The Needham Youth & Family Services is Requesting Nominations of Adults Who Have Supported Youth and Families

Needham Youth & Family Services is now accepting nominations for the Patrick and Patricia Forde Good Person Memorial Award. 

This award is designed to recognize a Needham adult who helps make the community a better place for youth and families through his/her volunteer work.

The award is recognition that through volunteerism and caring, each person in the community is able to enhance Needham.

Nominations will be accepted until December 1, 2018 and a nomination form and additional information can be found at www.needhamma.gov/youth/fordeaward.

For more information or to nominate a person, please contact Sara Shine at 781-455-7500 x265, email Sara at sshine@needhamma.gov

 

News from Town Manager/Board of Selectmen

Posted on: November 2, 2018

MBTA Tree Trimming and Clearing along the Right-of-Way

The MBTA is committed to providing safe, reliable, on-time service to our Commuter Rail customers.  As part of this commitment, we must ensure that vegetation along our rail network is managed annually to prevent trees and other types of vegetation from falling on the tracks or interfering in any way with service.  We recognize that in some instances the vegetation management program has created concerns for residents living alongside the right of way.  This letter is being sent to inform you of the steps the MBTA is taking to address the concerns communicated to us by your state and local officials.

 

While we will adhere to best practices regarding vegetation management, going forward, working with the Town of Needham and its tree warden we will exercise a measure of discretion over the extent of the clearing that takes place.  We need to ensure that the right of way is safe and clear of any potential hazards.  

To the best of our ability, we will endeavor to be selective in the amount of vegetation clearing that takes place.  However, we must emphasize that in some areas the vegetation we are required to clear could result in a significant change from what it looks like now.  While we understand the aesthetic impacts of removing trees, our first obligation is to ensure the rail right of way is safe for use for our customers and our employees.  To that end, vegetation clearing seeks to remove any visual obstruction or potential falling hazard, as well as reduce situations where falling leaves can create “slippery rail” conditions.  Unchecked growth in certain areas can also impact the ability of the line’s signal and communications equipment to properly function.  All that said, we do promise to exercise discretion over tree removal where we can.  

 

Our vegetation management program along the Needham Line will resume on November 4, 2018 and will continue through the remainder of the fall season, as resource availability allows.  In an effort to keep the community and neighbors along the corridor informed, we will routinely provide notification in advance of work that is expected to take place.  This information will be posted on the Town’s web page and updated as work proceeds.

 

Lastly, understanding that this work can produce noise, we are prohibiting our contractor from starting work before 9AM on Sundays.  

We thank you in advance for your patience and understanding while we perform this necessary project.    

MBTA 

Customer Service

(617) 222-3200

http://www.needhamma.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=969

News from Town Manager/Board of Selectmen

Posted on: November 2, 2018

Overnight Testing Along Needham Commuter Rail Line

On Monday, November 5, 2018, (from 10 PM to 6 AM), tests will be running, as needed during the overnight hours when Commuter Rail trains are not running along the line. 

MassDOT and the MBTA are undertaking federally mandated Positive Train Control (PTC) infrastructure installation which will increase the safety of commuter rail customers and would like to advise the community of upcoming overnight testing which will operate equipment along the tracks across the entire MBTA Needham Commuter Rail Line. These overnight tests are necessary to check installed PTC systems along the tracks.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation. We appreciate your patience as the MBTA takes this important step in making the railways safer for customers with the implementation of the PTC program. Should you have any questions please feel free to contact the PTC program at 617-721-7506 or PTCProgram@mbta.com.

For further information regarding PTC please visit: mbta.com/ptc.

http://www.needhamma.gov/civicalerts.aspx?AID=968

Please check the Commuter Rail Schedule for Minor Changes in Scheduling:  https://www.mbta.com/schedules/commuter-rail

Commuter Rail Announces Fall/Winter Schedules Effective October 29

Schedule includes minor changes and simplified severe weather service level options

BOSTON – October 22, 2018 – Keolis Commuter Services (Keolis), the MBTA’s partner that operates the commuter rail, today announced that the Fall/Winter Commuter Rail schedule goes into effect on Monday, October 29.

The fall/winter schedule includes minor changes to utilize improved track infrastructure, eliminate freight conflicts and minimize train traffic that can cause congestion and delays, and it includes simplified severe weather service level options.

 “These bi-annual schedule adjustments are intended to reflect improvements that have been made to infrastructure and take advantage of efficiencies in commuter rail operations,” said David Scorey, General Manager and CEO, Keolis. “Passengers can view the new schedule online or pick up a copy at one of the major stations this week. Although most riders will not see a change in their train schedules, we encourage all passengers to check the new schedule in advance of October 29.”

Framingham/Worcester Line Train 581 and Providence Line Trains 901 and 843 will no longer operate passenger service. These trains operated as early morning outbound service with very light ridership. This change helps to further improve reliability for the inbound train traffic. Schedule changes, operational enhancements and network investments help to improve service reliability. The 10-year commuter rail on-time performance average is 87 percent, while 2016, 2017 and 2018 year-to-date have improved to 89 percent.

Most schedule changes are adjustments of between one and two minutes. Some off-peak trains will see adjusted departure times of between 5 and 10 minutes. Many trip durations will remain unchanged.

The fall/winter schedule also includes severe weather service levels. This year the MBTA and Keolis simplified severe weather service levels to feature three tiers: Regular Schedule, Storm Schedule or No Service. Storm Schedule service options are posted online and will be handed out at major stations when necessary.

 “In our continuing effort to provide the best available information to our customers, this year we’ve made changes to our Commuter Rail weather-related service alerts,” said MBTA General Manager Luis Manuel Ramírez. “While severe weather tends to arrive with a degree of uncertainty, we expect this new system to provide customer information in a simpler and more clear, concise manner.”

 Schedules are adjusted twice a year in close coordination with the MBTA to meet changing passenger needs, reflect investments and upgrades to the system and further improve on-time performance. Typically, fall/winter schedules were published in late November, however Keolis and the MBTA are making this change earlier to better prepare for fall slippery rail season.

 Slippery rail occurs when leaves and debris fall on the track, and as a train passes, it turns these into a film that builds up on the track. In these conditions, trains slow sooner and take more time to depart a station, resulting in delays in some cases. By moving the schedule change earlier, the MBTA and Keolis can incorporate slippery rail prevention strategies into the schedule more effectively, including the operation of a high-powered rail pressure washer and other tactics.

 The Fall/Winter Commuter Rail schedules can be viewed by browsing individual lines at https://www.mbta.com/schedules/commuter-rail and via the Keolis Commuter Rail App. As a part of Keolis’ ongoing efforts to instill environmentally-friendly policies, passengers are encouraged to “click, don’t print” and use these online resources to plan trips.

 Customer service teams and Passenger Assistants will be at major stations to answer questions leading up to October 29, and to help ensure passengers are familiar with these changes. Passengers are reminded that posted times are trains’ departure times. 

http://www.keoliscs.com/news/commuter-rail-announces-fall-winter-schedules-effective-october-29/

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Water Leak Detection – LDT Solutions

The Needham Water Division has contracted with a specialist in the field of leak detection, LDT Solutions. Their work includes placing specialized listening devices on hydrants and valve boxes to identify and locate any leaks for the Water Division to address.

As the best time to perform this work is in the evening, this contractor may be in your neighborhood between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.; or they may be working in the daytime, depending on the ambient noise in your neighborhood. They will be using one vehicle; a white pickup truck clearly marked “LDT Solutions LLC”, and the workers are in bright, reflective clothing, tool belts, and large headsets.

This work will take approximately three weeks to complete. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Needham Water Division at (781) 455-7550. Thank you! http://www.needhamma.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=964

Please see the article for complete information. 

11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Rosemary Recreation Complex, 178 Rosemary St., Needham.

11 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 10 at the Rosemary Recreation Complex, 178 Rosemary St., Needham.

9 a.m.-noon Oct. 20 at the Center at the Heights, 300 Hillside Ave., Needham.

http://needham.wickedlocal.com/news/20180911/needham-health-department-releases-flu-flu-clinic-info