Newton Highlands residents were told their commercial core would get new sidewalks, gathering spaces and traffic calming. Eight months after the City Council approved the plan, the project is stuck in limbo — with $500,000 already spent and no clear answer on whether it moves forward at all.

The City Council voted 20-2 in November to let the Newton Highlands Village Enhancement Project advance, despite the neighborhood's own area council urging them to stop it. Councilor Martha Bixby added an amendment creating a working group to decide whether to keep going or redirect the funding elsewhere — but that group hasn't released any findings since.

The project runs on federal ARPA pandemic-recovery funds, which can't easily be redirected once committed. "You could not establish a new contract for this work at this juncture," Councilor Rena Getz said. "This money, for those safety improvements, would have to come from elsewhere." In other words: pulling the plug doesn't necessarily save the money — it might just leave it stranded.

Planning has run since 2022, racking up roughly $500,000 in consulting and design fees so far. A total project cost of $14 million came up in the area council's internal discussions but never made it into their official letter to the city — they called the consulting fees "excessive" instead. One area council member, Emily Manus, put it bluntly during the debate: "It seems like spending more money to develop more of the plan that is so deeply flawed that we have to send 25 points, etc., is problematic."

At a September open house, DPW staff showed off plans for a raised, traffic-calming roadway, permeable pavement for stormwater, and a proposed parklet where a traffic slip lane now sits. Neighbors split on nearly everything: some doubted the parklet would even get used given Walnut Street traffic, others welcomed it if the city kept up the landscaping. Removing a right-turn lane sparked backup concerns, even though DPW says it's needed for ADA compliance. And the neighborhood's fountain at Forest and Walnut — slated for removal in 2022, saved after public pushback in 2023 — is still a sore spot for some residents.

A landscape architect hire needed for the beautification elements was still pending as of September, and no public meeting or construction date has been set. Area council president Jeremy Freudberg said he believes the mayor's office will defer to whatever the City Council ultimately decides. Residents can reach the Newton Highlands Area Council at [email protected].