Matthew Johnson

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October, 2017

Matthew Johnson's projects

Recent Activity

Supported a comment by Brad Hubbard-Nelson on Envision Concord 5 years, 6 months ago
Brad Hubbard-Nelson
I agree, as I read the census numbers the population is essentially flat. The distribution is what has been changing.
Supported a comment by Rick Hedeman on Envision Concord 5 years, 6 months ago
Rick Hedeman
Love the fact that the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail is happening! Would LOVE it if there was some way to connect it with the trail from Concord center to Bedford...
Supported a comment by Gary Kleiman on Envision Concord 5 years, 6 months ago
Gary Kleiman
Continue to increase access to the West Concord waterfront through trails, interpretive features, picnic spots or boat launches/fishing piers, but maintain natural aesthetic.
Supported a comment by Tyler Spring on Envision Concord 5 years, 6 months ago
Tyler Spring
Add a pedestrian bridge over the Assabet River connecting the Baker Ave business parks to West Concord Village. Our 2010 Master Plan recommended such a bridge. After reading GPI's feasibility study provided...
Commented on Envision Concord 5 years, 6 months ago
I strongly support this idea, but I think that it would make more sense to build it as part of a longer multi-use trail between West Concord and Concord Center. Rt 2 is an obstacle, but for now we could live with a dedicated pedestrian/bike grade-level crossing at Baker Ave. The path could connect from there to the Reformatory Branch trail, which goes the rest of the way to the center. Not only would this approach increase the utility of the footbridge, but it might open up other funding sources.
Commented on Envision Concord 5 years, 6 months ago
The "Existing Conditions" presentation that Civic Moxie made at the workshop claimed that Concord's population had grown by 13.4% since 2000. That didn't sound right to me, so I got the town census data from the Town Clerk. It shows Concord's population of 15,537 in 2000 growing to 15,987 in 2016. That's 450 people, or 2.9%, over 16 years. I think it's very important to correct this error, which could mislead readers into thinking that Concord's a fast-growing town, when its population has actually been very stable for the past few decades. (In 1990, the population was 15,424.) I'm not certain, but my guess is that the error came from using US Census data, which counts the MCI Concord prison population. That may have increased substantially as a result of the prison changing from an intake facility to a residential site.