UPDATE: The Belmont Citizen Herald has identified the man as David C. Haverty, 82, of Gale Road in Belmont.

I passed by this scene shortly after it happened, by which time Transit Police had already taped off the scene and started their investigation. I don’t have much to add at this point, though it appears that the man was a Belmont resident. Police at the scene were reluctant to provide details on the incident –including whether it was accidental. It does appear that the signals and crossing gates were working properly at the time.

According to the report, Haverty was not crossing at the grade crossing, but was on the tracks “in an area where no person should be on the tracks,” according to an MBTA official quoted in the story. Haverty’s son, John, is quoted saying that his father was hard of hearing, the result of a war injury, and may not have heard the train coming.

OK…so it took a bit longer than planned, but here, at last, is the final installment of Eight Crazy Ideas for 2008. As you know, the Crazy Ideas series has really been an effort to look at the little picture in Belmont- not the big one. Over the last two weeks, B2 has thrown out a handful of small, incremental changes that might really improve life in the Town of Homes. We’ve talked about parking meters to generate revenue and parking permits to discourage non-residents from misusing our streets. We’ve talked about ways to conserve energy and open up space for development in town. With that in mind, Crazy Idea #8, takes aim at South Pleasant Street, where a former car dealership sits empty and has become a symbol of the town’s economic malaise. According to Selectman Firenze and others, the town is in a tough spot in its sincere attempts to develop this parcel: despite a For Sale sign out front, the family that has owned the property for generations is disinclined to sell it to developers who have come knocking — and there have reportedly been some sweet offers.

Obviously, development of the parcel into a mall, office complex, or even just another car dealership would bring much needed cash into Belmont’s coffers. While Belmont can’t force such a sale, it does have one potent tool at its disposal: eminent domain. While it is usually invoked by governments for the purpose of public developments — like roads, railways and other public infrastructure, eminent domain can just as well be used to transfer land from one owner to another when it serves the cause of economic development, as the Supreme Court recently affirmed in the case of Kelo v. the City of New London. With a large parcel in one of its few commercial districts left to rot, Belmont would be well within its rights to say “enough is enough” and force the exchange.

Of course, taking the property to hand to a commercial developer is a notion that is ethically murky and is sure to rile property rights activists both inside Belmont and around the State.

A better option is one that’s been kicking around town for years: combining the Belmont Center and Waverly train stations on the Purple Line and taking the Pleasant St. property for the purpose of building a new, unified train station and commuter parking lot. This plan would work on a number of different levels.

First of all: turning the lot into our new train stop would be entirely consistent with the historical use of the eminent domain power and would clearly benefit the town as a whole, rather than line some developer’s pocket. Town residents could sleep easy.
Second: consolidation of the Belmont Center and Waverly stops fits squarely with the State and MBTA’s long-term plans for the Fitchburg line, which call for station consolidation as a way to reduce commuting times and maintenance costs for the line. The State and MBTA may be more than willing to chip in funds to the town to see this happen, offsetting the costs of developing the property. And, as someone who uses the Purple Line to get in to work, anything that would improve the T’s current 10 percent “on time” rate would be very welcome!

Third: a larger train station lot with parking would eliminate the problem of on-street parking around the two existing stops, and give the town a new source of income in the form of daily parking fees from the large new lot accompanying the station. Foot traffic to and from the station would also be a big plus for other businesses on Pleasant St. and in Waverly Square, and could — in fact– promote the development of the rest of Pleasant Street as a more conventional business district with a mix of shops,rather than the current mix of car dealerships, light industrial and vacant buildings. People laughed heartily about the new, lightly traveled sidewalks along Pleasant St. that came with the reconstruction of Rte. 60. But now that they’re there — why not use ‘em?

As always, comments and suggestions are welcome. I’ll repost all eight of our Eight Crazy Ideas (that just might work).