Casey Arborway, Dec. 11, 2016
Transportation

Casey Arborway Milestone: Shea Square Stoplights to Go Live Thursday

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Jamaica Plain's "Little Dig" -- AKA the Casey Aborway -- is scheduled to pass a key benchmark this week. Shea Circle, the part of the Arborway where Franklin Park meets the main entrance to Forest Hills Cemetery, will take a giant step toward becoming Shea Square. The stop lights in the new configuration are to be turned on for the first time on Thursday. Transportation planners say a signalized intersection will be more efficient than the large circle it is replacing. Here's what the finished product should look like:

Here are the details on which traffic movements will be affected the next two weeks, as outlined by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation:

On or about December 15th the traffic signal will control Shea Square for the first time.

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Overall site plan
Real Estate

Where Will 300 Car Commuters Go as Forest Hills Parking Lot Becomes Apartments?

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Forest Hills residents peppered a would-be developer with questions about where hundreds of car commuters will go if the LAZ Parking lot becomes a mixed-use development. There were other issues raised during a community meeting Wednesday about "The Residences at Forest Hills," but much of the discussion revolved around parking. The three-building, six-story development would add 252 apartments and townhouses plus 5,500 square feet of retail to Forest Hills' burgeoning stock of mid-rise transit-oriented developments. The meeting was held in the fellowship hall at St. Andrew Church, just up Orchardhill Road from the proposed development.

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Neighborhood Life
Screen shot from video of Latter-Day Saints carolers

Carolers Fill Forest Hills T With Song

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Local Latter-Day Saints sang carols during the Monday commute. The large group's singing gave the bustling station a different atmosphere than usual. When Jamaica Plain News passed by around 7 p.m., Sister Sophie Brooks said the group had been singing for a few hours. While the nearest Mormon temple to JP is in Belmont, there is an LDS meetinghouse just south of JP in Roslindale on Mount Hope Street.

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View of The Residences at Forest Hills from the T station
Forest Hills

City to Host Meeting Wednesday on Six-Story ‘Residences at Forest Hills’

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The city's planning agency will hold a meeting Wednesday about the latest large-scale housing development being pitched for Forest Hills. "The Residences at Forest Hills" would replace a parking lot at the corner of Washington and the Arborway. Slated to include 252 residential units and 5,500 square feet of retail, the proposal would stand six stories high. Meeting details
The Boston Planning & Development Agency will host a community meeting on Wednesday, 6:30-7:30 p.m. at St. Andrew Church, just up the hill from the proposed development at 24 Orchardhill Road.

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Police and Fire
Swastika carved into a Wenham Street recycling bin on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016.

Swastika Cut Into Recycling Bin on Wenham Street

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Someone appears to have carved a swastika into a recycling cart on Wenham Street Thursday, according to the resident whose bin was vandalized. Jamaica Plain News is not naming the person victimized, but she agreed to share her story. She told a Facebook group that her family - which is Jewish - has no reason to believe it was directed at them. It feels personal all the same, she told the private Facebook group. "Please be vigilant and let's look out for one another," the Forest Hills resident wrote.

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From the Community

Brassica Kitchen Now Serving Brunch

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Delicious brunch news --sound the trumpets! Newly opened Brassica Kitchen + Cafe co-owners/co-chefs Jeremy Kean and Phil Kruta are pleased to announce that they are now offering Sunday brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 pm. Located in a former luncheonette in Jamaica Plain across from the Forest Hills MBTA station, Brassica Kitchen + Cafe serves flavorfully fun French-American comfort fare, using locally grown, seasonal ingredients in unexpected ways with delicious results. Items from the inaugural brunch menu include:
Chicken and Waffles drizzled in hot sauce and maple syrup. Belgian Waffles served with raspberry compote and whipped maple butter.

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Detail: Toole Square final plan
Environment

Casey Arborway Milestone: First New Trees to be Planted

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Remember the winter of 2015? If the 100-plus inches of snow didn't depress you, there was the chopping down of more than a hundred trees around Forest Hills for the Casey Arborway project. Now for the good news, nature lovers: The first trees of the mammoth project will soon be planted. The Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that week after next contractors plan to start planting trees in the area where the permanent median of the Arborway will be. It was just one line in MassDOT's latest "Three-week Look-ahead," but it should bring a smile to everyone who hated seeing those 160 trees cut down.

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Detail of official Casey Arborway plan showing new entrance to Forest Hills T north of New Washington Street.
Transportation

Explainer: Why is Forest Hills Down to One Track?

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If you've passed through Forest Hills Station since Saturday, you know only one of the two tracks is in use. Why? The short answer is for Casey Arborway construction. The platform will stay down to one track through December. The MBTA has said it has a plan for rush hour so the closure won't cause added delays.

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Commuters leave the T platform at Forest Hills Station on Aug. 29, 2016. Soon only one track will be used to boarding and disembarking.
Transportation

T: Closing Forest Hills Track Should Not Create Delays

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JP residents recently learned that one side of the platform at Forest Hills T will be closed starting next week through December. An MBTA spokesperson says the change "should have no impact on customers other than the fact they will be boarding on the southbound side." Joe Pesaturo of the T said the agency does not anticipate delays during the closure. One side of the platform will be closed to accommodate work on the Casey Arborway. Pesaturo, in a voice mail to Jamaica Plain News, said the T has a plan so that during rush hour as many trains can enter and leave on one side as do currently on two.

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Transportation
From Sept. 3, 2016 through December, only one of Forest Hills' two platforms will be in use.

One of Forest Hills Platforms to Close Through December

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UPDATE: The T explains that it has a plan so that during rush hour it can keep to the regular Orange Line schedule. ~~~~~

Fellow Orange Line riders, get ready for some additional chaos in your favorite subway line. The T will be shutting down one of the two platforms at Forest Hills soon as part of the Casey Arborway Project. Here's the laconic announcement posted by the T:
All train service will board on the southbound platform at Forest Hills beginning Saturday, Sept. 3, and continuing through December 2016, due to the Casey Overpass Project.

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