Trapelo/Common Intersection

There has been serious confusion at the reworked Trapelo Road/Common Street intersection, especially for traffic coming from Watertown. Everyone involved is very aware of the confusion and are all working together to make the situation safer, including immediate changes listed in this post. The bottom line: Don’t continue across Trapelo on Common except on the straight green.

Cleaning up the Foreclosure Mess

The first major piece of legislation that the Senate will take up this Fall is “An Act clearing titles to foreclosed properties.” The bill in essence states that allegations of defects in foreclosure procedures must be raised within three years. It came through the Judiciary Committee which I chair, and it’s a solid bill that I fully support. Here is some background on this complex issue; please let me hear your questions!

A step forward for commuters

On September 8, the state put out to bid a corridor study for Mount Auburn Street. This is the next step towards improving the permanent traffic snarl at the intersection of Mount Auburn Street and Fresh Pond Parkway. The formal study process won’t start for a couple of months. But it’s not too early to start brainstorming in this space — your comments would be much appreciated.

A New Challenge for Belmont and the MBTA

The MBTA faces an imminent legal obligation to make the Waverley Square station accessible to people with disabilities, and disability access issues face the Belmont Center station as well. We have to contemplate the possibility that we may eventually need to close at least one of Belmont’s commuter rail stations. Representative Rogers and I are committed to ensuring a transparent and public process to examine all the potential options.

Boston Strong on the Olympics — No Boston Olympics

While I’m a little saddened for dashed hopes, I’m mostly relieved by the decision to cancel Boston’s Olympics bid. For me, as for many others, the risks associated with the Olympics appeared too great for the Commonwealth to backstop. We should be proud for the robust debate we’ve had and I thank all who have participated in it — it looks to me like we just dodged a bullet.