Newton Committee Reverses Two Traffic Council Rulings, Cuts Plaza Trial to May

NEWTON — January 21, 2026 — Newton's Public Safety and Transportation Committee voted unanimously to reverse two Traffic Council decisions and narrowly amended a third at its January 21 meeting. The committee voted 8-0 to repeal a Traffic Council trial that would have temporarily lifted an 18-year-old left-turn prohibition from eastbound Beacon Street into the Langley Road parking lot in Newton Center, and 8-0 to repeal a newly approved no-parking zone on Bristol Road near the Commonwealth Avenue carriageway, with resident Holly Vera arguing the relocated stop sign and existing law already ensured visibility. The most contested item was the Newton Center pilot plaza, funded with approximately $300,000 in ARPA funds and operating in a portion of the Triangle Lot since late June 2025; Traffic Council had unanimously extended the trial through October 31, but Councillor Tariq Lucas — presenting daily midday photographs showing the mostly empty plaza in December and January — moved to shorten the end date to May 31. City COO Josh Morse told the committee the administration is "committed to exploring" a relocated plaza on the Newton Center green in partnership with the Parks and Recreation Commission, while restoring the parking spaces, but asked that the current trial continue in the meantime. The committee approved Lucas's amendment 6-2, with Councillors Roach and Greenberg dissenting in favor of keeping the October deadline.