontaneity than I can fit into my schedule. So please check this page from time to time for View - Another View and frequently - my View on their View which will be part of this page. Only those responses that contribute to the discussion will be published. Calling me a jerk is not contributory no matter how accurate. Comments should be forwarded to me at cantonbarkingdog@verizon.net. The View from Under the Bus - 03.28.08 I must say your last sentence really struck a cord with me. I send money every month to provide the very basic necessities of survival for 3rd-world children and their villages. Food. Clean water. Housing (1-room, dirt-floor). Clothes. Basic medical care. And if there is any money left over after providing those life-sustaining needs, the most fundamental educational services are provided; reading and writing. I don't take fancy vacations because I use that money for "my kids". I don't buy new clothes every year because I send the money where it is truly needed. I take the money I save by walking everywhere and send it to someone who was crippled by preventable disease. I don't have an extra $500.00 a year to reallocate to taxes so an affluent child in an affluent town can attend an affluent school. At least some portion of that extra $500.00 in taxes is going to have to come out of the money I send to support "my kids". So how do I reconcile the fact one of "my kids" will certainly suffer and might possibly die just so that a Canton child doesn't have to pay a fee to play games? The View from Under the Bus - 03.11.08 Living off Chapman Street I know how you feel but putting a traffic light at the intersection of Washington and Chapman doesn't do anything but what our traffic planners/consultants have done for years. That being, improving the flow of mostly non-residential traffic through town. A good example of what I am talking about is the difference between Norwood and Canton. If you drive into Norwood via Neponset St the traffic in the morning backs up all the way in some cases to the Sunoco gas station in Canton and even backs up on the off ramps onto RT 95. That is because the traffic light priority is for Norwood side street "resident" traffic. Any wonder why Norwood is all for the new off ramp. Now take Canton, we widen intersections for more traffic, change the traffic flow from Pleasant to Washington St which then really becomes Sherman to Washington. In the afternoon we make the light priority at the other end of Chapman work the best for Neponset St traffic, while allowing a very short left turn light cycle (4 cars at the most) only to have the light at the end of Jackson street go red at the same time. All of the "cut through" traffic is going right. So much for us residents.I remember when my children were over at the Kennedy School Coming home I would drive down Fairview in the morning. I can remember counting 7 of 10 cars one morning with Rhode Island plates. Aghhh!!!!! All good points and well made. The Neponset Street lights are in desperate need of re-synchronization and better law enforcement. Living on Fuller Street, I use that complex several times a day. It is much better than it was but not as good as it could be. Take care and I may see you at the lights. These are three emails and responses from the same reader. Hi Carl, Good to have you writing again. But... You are wrong. Defending Canton is money well spent. Was it wrong to defend Canton against Roseland? Roseland may happen one day. But was it wrong to take a stand? Canton is fast becoming more urban than suburban. I say let the battleground be WCS and let it be now before it is built. The project impacts did not receive adequate review. Why did the MBTA garage take 2 years of environmental review and WCS require only 6 months when it is 50 times the size of the garage? How could the FEIR be published 30 days after comments closed? The developers own calculations are contradictory. Do you also think it wrong that so many businesses surrounding Westwood City Station also are defending themselves by seeking relief by law suit? Why are they smarter than TOC? Don't think so. Help me understand just one of the questions that Westwood BOS and now others ignore: Why did the MBTA garage take 2 years of environmental review and be required to have all traffic and infrastructure plans in place BEFORE permits and then WCS comes along requiring only 6 months of review and an FEIR is published 30 days after comments closed when WCS is 50 times the size of the garage? It wreaks of political payoffs at our expense. There is rumor that Jay Doherty himself got to review the FEIR before it's release. Hopefully there is a judge in the world that won't ignore the obvious. Because the Garage took two years. Because the Add a Lane project took more time than that. That area has been studied to death. Because the project deals with previously disturbed wetlands and had virtually no adverse impact on undisturbed wetlands. Because the primary concern was Phase I and II stormwater management which was understood going in and addressed by the developer up front. Because the plan as proposed addressed issues that were commonly known and in fact their solutions enhanced the availability of new water sources for the Fowl Meadow and state of the art water conservation methods. The guy that studies and does his homework gets through the test faster than the guy that crams the night before the exam. There was so much that had been hashed out for previous projects that there were very few suprises. A Westwood Planning Board member that has been a NepRWA member for decades had eaten the MBTA and MHD's lunch so many times on environmental and habitat issues in that area that everybody had the menu memorized and prepared accordingly. I have hiked that area with the Friends of the Blue Hills and the Friends of the Warner Trail as well as NepRWA. The fact that those organizations supported the project affected the outcome. DCR gives a bit more credence to people with mud on their boots than they do to people with shiny shoes. I love your passion but don't always agree with your logic. On Tuesday night Westwood BOS changed the Development Agreement to allow CCF flexibility to rent all 1,000 units as apartments indefinitely. Yeah, great project. Now with a capital P. Instant 40B protection. That's what we did with Windsor Woods (plus playing fields) and what we are paying more lawyers to do with Roseland. How's it going with Roseland's appeal? Yours is the second comment I have heard lately indicating that the Roseland dragon has not been slain. ***** I was off by 1 year. I predicted that 6 years after the Pleasant street lights went in someone would start yelling about needing traffic lights at Chapman Street. And I also expect loud yelling for lights at Randolph Street to start any minute. It is not out of the realm of possibility that lights will be needed at First Parish Road/ Police station between Pleasant and Randolph streets. Sooooo....within a quarter mile stretch of Washington I expect to see 4 sets of lights and maybe 5. Sure sounds like a city street to me. And I NEVER wanted to live in a city. Character of Canton is not what it used to be and I for one am not liking the direction it has taken. Is it the traffic lights that change the character or is it the lines of waiting cars spewing their noxious fumes into the air? I opposed the Pleasant Street lights primarily because of the lack of due process, the arrogance of the Selectmen and the total disregard for the rights of the property owners. Traffic is an issue or it's not. Thousands are being spent to forestall real or imagined traffic increases while we are not addressing the traffic problems that face us today. Except as a streetscape improvement in the downtown. The First Parish issue is an enforcement issue. I see CPD stopping people for illegal left turns off Pleasant which increases the probability that First Parish will be used as a turn around for the "left turners" who refuse to use Sherman Street. I agree with your Randolph Street expectation. When the folks on Wentworth Street get sufficently annoyed with their cut-through status it could happen. Lets hope that the intersection work that is part of the Canton Whatever development at that corner will do some good. To be honest - I am amazed that someone hasn't suggested the lights at your end of Chapman Street before. The lights at my end of Chapman Street seem to be working pretty well.