The Lincoln Squirrel – News, features and photos from Lincoln, Mass.

Letter to the editor: examine options, trade-offs for projects in 2016

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To the editor,

As we approach the New Year, we have much to be thankful for and much to consider. Our form of governance—run by dedicated volunteers and an open town meeting where we all have an opportunity to shape our community life—is certainly something we should celebrate.

In early November, we had just such an opportunity at our annual State of the Town as we discussed moving forward with a much-needed school building and campus planning project. The State of the Town added important new information as the town advances planning our community campus for future generations. The information presented at the meeting was almost exclusively focused on traffic, parking, regulatory, and space (land) use choices, as this was the scope of the charge to the Campus Master Planning Committee (CMPC) and their consultant. Potential costs were briefly mentioned.

[Read more…] about Letter to the editor: examine options, trade-offs for projects in 2016

News acorns

acornPreschool event at library on Dec. 31

Preschoolers are invited to join us for “Movies and Muffins” with a screening of three short films based on beloved children’s books—The Snowy Day, Bear Snores On, and a mystery title—on Thursday, Dec. 31 at 10:30 a.m. Recommended for ages 2 and up; no advance signup necessary.

First Parish supports program for displaced Syrians

The First Parish in Lincoln’s (FPL) Outreach Committee is leading a drive to support the Karam Foundation, a Chicago-based nonprofit founded and largely directed by Syrian-Americans. Since 2011, Karam (Arabic for “generosity”) has been dedicated to delivering humanitarian and educational “smart aid” through donations and through its network of volunteers to displaced Syrian families within Syria and in neighboring countries. Karam’s programs have included provision of ambulances and supplies for teams rescuing victims of barrel bombs; support for an orphanage in Aleppo; provision of a safe and steady supply of infant formula and food baskets through a distribution center in northern Syria; provision of medical supplies to at-risk children and families; clothes drives for refugees in Syria, Jordan and Turkey; emergency aid for children and elderly in refugee camps at risk of malnutrition and disease; a small business initiative for displaced women artisans; a sponsorship program for individual Syrian refugee children; and support for a school in Turkey that includes leadership and Turkish language programs for teenagers.

If you’re interested in supporting this organization, please make a check payable to First Parish in Lincoln and mail to: First Parish in Lincoln, PO Box 6218, Lincoln, MA 01773-6218.

Free wellness clinics announced

Lincoln residents of all ages are invited to meet with a nurse to get your blood pressure checked, ask questions, or learn about wellness resources. These free clinics will be held at the Community Building at Lincoln Woods at 50 Wells Road from 10 a.m. to noon on January 8, February 5, and March 4. These clinics are funded by the Ogden Codman Trust and provided by Emerson Hospital Home Care. For more information, please call the Council on Aging at 781-259-8811.

Help is on the way for Five Corners intersection

A map of the Five Corners intersection showing the new and relocated stop signs.

A map of the Five Corners intersection showing the new and relocated stop signs (click to enlarge).

By Alice Waugh

Drivers entering the Five Corners intersection from Trapelo Road will soon encounter some changes designed to make the five-way intersection safer.

Cars turning right onto Bedford Road from Trapelo Road will encounter a new stop sign between the library lawn and the flower pot. And drivers coming into the intersection from Trapelo Road will notice that the existing stop sign has moved a bit to the west, where those who are in the know already stop before entering the intersection.

The changes were recommended by the Roadway and Traffic Committee, which also suggested a new “Do Not Enter” sign at the south end of Old Winter Street to prevent cars coming from Waltham from using that road as a shortcut during evening rush hour. Selectmen voted 2-1 against that measure, however.

“It’s the historic heart of our town, but also a pretty darned complicated intersection,” Selectman Noah Eckhouse said of the Five Corners area. While there have been few accidents, the intersection has seen quite a few near-misses because the existing Trapelo Road stop sign is behind the flower pot, which is not a good vantage point for seeing traffic coming into the intersection. Drivers who are familiar with the intersection stop a second time a bit further on, though there is no legal requirement for them to do so. Also, pedestrians crossing the road between Trapelo and Bedford Roads are at risk because there is no stop sign before the crosswalk.

“Clearly, placement is a contributing factor for pedestrian safety,” Police Chief Kevin Kennedy said. “Traffic will certainly flow better because everyone can see who’s positioned in the intersection.”

The Historic District Commission was asked to look at the stop-sign placement issue in light of the historical nature of the intersection, but members issued a finding of nonapplicability because they have no jurisdiction over roadway and safety issues of this type. However, they said that they hoped selectmen “would be mindful of the aesthetics of the area in making a decision.”

The new Five Corners signage will be tested for six months to gauge its effectiveness and make sure it doesn’t inadvertently divert traffic onto other roads.

A third issue involves drivers coming down Bedford Road to Five Corners turning left onto Trapelo Road. Legally, they are allowed to turn left between the flower pot and the library, though some residents have suggested requiring them to loop around the south side of the flowerpot. However, the sense of the Roadway and Traffic Commission (RTC) was “let’s try to solve one problem at a time,” said Eckhouse, who is also a member of the RTC.

Old Winter Street

Evening commuter traffic heading out of Waltham on Winter Street into Lincoln is sometimes backed up at Trapelo Road, so some drivers have tried to jump the line by using Old Winter Street. The RTC recommended trying a “Do Not Enter” sign that would be effective during evening commuting hours at the south end of Old Winter Street (which would apply to Old Winter Street residents as well), but Selectmen Peter Braun and Renel Fredriksen were not in favor of the idea.

“These are public roads. All the roads are open to all people unless they’re truly private roads,” Braun said, adding that he was worried about a “slippery slope” with other problem areas in town. For example, there is a long line of eastbound traffic on Lincoln Road at morning rush hour, which might theoretically encourage drivers to use Peirce Hill Road and Tower Road as a go-arounds.

“I get it, but when you look at other situations, what’s next? There’s Baker Bridge Road, Old Sudbury Road—it’s just endless,” Braun said. “I’m troubled by the notion that we should get into the head of the drivers and say your motives [for taking a certain route] aren’t good enough for us.”

Fredriksen, who commutes to East Cambridge, said she uses shortcuts like this on her way to work, “and it would feel like the height of hypocrisy for me to do it, but not in my town.” She and Braun voted against the proposal, though Eckhouse voted in favor because he is a member of the RTC.

Letter to the editor: PTO thanks its Community Partners

To the editor:

On behalf of the Lincoln PTO, I’d like to extend our deepest thanks to our PTO Community Partners whose contributions have helped make possible our many enrichment activities at the Lincoln School. These activities include visits to the school by poets, dancers, and puppeteers; science, nature and engineering workshops; historical reenactments and more.

In 2015-16, our Community Partners include:

Doherty’s Garage Tricon Sports
Donelan’s Supermarkets Country Pizza
Barrett/Sotheby’s Dr. Ivan Orup
Cambridge Trust Company Fitness Together
AKA Bistro Premier Cleaners & Tailors
Stonegate Gardens Sky Salon
Clark Gallery Something Special
Concord Printing Whistlestop Café
Tim Siok Landscaping Services

Our children’s education is richer because of the help these community partners provide, so I hope you’ll join me in saying thanks for another great year at the Lincoln School!

Sincerely,

Kimberly Bodnar
Lincoln PTO Chair/President

Council on Aging activities for January

bemisFrom drawing to pastel painting with Juliet
January 4 at 10 a.m. (first class)
Express your most vibrant self with the brilliant colors of pastels in a new class with Juliet Rago. She will begin with a short introduction to drawing for those who feel they need it. The class will meet from 10 a.m. to noon on January 4, 11, and 25, and February 8, 15, 22, and 29 at Bemis Hall. No experience necessary. All materials will be furnished. Please sign up by calling the COA at 781-259-8811. Limit of six people. The fee is $40.

Tai chi: new year, new you
January 4 and ongoing
Beginners may now sign up for the COA’s winter tai chi classes which will run 12 weeks from the week of January 4 until the week of March 21 on Mondays from 2-3 p.m., Wednesdays from 1-2 p.m., and Thursdays from 9:15-10:15 a.m. at Bemis Hall. You may take one or two classes per week at a cost of $60 for one and $80 for two. You will learn qi gong warm-up, six moves from tai chi form, and how to integrate tai chi principles into daily life. Sign up by calling the COA at 781-259-8811. [Read more…] about Council on Aging activities for January

Letter to the editor: pushback on leaf-blower letter

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To the editor:

Michael Coppock has recently written a letter to the editor (Lincoln Squirrel, Dec. 20, 2015) that ascribes rather dark intentions to the Lincoln Leaf Blower Committee. He says that it’s clear to him that this presages our introducing legislation at the next town meeting. In fact, the opposite is true—we decided last spring that rather than initiate a call for a partial ban (no usage during the summer months), we would go the way of education and hope that when people learned about the major issues associated with leaf blower use, they would confine their use to major leaf cleanups rather than the weekly use of clearing walks and pathways of grass clippings during the season when leaves are firmly attached to trees.

Yes, the Board of Health limited its findings to the town center. But the fact is, most Lincolnites visit the town center regularly, and there are a number of residents who actually live within the business district. Furthermore, we hear from people outside of the business district who have serious health concerns about both the noise and the airborne particulate matter.

In a recent meeting of our group, we also attempted to address the challenging issue of how to proceed with studying this problem in a way that maximizes civility and cooperation—not easy. We encourage members of the community to please share with us your concerns and ideas on how to proceed in a way that most embraces the goal of a collaborative solution.

This is an ongoing process. We fully appreciate that not everyone in town shares our concerns or agrees with our perspective. (In fact, the committee itself is not in lockstep on this issue.) Our hope is to pursue this conversation in an open and community spirited way. Mr. Coppock’s angry and adversarial tone contributes little to help create that kind of climate.

Our website is www.lincolnleaves.org. Comments, suggestions or questions can be sent to quietlincoln@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

Robin Wilkerson
Member, Lincoln Leaf Blower Committee

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters must be about a Lincoln-specific topic, will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Letter to the editor: regrets over failed school vote in 2012

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(Editor’s note: This letter refers to Lincoln not being invited into the state funding pipeline for a school project—see the Lincoln Squirrel, Dec. 21, 2015.)

To the editor:

It is the right season, so maybe we can do a variation of It’s a Wonderful Life in which we went back and saw the errors of our way and voted yes to the original school project proposal a few years ago (well, we did vote yes, but not by a supermajority). We would be just now completing the new Lincoln School project while enjoying state funds to subsidize it as well as reaping the benefits of lower construction costs and minimal interest rates. Also, our hard-working civic volunteers would now be fully focusing on the community center and Minuteman High School projects instead of now revisiting the Lincoln School project.

Unfortunately, I don’t think wings will be coming to our guardian angel anytime soon.

To the responsible groups: yes, please continue the fight for the new school. Our youngest residents need and deserve it! As for me, I will start preparing for the higher taxes that I will most likely have to pay now that the project will be much more expensive.

Sincerely,

Louis Zipes
South Great Road

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters must be about a Lincoln-specific topic, will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.