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| The Newsletter of the High Street Hill Association | March 2007 |
| You are cordially invited to Welcome Spring with our | |
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Annual Musicale and Ice Cream Social Sunday, March 18 at 1:30PM Latvian Lutheran Church 58 Irving Street Featuring Our Own Neighborhood Performers Don Weilerstein, Violin Josh Weilerstein, Violin And from the Latvian Lutheran Church Community Andra Voldins, Viola Rafael Popper-Keizer, Cello |
A High Street Hill Association tradition continues. This year, as in years past, the Musicale will feature world class performers from our own neighborhood. Bring family and friends. Admission is free.
Don Weilerstein teaches at the New England Conservatory and at the Juilliard School in New York and has toured the world extensively. He was founding first violinist of the renowned Cleveland Quartet and, currently along with his wife, Vivian, and daughter, Alisa, performs in the Weilerstein Trio. His son, Josh Weilerstein, is a second year violin student at NEC.
Violist Andra Voldins and cellist Rafael Popper-Keizer are members of the Fibonacci String Quartet and have performed throughout the United States and Europe. Rafael is currently the principal cellist of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. Andra has performed with the Boston Lyric Opera and the Boston Ballet. Her mother, Gunta, is the Latvian Lutheran Church administrator.
April 23: HSHA Annual Meeting and Potluck Supper, Monday, 6PM at the Latvian Lutheran Church. This year's featured speaker, Deirdre Buckley, will talk about how we on Pill Hill can meaningfully respond to global warming. Deirdre is an Environmental Analyst for the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) Office, co-chair of Climate Change Action Brookline, and board member of the Brookline GreenSpace Alliance. She was just named Brookline Environmentalist of the Year.
June 17: HSHA Annual Picnic on the Green, Philbrick Square, Upland Road.
The Transportation Board Chair requested that Pill Hill residents show up at the 7PM, Tuesday, March 6th Selectmen's meeting to support the latest proposed parking permit program which, he believes, will help alleviate parking woes caused by the two-year relocation of Town Hall to Old Lincoln.
Over the years, as schools and various Town buildings get makeovers, the Old Lincoln School has served as temporary quarters. However, starting this spring, the largest influx of town workers to date will descend on our neighborhood as Town Hall gets renovated, a process expected to last more than two years.
Last Tuesday, the Transportation Board got an earful when neighborhood residents, including 6 Town Meeting Members, showed up to question a proposal to requisition 25-30 parking spaces and install 29 signs along Walnut Street and in front of the school on Boylston Street. Since the T-Board has had a contentious history with the neighborhood over excess signage and traffic calming on historic Walnut Street, it expected some resident opposition but it seemed ill-prepared to answer how it plans to address the total impact of the disruption on the neighborhood.
Town staff explained that while some of the current underground parking will be maintained at the Town Hall, spaces along Walnut Street would be needed for administrative heads, Selectmen and visitors, as well as for loading and unloading of a shuttle bus.
Those who attended the meeting complained that the current state of parking, enforcement and traffic congestion along Walnut Street is abysmal and Town Hall, with its high visitor traffic and many evening meetings, would choke neighborhood streets. It was suggested that the Town needed to devise a more creative approach to the problems including searching harder for possible temporary parking areas.
The usually unflappable T-Board Chairman Michael Sandman subsequently tabled the parking sign proposal and requested the following actions: ask Town Hall to drawn up a plan to locate evening meetings in buildings other than Old Lincoln whenever possible; investigate the possibility of parking at the Red Cab site on Boylston Street; and develop a detailed offsite parking and shuttle bus plan. He also requested that residents show up at the Tuesday, March 6th Selectmen's meeting to support the latest proposed parking permit program which, he believes, will help alleviate parking woes.
The new program will allow residents to obtain a sticker so that their vehicle can be parked on their own street for up to all day (which is defined as from 6AM to 1AM the following day). The sticker will cost $25 per vehicle and will be valid for one year. Parking anywhere else will be limited to 2 hours and overnight parking will still be forbidden. The fine for exceeding the 2 hour limit will also be increased from $15 to $30. Some of the area business owners have voiced concern that the plan will make it more difficult for their employees. For a complete description of the proposal, visit the Transportation Department webpage.
The Highlight is printed several times a year and is distributed on foot or by bicycle by HSHA Board members and their usually willing family members. If you have a comment or contribution contact the editor, Rob Daves, at 617-566-7334 or robdaves@rcn.com.