Needham delays Envision downtown pilot after public concern about parking, traffic and safety

Carys Lustig, director of the Board of Public Works, briefed the Council of Economic Advisors on May 9 about the Envision Needham downtown redesign and the select board’s decision to delay a pilot of the project for at least six months to allow additional study and outreach.

The Envision effort is a multi-decade plan to reshape Needham’s downtown streets and sidewalks. Lustig said the town has been planning downtown work for more than 20 years and presented two conceptual design alternatives created by Environmental Partners (now part of Apex). The proposals aim to improve pedestrian safety, manage stormwater and support downtown economic activity; they would narrow some vehicle lanes, add separated bike lanes and widen sidewalks in parts of the downtown corridor.

Lustig told the council that the downtown redesign was originally conceived as a five-phase program to be funded primarily from Chapter 90 transportation funds in roughly $5,000,000 increments over 25 years. She said the first phase, covering the core intersections, was completed in 2018 and the second phase was deferred in 2020 because of business concerns and outdoor dining. Lustig said the project team reimagined the work beginning in 2021 and solicited conceptual designs from prequalified engineering firms, selecting Environmental Partners (Apex) for a…