Town-meeting member urges wider downtown sidewalks, warns removing parking would hurt older residents

Jamie Bastiansen, a town-meeting member for Precinct 8, urged the Natick Select Board on July 9 to prioritize wider sidewalks in the town center and to avoid removing on-street parking without a viable alternative.

"Wider wider sidewalks would be great for the economic development," Bastiansen told the board during the public-comment portion of the meeting, saying wider walkways would encourage people to walk, eat and shop downtown while also improving accessibility for people using wheelchairs and parents with strollers. She added that parking remains essential for the town’s aging population and warned that eliminating parking while the town cannot afford a parking garage would have a "negative impact." "Probably 98 to 99% of people are driving," she said.

Bastiansen also suggested adding signage to guide bicyclists to parallel streets behind Route 27 and to the Washington Street and Veil Trail approaches to the train station, saying that clearer routing could reduce congestion on Route 27 and ease tensions between cyclists and neighborhood traffic.

The Select Board opened public comment under the town’s posted rules, allowing three minutes per speaker and a ten-minute public-comment period in total. The board did not take action on Bastiansen’s suggestions during the meeting; the remarks were taken under advisement.

The board’s agenda that night focused on appointments to multiple town committees and did not include a formal vote on downtown parking or sidewalk design. Residents who want to review applicants’ materials or the board’s discussion can find applications and resumes in the meeting packet.