Five pieces of actual good news

 

And it’s not going to get any better unless we figure out safe, comfortable and efficient ways to help more people get out from behind the wheels of single occupancy vehicles.

 

Meanwhile, three out of four of our employers told us last month that hiring and retaining workers is the biggest impediment standing between them a robust rebound in 2021. But you know that too.

 

Transportation and talent were major challenges before the pandemic. They are again.

 

And there’s no one fix.

 

But here’s five pieces of actual good transportation news that represent steps in the right direction to help workers and customers get to our workplaces without single occupancy vehicles.

 

 

Starting next week, the City of Newton is launching a new commuter focused transportation system, called NewMo2.0.

 

The on-demand micro transit system will operate weekdays from 7:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m., providing transportation between:

 

 

This pilot program is subsidized with grant funding for one year.

 

Each ride will cost $2 with a goal of providing workers with access to the last mile transit. Anticipated wait time for rides should be not more than 15 minutes but may fluctuate based on rider demand.

 

Employers who enroll in the program will be able to set up a billing system and parameters to offer subsidized pricing for workers or customers. Employers interested in learning more should contact Nicole Freedman, Newton's director of transportation.

 

 

 

The Metro West Regional Transit Authority is already offering a similar on-demand ride service between any destination in Wellesley as well as last mile connections to the Waban and Woodland Green Line Stations in Newton, Newton-Wellesley Hospital; the bus hub at the Natick Community Center and even Volante Farms in Needham.

 

Catch Connect is available on weekdays (excluding holidays) from 6:45 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. All vehicles are fully accessible and available for any passenger 12 or older. Currently the rides are free. Eventually trips will cost $3.

 

 

I mentioned this news last week but it’s worth repeating: The MBTA has agreed to restore the 505 Express Bus that runs between Newton and Boston this fall, according to Mayor Ruthanne Fuller.

 

The 505 is a really big deal if you’re a Newton commuter looking to get downtown now that the commuter trains skip Newton’s three stations for long stretches of time.

 

But these changes are a big deal too for our business owners looking to attract workers from Boston to our jobs here.

 

And it matters a lot for efforts to create new transit-oriented housing along the Washington Street Corridor.

 

To that final point, Fuller said the T has also agreed to proceed with the design phase to rebuild Newton’s three commuter rail stations -- Auburndale, West Newton and Newtonville -- making all three stations fully accessible and building dual, 800-foot platforms to allow for more frequent, all day, bi-directional service and an eventual transition to electric trains.

 

The design phase doesn’t mean there’s dollars for construction. But it’s a step in the right direction.

 

 

 

A shuttle linking Pleasant Street residents and employees to Watertown Square and Harvard Square will launch on Sept. 7. The shuttle will provide four morning round trips and four afternoon/evening round trips. Contact at lwiener@watertown-ma.gov or call 617 972-6417 for details.

 

 

 

Finally, the scenic but dilapidated Christina Street Rail Bridge that connects Newton with Needham over the Charles River could be in line for $1.6 million federal funding, reports Julie Cohen at Wicked Local Newton.

 

The span (between Christina Street and the Needham Crossing section of the N-Squared District) is one of six projects U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss proposed from his district as part of the Invest In America act. If approved, funding will go toward rehabilitating or replacing the bridge.

 

Auchincloss said the new or reconstructed bridge would create “an accessible, shared-use bicycle and pedestrian connection between Newton and Needham."

 

 

 

Each item above could be a godsend if you have employees or even customers looking for transportation to and from your place of business, or elsewhere. Here's one with grander aspirations:

 

Achincloss and the rest of our congressional delegation, among others, are pushing for a bullet train that would zip riders from Boston to New York in just an hour and 40 minutes, as part of the federal infrastructure bill.

 

 

 

Imagine working at a company where you’re encouraged to send your coworkers spam.

 

That’s all part of the culture at CyberArk, the cybersecurity company which placed No. 1 on Boston Business Journal’s Best Places To Work 2021, in the large company category.

 

(They try and spam each other to keep colleagues on their toes.)

 

The Wells Ave-based company (and chamber member) has 2,000 employees worldwide and a market cap of $4.9 billion, writes the BBJ’s Grant Welker.

 

 

Fed Reserve Chair Jerome Powell once again predicted that the inflation we’re all experiencing in our daily lives will drop back towards the central bank’s 2 percent target once supply imbalances resolve, reports Bloomberg.

 

“Job gains should pick up in coming months as vaccinations rise, easing some of the pandemic-related factors currently weighing them down,” Powell added yesterday in congressional testimony.

 

Looking for evidence that Powell might be right?

 

Some suggest we look no further than the local lumberyard, where the price of wood (more than $1,600 per thousand board feet in early May now below $1,000) has fallen as production ramps up, according to the New York Times.

 

 

The Newton City Council holds yet another public hearing tonight on the proposal to swap out a planned hotel and office building for two life sciences building at Riverside Station.

 

This approval process has been dragging on since at least February.

 

And in the booming life sciences real estate market, those delays could seriously jeopardize Newton’s very best shot at becoming a competitive in this sector.

 

If Newton doesn’t take advantage of this golden opportunity to bring great jobs and commercial tax revenue here someone else will.

 

Here’s hoping the council leadership will do everything they can to expedite this process. Find the zoom link to tonight's 7 p.m. meeting here.

 

That’s today’s Need to Knows, unless you need to know where you can buy thimble Jello shots next week for $20 in Monopoly money.

 

Onward!

 

617-244-1688

Your chamber is here when you need us.

 

P.S. Come back tomorrow for news about our first outdoor networking event since 2019.