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| MBTA Parking fee changes were effective Sep 1 |
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| Handicap Parking for Strawberry Stroll |
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| Franklin Residents: Traffic & Parking Alert for Strawberry Festival - Jun 8 |
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| Franklin Residents: Traffic & Parking Alert for Strawberry Festival - Jun 8 |
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| Parmenter School at night (before this storm hit) |
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| Reminder: Winter Parking Ban |
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| Norwood Central in 2010 (By John Phelan - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10599575) |
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| Franklin/Dean Station in light snow |
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| FHS after a prior winter snow storm |
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| Town Common covered in snow |
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| Senior Center Open House- February 26, 2017 11:00 Am to 2:00 PM |
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| conference room from the Open House in Nov 2011 |
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| expanded parking to increase capacity by 25 vehicles at the Senior Center |
"With Franklin voting to permanently remove its parking meters this year, those coin-eating sentinels of the sidewalk have become an increasingly rare sight in the Milford area and MetroWest.
Even those towns that have kept their meters - Framingham and Natick - have considered ways to modernize them in a world where fewer and fewer people are carrying change.
The Franklin Town Council voted in August to eliminate parking meter rules from its bylaws, a move that followed the physical removal of the town's 50 meters to facilitate a remodeling of its downtown area. The meters, which collected about $18,000 a year, were deemed inconvenient and aesthetically displeasing."
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| the parking meters have been removed from downtown Franklin, so they won't be decorated for the holidays |
"Franklin Art Center, 391 E. Central St., has added new art classes for ages 2-6 this fall.
ABC Art will focus on a letter a week. Students will learn letter formation and letter sounds, and will complete a piece of art to go along with the weekly letter.
Classes are available 9:15 to 10:45 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, and noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesdays. Sept. 20-22, letter C, cat collage; Sept. 27-29, letter D, dog drawings. "Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
"Work on a Franklin Senior Center renovation has progressed in recent months, with local officials hoping to wrap the project in the fall.
Senior Center Director Karen Alves said the effort - aimed at finishing the building's second floor - had been moving along well. Work had, she said, closed off one wing of the building at one point, leading to several programs being moved off-site, but that's eased of late.
"We've gotten a couple of rooms back on the first floor," she said. "Our computer room is now open, as is our multipurpose room, but they've closed down part of our other multipurpose room."
Alves said the end of the project may be as soon as late October but, given the fluidity of the work, no firm date had been set. All the same, the center will be celebrating once it is done."
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| Senior Center with the parking lot expansion being worked on as well |
"The Stony Brook Camera Club is kicking off another year of weekly meetings on Thursday, Sept. 1. The club recently moved from Wrentham to a larger facility in Franklin and is accepting new members.
The club is in its 47th year and is one of the oldest and largest clubs in New England, drawing members from Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
The goal of the club is to promote enjoyment and proficiency in all aspects of photography through education, by mutual exchange of knowledge and experience, and by promoting a broad appreciation of the natural environment. Camera knowledge and ability ranges from beginner to professional, so no one should feel intimidated."
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| JPG image of the most central downtown region shown on the full map |
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| legend of parking zones for downtown Franklin |
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| as I read the new parking rules, these designated parking zones would go away |
"The Town Council gave its final approval this week to three new traffic bylaws - including one that eliminates parking meters from downtown.
The council considered the bylaws at its Wednesday night meeting, though it had already approved a first reading of the regulations at a previous session. Town officials had proposed the changes as the area nears the end of a two-year roadwork project.
There was dissension about the removal of the meters, as councilors had said they did not wish to lose the revenue they provided.
Chairman Matthew Kelly read a letter from the Franklin Downtown Partnership, though, that espoused the move. It said local merchants agreed that the area was better without the meters, and that it fit with the charm of the new road design."
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| new greenery added downtown |
"The School Committee this week approved a district improvement plan, though committee members asked for more communication on progress toward goals.
The committee discussed the matter at its Tuesday night meeting.
Superintendent Maureen Sabolinski said the new plan compares where the district is with where it wishes to be and includes steps to move toward that goal.
Among the goals, said Sabolinski, are nurturing a safe, supportive and collaborative environment; focusing on curriculum instruction and feedback from student assessments; and helping student develop the skills - social and career-oriented - to help them achieve success.
One objective, Sabolinski said, involved refining the professional culture in the schools. She said the district wanted to take a collaborative approach in improving instruction, adding that educator-to-educator feedback was an especially powerful tool in doing so."
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| along the white blaze trail in Franklin Town Forest (off Summer St) |
"A new set of parking rules will be up for final debate next week, and may be fully in place by the fall.
The town has undertaken a revision of its parking bylaws as a project that reworks the downtown traffic flow enters its final stages. The Town Council is set to vote on the set of proposals at its meeting next week.
The new regulations would remove parking meter language from the bylaws, and establish parking zones in which two-hour limits would be in place for certain parts of the day. The changes are intended to increase convenience for visitors to the area while discouraging commuters from tying up spaces all day."Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
"A new bill - filed by State Rep. Jeffrey Roy, D-Franklin, and signed into law last week - is set to change the way legal notices are published in the state.
The new law has the notice not only appear in newspapers, but on the papers' websites and a new statewide website, maintained by the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association (MNPA)."
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| screen grab of a quick search for "Franklin" open meetings |
"The times may be a-changin' for change-collecting meters as the downtown roadwork project nears completion.
The Town Council gave tentative approval to several parking bylaw amendments and downtown meters could become a casualty.
The council, at its Wednesday meeting, voted to pass three amendments to second reading. The amendments set up parking limits in the downtown and eliminated language relating to parking meters."
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| parking meters here decorated for free parking during the Christmas holiday period would not be part of the Franklin downtown area |
"The council is scheduled at its meeting Wednesday night to take up substantial revisions to its parking bylaws. The changes will, among other things, implement two-hour parking at certain times along several downtown streets.
One amendment proposes using a color-coded map to delineate parking zones in the town's bylaws, instead of using wording like "from a point 25 feet north of East Central Street to East Central Street."
It also calls for different limits for different zones. Much of the parking areas on East Central and Main Street, for example, are colored purple, indicating two-hour parking from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. from Monday to Friday, and no restriction at other times.
Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting had raised the matter at an earlier meeting, noting that there is a need for more permanent parking regulations as the two-year downtown streetscape project draws to a close."Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
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| the simple and decorative holiday decorations for 'free parking' won't be needed if the parking bylaws are approved as there would be parking enforcement but not via meters |
"The town is looking to retool its parking rules as a two-year project to reconstruct the downtown concludes.
Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting presented a proposal for changes at Wednesday night's Town Council meeting. The plan contemplates two-hour parking in many areas throughout the morning, with fewer restrictions as the day continues.
Parking in downtown was once governed by meters, but those were taken down to accommodate the road construction and have not been replaced. A new plan, Nutting said, would allow for more common-sense rules and better use of existing spaces."
"The town will be stepping up efforts to enforce its water conservation measures in the coming days.
Department of Public Works Director Robert "Brutus" Cantoreggi said that despite the water restriction - residents are allowed to water their lawns one day a week on trash day - the town had seen a spike in usage last week (to 3.5 million gallons from around 2 million earlier in the year).
"People are not supposed to be watering their lawns," he said.
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| DPW Director Brutus Cantoreggi discussing the water restrictions at the Town Council meeting on Wednesday |
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| a full house was on hand for the Town Council meeting to see the new police chief and deputy get sworn in |
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| parking spots by the Bank of America building along Emmons St that are part of the easement agreement up for approval on this agenda |
1. Streets - Generally the colored lines are as follows:
a. Red – No Parking.
b. Purple – 2 hour parking enforced Monday – Friday from 8 AM - 2 PM. This is generally the immediate down town area.
c. Blue – 2 hour parking enforced Monday –Friday from 6 AM – 10 AM. These areas are currently a mixed bag of 2 hour parking with various restrictions or residential parking. The intent is to prevent commuter parking in these spaces in the AM.
d. Green – Merchant Parking enforced Monday – Friday 6 AM – 2 PM If there are no colors than parking is allowed 24/7 except for snow and ice or other events.
2. Downtown Parking Lots -
a. Commuter Parking
–i. Currently there are 53 spaces in the Depot Street lot and 17 Spaces in the West Central Street Lot.
ii. Hours = I propose that we sell commuter spaces Monday-Friday 6 AM – Noon.
iii. If spaces are available after noon anyone can park in the space. The current fee is$480 per year ($125 per quarter) or about $2 per day.
b. Merchant Permits
–i. Currently 22 spaces – I propose to sell merchant parking.
ii. Hours = Monday – Friday 6 AM- 2PM. After 2 PM anyone can park in the spaces.
iii. The current fee is $360 per year ($180 for six months) or about $1.35 per day.Currently one business uses 16 spaces, one uses 5 spaces and 1 uses 1 space. I suggest the Council consider increasing the fee to match the Commuter space fee of $480 per year. The spaces have the same value and cost the same to maintain.
iv. Add an HP spot in the Ferrara lot.
v. Keep 5 spaces for customers and continue to sell the rest for commuter rail.
vi. Adjust the number of customer spaces as may be required by reducing commuter spaces in demand dictates a change.
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| January 10, 2016 |
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| a little further along Main St but in front of Rockland Trust, Saturday, June 18 |
