based on community comments from August 1995 Meeting
of approximately 150 concerned neighbors
1. Joint Determination of Best Use
All appropriate steps
should be taken by the City of Cambridge and its development agencies to
determine the best use for the site in a cooperative manner. This endeavor
should include the community, the City Administration, the property owner, and
the developer.
2. Traffic and Parking Concerns
a. A comprehensive
traffic impact study of the proposed retail development is necessary. The study
area must be defined by the affected community and should include not only Route
2 / Route 16 (Alewife Brook Parkway), but also the inclusive area from
Massachusetts Avenue to Concord Avenue. Analysis must be undertaken to determine
the traffic bypass routes that would result from the proposed retail development
and the impact of those routes on area streets including without limitation
Massachusetts Avenue, Concord Avenue, Rindge Avenue, New Street, Walden Street,
Sherman Street, Sargent Street, Fayerweather Street, Huron Avenue, Whittemore
Avenue, Columbus Avenue, Seagrave Road, Madison Avenue, Magoun Street, Harrison
Avenue, Harvey Street, Clifton Street, Jackson Street, Clay Street, Reed Street,
Montgomery Street, Dudley Street, Cedar Street, and any streets requested by the
Cambridge Highlands and Area 9 Neighborhood Associations.
b. Complete and timely disclosure should be made of all raw traffic counts and analysis undertaken in connection with traffic studies of the proposed retail development.
c. The current automotive access scheme for the proposed retail site is inadequate and should be revised. Any development of the site must present a viable traffic management plan. The plan, including the definitive vehicular entry and exit scheme for both customer and commercial traffic, must not be narrowly focused. It must address in a satisfactory manner the proposal's several impacts and, in particular, it must protect the residential nature of the immediate neighborhood in its proposed commercial traffic access method.
d. The number of vehicle trips the proposed retail development will generate and their impact must be taken into account in any City of Cambridge traffic study.
e. The impact of increased traffic volume (passenger vehicle and truck) upon the several affected roadways in East Arlington should also be included in the study.
f. The City of Cambridge Traffic/Transportation study should provide for standing community participation and input.
g. In addition to a comprehensive study of automotive traffic, a separate study of non-automotive transportation uses at the Grace site should also be undertaken.
h. Access by commercial vehicles to or from the site via Whittemore Avenue should be strictly prohibited. Any future legal claim to this Avenue as a truck route should be prohibited prior to the negotiation of any and all leases at this site. It should be understood that any and all truck exclusions which may be imposed in the future on Route 16 shall not affect the prohibition proposed for Whittemore Avenue nor shall such potential exclusions affect any vehicular prohibition currently in effect at this site (e.g. Harvey Street).
i. The Community Development Department should clarify and document the City's position with regard to all current and potential parking capacity ' at the site, with relevant confirmation from the Traffic and Parking Department as well as the Interim Parking Control Commission.
3. Zoning
Consider more restrictive alternatives.
4. Department of Environmental Protection
The Cambridge
City Council should direct the city manager to formally request the Department
of Environmental Protection to become directly involved in the public process
concerning any and all response actions involving cleanup at this site.
5. Health Commissioner
Any development at this site
should receive prior approval in writing from the Commissioner or Acting
Commissioner of Public Health after detailed review of all documentation
provided by environmental and other relevant agencies.
6. Hydrology Study
A hydrology study should be undertaken
in order to evaluate the impact of any proposed development at this site on the
flood plain and the watershed system.
7. Conservation Commission
The Cambridge Conservation
Commission should test for wetlands and should apply the new soil standard in so
doing.
8. Environmental Program
Any development at this site
should receive prior approval in writing from the director of the City's
Environmental Program. This approval should be accompanied by a comprehensive
analysis of all environmental impacts that will ensue from the site's
development.
9. Master Plan
The proposed retail development site
should be re-included in the Master Plan for Alewife. This Master Plan should
also review and make recommendations concerning the potential for development of
adjacent sites owned by Arthur D. Little, Martignetti, and W. R. Grace. The
Community Development Department should consider all feasible and appropriate
alternatives to retail development of the site, and should earnestly encourage
the MDC to acquire as much of the site as possible (including in particular the
areas now under consideration for MDC acquisition.)
10. Types of Stores
a. No Super-sized
Supermarket
No super-sized supermarket should be built at the proposed
development site under any circumstances.
b. Other Supermarket Plans
Subject to resolving other issues
affecting the site, a "standard" or smaller sized supermarket may be a more
appropriate option. A particular effort should be made to recruit an independent
operation that ;would offer more competitive pricing.
c. Hours of Operation
Stores should be open no later than 10 PM
and should not accept deliveries during pre-dawn hours.
d. Integration with Current Neighborhood Establishments
Any
retail development should complement current neighborhood stores. Retail
operations that would jeopardize the vitality of existing neighborhood-based,
mom-and-pop operations should be discouraged. Additionally, businesses
generating excessive amounts of destination (non-Cambridge based) traffic should
be discouraged.
11. Sitting
Stores should be situated as far from the
neighborhood and as close to the "T" as possible.
12. Pedestrian/Bicycle
Any development of the site should
make clear provisions to accommodate the significant volume of pedestrian and
bicycle traffic within and around it. Development should also take into account
pedestrian safety and the nature of the site as the hub of a number of
overlapping practical and recreational uses.
13. Appearance
The study group encourages a single floor
height for all buildings within the . contemplated development. All singe
associated with the development should comport accurately and fully with the
ordinances of the City of Cambridge.
14. Community Integration
a. Any development plan should
include an affirmative plan for community hiring.
b. Any development plan
should include an affirmative plan for ongoing retail tenant/community
activities.
c. Any development plan should be integrated with the current
use of Russell I Field and the community recreational areas adjacent to the site
(for example', overflow parking during football games and other athletic
activities should be provided).
d. Any development plan should be integrated
with a plan for clean-up and restoration of Jerry's Pond, and sensitive
landscaping should link the ponds and wetlands to other green space existing or
created within the site.
Contact the Alewife Study Group, North Cambridge Massachusetts, by email at information@alewife.org