Belmont Under High Risk Level Of Contacting West Nile Virus; Know Ways To Protect Yourself

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Photo: The West Nile virus is back once again. (Image by mika mamy from Pixabay) 

Belmont residents are under a high risk level of contacting West Nile virus as a human case of the disease was reported in Middlesex County, according to a press release dated Oct. 11 from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

WNV is most commonly transmitted to humans by the bite of infected mosquitoes that are common throughout the state and are found in urban as well as more rural areas. While WNV can infect people of all ages, people over 50 are at higher risk for severe infection.

The Belmont Health Department continues to work with the MDPH and the Eastern Middlesex Mosquito Control Project (EMMCP) to monitor local mosquito populations for mosquito-borne diseases such as WNV and EEE. EMMCP oversees the mosquito control program in Belmont and in many surrounding communities to provide services such as the annual application of biological larvicide in the catch basins in our town and also the aerial treatment of wetland areas in neighboring towns.

Although mosquito populations and risk for mosquito-borne disease remain low, it is still important to be vigilant when engaging in outdoor activities, particularly between dusk and dawn, and avoid mosquito bites.

By taking a few, common sense precautions, people can help to protect themselves and their loved ones:

Avoid Mosquito Bites

  • Apply Insect Repellent when you go outdoors. Use a repellent with DEET (N, N-diethyl-m- toluamide), permethrin, picaridin (KBR 3023), IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus [p- methane 3, 8-diol (PMD)] according to the instructions on the product label.
  • Clothing Can Help reduce mosquito bites. Although it may be difficult to do when it’s hot, wearing long-sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors will help keep mosquitoes away from your skin.
  • Be Aware of Peak Mosquito Hours: The hours from dusk to dawn are peak biting times for many mosquitoes. When risk is increased, consider rescheduling outdoor activities that occur during evening or early morning. If you are outdoors at any time and notice mosquitoes around you, take steps to avoid being bitten by moving indoors, covering up and/or wearing repellant.

• Risk of mosquito borne diseases will continue until there is a hard frost that eliminates the mosquito population.

Mosquito-Proof Your Home

  • Drain Standing Water – Many mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. Limit the number of places around your home for mosquitoes to breed by either draining or getting rid of items that hold water. Check rain gutters and drains. Empty any unused flowerpots and wading pools and change water in birdbaths frequently.
  • Install or Repair Screens – Some mosquitoes like to come indoors. Keep them outside by having tightly-fitting screens on all your windows and doors.

Information about WNV and reports of current and historical WNV virus activity in Massachusetts can be found on the MDPH website at: www.mass.gov/dph/mosquito.

Belmont Fire Holding Open House On Saturday, Oct. 1

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Photo: The open house is this Saturday

The Belmont Fire Department will be holding an Open House at its headquarters located at 299 Trapelo Rd. on Saturday, Oct. 1 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Join members of the Fire Department for demonstrations and hands on activities. Visitors of all ages will enjoy checking out various firefighter equipment, a friendly dose of fire safety education, and much more. Pizza and soda will be available. Come and join the department’s firefighters and fire department staff for this community event.

A Pair Of Speed Tables Set For Winter Street To Slow Down Cut-Through Commuters

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Photo: A map of hte location of the two speed tables for Winter Street

The longstanding complaints from homeowners along lower Winter Street that vehicles are treating their street more like a drag strip than a neighborhood street has been answered.

On Tuesday, Sept. 21, the Select Board approved placing a pair of raised traffic tables on Winter between Marsh Street and Concord Avenue to slow down the increasing traffic load that includes a return of the commuter cut-through drivers.

Residents came before TAC on July 8 for “what was identified as a speeding problem,” said the Director of the Office of Community Development, Glenn Clancy, with cars and trucks racing to Route 2 and towards the dicey intersection with Concord Avenue that leads to Belmont Center.

A subsequent week-long speed data study by the Belmont Police Department confirmed the residents’ observations: nearly three of every five motorists were caught traveling above 30 mph, five mph faster than the posted speed limit in thickly settled neighborhoods.

Based on the findings, TAC held a meeting in early September where all but one of the households supported Clancy’s and the TAC’s recommendation of installing three-inch tall tables at either end of that stretch of Winter Street.

“[A raised table] is a technique that we’ve used in Belmont for the last several years, which has been effective,” said Clancy, pointing to its use on School Street adjacent to the Burbank School.

“They are designed to slow traffic down. They are not designed to jolt or jar traffic” but be a visual clue for drivers to reduce their speed, said Clancy.

When Board Chair Mark Paolillo worried that more residents would petition for tables so that the town would be swamped with them over time, Clancy said a recent data study of Belmont Street from Trapelo to Common found the average speed was 21 mph.

“It is surprising when you do the studies how often the data actually shows that the average speed is below 25 mph,” said Clancy.

The project’s total cost will be $4,600 and will be funded from the annual pavement management account. The installation will occur in the following months.

All Ages Invited To Belmont’s First Touch-A-Truck On Oct. 8

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Photo: Touch-a-Truck is on its way

You don’t have to be a kid to enjoy Belmont’s first ever Touch-A-Truck event which is set to go on Saturday, Oct. 8, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Belmont Center Parking lot on Claflin Street.

Walk in the parking lot for an up-close view of tractors, trucks, diggers, police cars, and fire engines from Belmont DPW, Light, Fire, and Police along with several local businesses and potentially room for a couple more. Sit in the seats, honk the horns, or take your picture on the front end of the equipment.

Hosting the event is Belmont Youth Activities and D.A.R.E. Inc., with the support of the Town of Belmont as well as the Belmont Center Business Association.

Belmont Fire Pins Newest Member

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Photo: New Belmont Firefighter Mike Nolan has his badge pinned by his wife, Brittney.

Belmont Fire added its newest member – for a second time – to the force at a pinning ceremony at the Select Board’s meeting Monday, Sept. 12.

Three years ago, Mike Nolan joined the Belmont Fire Department before heading off to another department a year-and-a-half ago, according to Belmont Fire Chief David DeStefano.

“He has since decided that the Belmont Fire Department is the place to be and we’re glad to have him,” said DeStefano.

Nolan had his badge pinned for the second time by his wife, Brittney. The pair was married just five weeks before – honeymoon in St. Lucia – the event at Town Hall.

Nolan will be a “proby” for the next year.

From left: Belmont Fire Chief David DeStefano, Asst. Chief Andrew Tobio, BFF Mike Nolan, Select Board member Roy Epstein, Brittney Nolan, Select Board members Adam Dash and Chair Mark Paolillo, Brian Nolan, Terrie Nolan and Ashley Tworig.

Belmont Police Chief To Parents: Don’t Drive Those Kids To School!

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Photo: Congestion near the Wellington on Common

Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac has something to say to parents of school-age children: Tell your kids to take a walk! As in take a walk to school each day.

With vehicle trips returning to pre-pandemic levels and changing traffic patterns and street repairs leading to congested roadways during weekday mornings and afternoons, MacIsaac is asking parents to consider NOT driving the kids to school.

“Every week during the school year, we receive complaints that pertain to motor vehicle traffic around our schools” with “[t]he vast majority of violators we identify are parents,” said MacIsaac.

The troubles start with the realization that the parking lots of each school and the adjacent roads “are not conducive to the amount of traffic that occurs around start time and the end of the school day,” Belmont’s chief said in a press release.

Add to that road construction and new traffic patterns at the new Belmont Middle and High School, Chenery Middle School and the Wellington and Burbank elementary schools and the sum total equals a significant amount of traffic challenges that police are facing each day.

So MacIsaac is putting the question to parents: consider alternatives to the usual drive to and from school such as have children take the bus, ride a bike or walk with their child to school.

Rather than taking them to the schoolhouse door, parents can also park a block or two away so a student’s walk will be a short one. And if driving to school is the only option, parents should exercise patience and be considerate to walkers and other motorists while driving Belmont roads, said MacIsaac.

Thieves Target Belmont High End Vehicles With Telling Feature: An Open Side-View Mirror

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Photo: A BMW with a power folding side mirror (BMW)

In poker, a “tell” is when a player makes a subtle physical gesture – repeatedly glancing at their cards – that betrays the strength of their hand. A good opponent will quickly jump on what they see and act accordingly to either win the pot or cut their losses.

And it turns out that vehicles – especially the expensive late model kind – have a “tell” of their own, one of which certain unsavory types took the ultimate advantage at the expense of four Belmont households.

According to a media release from the Belmont Police Department released on Aug. 29, unknown perps stole four vehicles from their owner’s property in the final weeks of August. Besides being high end recently built autos, they had one other thing in common: a conveyance that turned out to give a vital detail away to the thieves – that they were unlocked and ready to be stolen.

The tell? The side-view mirrors were in their normal outward position.

“Certain model vehicles that are equipped with side-view mirrors that automatically fold in when the vehicle is locked are being targeted by thieves,” read the report. “The perpetrators drive late at night, scanning the streets for open side-view mirrors. The open mirrors on certain makes and models is a telltale sign that the vehicle is unlocked.”

A popular feature in many models of vehicles – including from Tesla, BMW, Lexus, Cadillac, Ford and Hyundai – power folding side view mirrors can be folded inward to decrease the size of a car, helping to fit a car into tight spaces such as in parking lots, or as a safety feature when driving through an automatic car wash, or parking on a busy street.

But a number of auto owners either are inattentive or careless when parking their vehicles especially at their homes.

Last year, the Fairfield Police, CT twitted that “[i]n certain luxury vehicles side mirrors fold in when the key fob is not in the vehicle. Suppose side mirrors are still open on a parked car. In that case, thieves know the key is in the vehicle, making it an easy theft target, said the Fairfield Police using information from the North Miami, Florida Police Department and the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators.

An informational notice from the North Miami Police Dept.

According to the website locksmithspro, “thieves will either take advantage of this vulnerability and try to steal the car using various engine start tricks or even the key that has also been left behind in the ignition.”

While these incidents are likely the first ones in which vehicles were stolen in Belmont under these circumstances, this theft is becoming better known over the past few years. First seen in Staten Island around 2017, it’s becoming more prevalent along the Jersey shore.

In Avalon, New Jersey, police urged people to lock their vehicles and homes after four luxury cars were stolen a week after the July 4th holiday. Avalon police say a group of suspects wearing masks and gloves stole the vehicles – a Bentley, a Mercedes, a BMW, and a Porsche – between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. Three high-end cars were also stolen over the Memorial Day weekend.

Avalon detectives believe the suspects are from the Newark area and drove around before the thefts to scout their targets.

Nor is this just an east coast problem: England is suffering from this US import.

In a recent story in The Telegraph, Dr. Keith Floyd, a former police chief inspector and a criminologist at Huddersfield University, who interviewed convicted car thieves in prison, said most of their thefts stemmed from what participants described as “lazy” motorists failing to lock their cars even when they had valuables inside.

Floyd said opportunistic thieves could easily bypass all the alarms, keyless defenses, and other hi-tech security that car giants have spent millions of pounds developing.

“With many modern cars nowadays, open door mirrors equate in the thief’s mind with an open door because by default, many are set or can be modified by software to close when the car is locked as a lock confirmation. It’s as simple as that. Open door mirrors can be a green light to theft,” said Floyd.

Breaking: Belmont, Region Under Flood Watch ’til 5 PM Tuesday, Sept. 6

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Photo: Flood Watch in effect in Belmont

The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch for Belmont and communities in eastern Massachusetts that will last until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 6. Rainfall amounts of three to five inches are expected over much of southern New England with localized amounts of five to seven inches or more.

During this period, flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible.

Earlier Monday, the NWS issued a Flash Flood Warning for most of northern Massachusetts before downgrading it at 10:47 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 5. A Flash Flood Warning is issued when a flash flood is imminent or occurring. If you are in a flood prone area move immediately to high ground. A Flood Watch is issued when conditions are favorable for flooding. It does not mean flooding will occur, but it is possible.

Flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses as well as
other poor drainage and low-lying areas is possible and citizens should stay vigilant.

Locations that will experience flash flooding include Belmont, Cambridge, Newton, Somerville, Waltham, Arlington, Watertown, Lexington, Tewksbury, North Andover, Melrose and Saugus.

The NWS warns drivers to “Turn around, don’t drown” when encountering flooded roads. Most flood
deaths occur in vehicles. Be especially cautious in early morning hours when it is harder to recognize the
dangers of flooding.


Concord Avenue’s New Traffic/Bike Lane Configuration Up And Running

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Photo: Drivers parking their vehicles in the new parking lane in front of the Post Office on Concord Avenue.

If you were startled recently seeing cars and SUVs seemingly abandoned in the middle of Concord Avenue, no, it’s not evidence of the beginning of a zombie apocalypse or the Rapture. What you have come across is the new traffic and parking scheme for one of Belmont’s busiest thoroughfares to promote safe cycling for bike commuters and students traveling to the new Belmont High School.

As part of the Concord Avenue restriping project, the Transportation Advisory Committee, in conjunction with designer Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates and Belmont’s Office of Community Development and the Department of Public Works, has reorient the road lines so the bike lane is closest to the curb, separated by a three-foot buffer, then the parking lane and then the travel lane, according to the TAC.

“The Department of Public Works expects to finish the painting [Thursday, Aug. 18],” said Glenn Clancy, director of Community Development. ”There will be green colored crossings added at side streets but likely not until September given DPW workload and constraints.”

Belmont Police graphic on new traffic/parking pattern for Concord Avenue

This new configuration is eastbound from the Unitarian Church to the Cambridge border at Blanchard Road and westbound from Underwood Street to just past the US Post Office.

The project came about when in 2021 the High School Traffic Working Group expressed a desire to explore the possibility of reconfiguring the bike lane and parking lane on Concord Avenue.

A deep dive into the year-long TAC process and the decisions made by the designers can be found here: Concord Avenue Striping Plan Briefing

With the striping complete, Belmont Police’s Traffic Division will now step in to help with the transition.

“In regards to enforcement, we have started educating drivers about the new pattern,” said Sgt. Paul Garabedian, supervisor of the department’s Traffic Divison.

“We will be giving out warnings and talking with people when we see a violation in hopes of people getting a better understanding. We will have officers on foot and bicycles to be able to talk with drivers over the new few weeks while people adjust to the new design,” said Garabedian.

So far, town officials have not heard much from the public on the new striping design.

“Other than occasional complaints that ‘Belmont is trying to look like Somerville and Cambridge’, I have not received any complaints about the new configuration,” said Clancy. In regards to inquires about the design, Garabedian directed those questions to the TAC Chair David Coleman “as they worked with the design team hired by the town on this project.” 

Where the discussion has been lively is on-line with comments to Police updates or Facebook pages running about 50/50 whether they love the new setup or hate it. One resident made a short video outside the Concord Avenue Post Office reportedly showing the danger in exiting adjacent the travel lane. Some residents were annoyed no notice was provided by the town of the change while others believe the new standards are confusing and unworkable.

Supporters, on the other hand, welcome what they consider provides a safer way along Concord Avenue.

Talk On How Supreme Court Ruling Effects Gun Ownership in Belmont Friday At The Beech Street Center

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Photo: The talk will take place at the Beech Street Center, Friday, Aug. 12 from 1:15 p.m. – 2:15 pm.

The decision in June by the US Supreme Court to loosen handgun restrictions in New York City will have an effect on Belmont residents seeking to purchase a weapon that they wished to carry on them in public.

Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac will host a conversation and discussion about the court’s gun reform ruling, gun reform laws in general and how it impacts Massachusetts at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., Friday, Aug. 12 from 1:15 p.m. – 2:15 pm. Cost is free.

“I was approached by the senior center about … the court decision and what effect it would have in Massachusetts,” MacIsaac told the Select Board at its Monday, Aug. 8 meeting.

The June 23 decision struck down a New York law requiring people to show a specific need to carry a firearm in public. Gun safety advocates, however, emphasize that the court’s ruling was limited in scope and still allows states to regulate types of firearms, where people can carry firearms and the permitting process, including requirements for background checks and training. 

MacIsaac said the commonwealth had “pretty good gun laws” prior to the ruling: an applicant would need to present three letters of recommendation and then questioned on their need to carry a weapon in public. In Belmont, the police chief who was the issuing authority could then either reject the application or grant either a Class A license – which allowed for a person to carry a concealed at any time – or a Class B which allowed them to carry to and from a shooting range.

The Supreme Court’s ruling did away with the classification systems and the need for letters of recommendation, said MacIsaac. “It’s still up to the police chief in the community if there’s a reason that they find someone’s not suitable and we still have the statutory exemptions that prevent people from obtaining a firearm.”