Density of MCI project can bring benefits
A large influx of people will bring more vibrancy, economic vitality, commercial options, and a more robust tax base.
As a renter in Acton for the last 14 years, I strongly support creating as much housing as possible on the MCI and Junction Village sites. A large influx of people will bring more vibrancy, economic vitality, commercial options, and a more robust tax base.
With the siting so near the commuter rail station, I hope that our new neighbors will have the freedom to be less car dependent. We also need to advocate to MassDOT for public bus service along Route 2. This will help with traffic congestion, because according to research, one bus can replace up to 30 cars.
I am inspired by what I have learned about planning from the Speck Dempsey team and feel they were an excellent choice for this part of the project. I want to strongly encourage the town to seize this opportunity to direct the future developer to create networked geothermal heating and cooling in the new neighborhood. Fellow Concordian Fran Cummings has done a lot of research and thinking about how we can implement networked geothermal, so please reach out to him for this part of the planning. We also need to make sure that the future developer works with us to remedy our sewage treatment limitations in town.
Finally, I argue that density is charming. If you think of desirable places to visit around the world, they have human scale (as opposed to car scale) density that facilitates friendliness and connection among neighbors as well as magnetic shared public spaces. Well-planned density nurtures public safety, walkability, and financial resilience that maintains excellent public services.
Betsy Olsson-Mackowski
Wedgewood Common
