There are NIMBY's at Alewife? In my experience having lived there it's just sort of all-around rudderless on decision-making rather than actively repressed by any faction. That section of Concord Ave. is mostly featureless office buildings and the public golf course. There's not enough abutting residents to mount a protest.
I have never come across those people. There's a shitload more housing around Alewife than there was 10-15 years ago, and the Reservoir paths are decidely much busier than they've ever been. It doesn't seem to be unleashing a massive crisis of conscience in the locals that has them storming local meetings to halt more development in the area.
I agree. That whole area has always been a ticky-tack mishmash of light industrial and commercial, drifting along through the decades.
The only exception seems to be all the great development around Kendall Square and Cambridge Crossing. The rest of Cambridge has historically been paralyzed by obsessive hand-wringing.
It's not even hand-wringing with Alewife. It's more like a "meh...it's on the edge of town by the highway" sort of rudderlessness. That's why it's hard to perceive of a little more height-driven density really drawing out the opposition where there hasn't been many. They haven't exactly been bothered by the general mess and lack of cohesiveness. It's like "Why start now?" when it comes to opposing this proposal. I just don't see any intensity or focus generating some rabble.
I think there is a shift in the general consciousness about this statewide and also in Cambridge even just in the last few months. Last couple zoning hearings I went to in my town there were more YIMBY voices asking for more density than NIMBY's. Maybe the statewide ADU and MBTA law shifted peoples consciousness's. I didnt think the MBTA law would work too well but maybe it did work - more by shifting the conversation than by its actual intended mechanism. Cambridge recently passed an unprecedented zoning change allowing 12 unit buildings or more throughout the municipality, even in tony single family areas. That is a very large change that didnt seem likely even last year.
Man I hope so. It always seems crazy to me the things that people dont hear about in their day to day lives, but somehow it seems like a huge amount of ppl are just oblivious to things theyre not directly interested in. How you could live in MA and not be aware of the housing crisis I have no idea, but it happens. For the average person it definitely seems to help to bring certain issues up to the state level and even national level so it can get on peoples radar. I’m sure the controversy and surrounding discussions of the mbta communities act, along with people like obama, kamala, and even sorta the trump admin talking about the housing problem nationally has brought it on many more peoples radar on both sides of the spectrum. Hopefully it is now starting to get on peoples radars outside of nimby groups vs pro development people like on here and we will start to have more grasroots support or at the minimum less opposition. I’m not counting on it, but I hope.
It's not really that lousy of an area. I have to speak up for it since I grew up around there. Mid-rise residential along Concord Ave across from Fresh Pond could potentially be a prime location. A pedestrian bridge across the Fitchburg Div west of Alewife Brook Pkwy, tying into Cambridgepark Drive, would make this area more accessible to the Red Line. It's been talked about for seemingly decades but maybe someday it will happen (in glacially slow Cambridge time).
Totally agree. A bus and carpool-only road on a viaduct going from the Alewife Red Line station to Route 2, stacked on top of the existing one-way road from Rte 2 to Alewife, would at least keep the new road out of the wetland and green space, although people would probably object to a short stretch of viaduct.
