Wayland, Massachusetts: a self study of a growing community , Part 2

Author: Wayland League of Women Voters. Committee on Metropolitan Planning.
Publication date: 1960
Publisher: Greater Boston Economic Study Committee
Number of Pages: 80


USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Wayland > Wayland, Massachusetts: a self study of a growing community > Part 2


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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10


bearing out the fact that many do stay in town when they find a move desirable or expedient.


On the question of where they would try to relocate if they had to leave the town of Wayland, over one third of those respond- ing indicated a preference for one of the surrounding towns. Only one out of ten of this group felt he would look for accommodation nearer the central city of Boston. This gives a strong implication that the back-to-the-city movement in Wayland is as yet negligible indeed.


Table 3 - Where would you go if you had to leave:


Percent Distribution of Persons Indicating Where They Would Move if They Left


Their Present Home


Town of Wayland


Wayland


48


-


Surrounding towns


19


34


Nearer to Boston


6


10


Farther out


4


6


Massachusetts - other


3


5


Out of the state


7


22


Do not know


13


23


Total


100


100


Number households answering


2044


1961


11


(


Satisfaction of Wayland residents with suburban life is rein- forced by the migration patterns of former town residents illustrated by the data in Table 4.


Table 4 - Wayland Migration Pattern


Where Previous


Occupant Moved


Households


Percent


Wayland


168


19


Framingham


46


5


Natick


44


5


Weston


18


2


Waltham


15


2


Wellesley


6


1


Lexington


4


a)


MDC Boston - other


91


10


Sudbury


26


3


Lincoln


6


1


Concord


6


1


Massachusetts - other


108


12


New England - other


66


8


West - California


35


4


South - Florida


37


4


United States - other


110


13


Foreign country


16


2


Death


71


8


Total


873


100


Do not know


170


-


No previous occupant


867


-


No answer


301


-


Total households


2211


a) Less than 0. 5 per cent


12


G. Transportation and Communications : Relation of the Part to the Whole


Wayland's commuting patterns illustrate the willingness of the suburban dweller to travel considerable distances to employment as long as he can maintain his residence in a country atmosphere. Eighty- six per cent of the households reporting have outgoing commuters to some 72 cities and towns in Massachusetts. Nearly one out of four commuters goes to Boston.


Table 5 - Commuting


Households Having


Percent Distribution of 2172 Households


Commuters out of town


86


No commuters out of town


14


Total


100


(For destinations of out-of-town commuters, see Appendix Table IX. )


Tabulations were also made of the number of cars per family and of the routes and times used regularly by commuters. (See Ap- pendix Tables IX, X, XI, XII. ) Although there is no previous study with which to compare these traffic patterns and chart the increases, the indication is clear that if the growth rate continues both in Wayland and its surrounding towns, an inescapable concomitant of more people will be more traffic.


13


(


H. Shopping, Professional Services, and Recreation


Wayland residents ignore the political boundaries of the town in more than employment commuting patterns. When the survey was taken, more Wayland groceries were bought in neighboring Natick than at home. 1 Five towns ranked higher than Wayland for shopping other than food. Over half the households in Wayland did no shopping for food in town; more than 4 out of 5 made no purchases of nonfood items there. Boston ranks high as a source of professional services and recreation, although 54 per cent of those replying stay in Wayland for some professional services, and (See Appendix Table XIV) 47 per cent for part of their recreation, although golf is the only available form of commercial recreation. Framingham, containing the most complete nearby shopping center, including branches of Boston stores, far outranks all towns for other shopping, with Boston rating second. When asked what other services they would like in Wayland, many re- sidents expressed opposition to further commercialization of the town. Three out of four, however, wanted additional services. (Appendix Table XI) I. The Telephone : The Medium


Next to the automobile, the most important convenience for any


1 A new shopping center which includes a supermarket and other shopping services has opened in Wayland since the survey was made and has un- doubtedly altered some of these patterns.


14


suburban household is the telephone. Wayland, a major unit in the suburban population bulge in Greater Boston, occupies a special re- lationship to the area where its wage-earners work, its housewives shop, and families receive professional services. There are three telephone exchanges in town, each with a different toll-free calling area. Two exchanges within the town are not mutually toll-free; Boston is a toll call for all. Ninety-eight per cent of the homes sur - veyed have telephones. Fifty per cent of the respondents named Wayland as the town most frequently called, but 25 per cent named a Boston area exchange for which they pay toll as the town most often called. Even more named Boston exchanges as the second and third most often called. Over half of those with telephones had no comments on the telephone service. The 44 per cent who did com- ment include 6 per cent who praised the service, and 38 per cent who criticized it. Most of the dissatisfaction (one out of four sub- scribers) was with the extent of the toll-free calling area. J. Vacation Patterns : Escape or Recreate


Seventy-six per cent of the Wayland residents who take vaca- tions go away in the summer months. Twenty-two per cent specify no vacations at all. This fact may partly account for the substantial interest shown in acquiring recreational land in answer to the Plan- ning Board's question.


15


K. Preserving the Image : Can They Keep It ?


The final tables are based on questions included in the survey at the request of the Wayland Planning Board. They gave the towns - people an opportunity to express themselves on the change or preserva- tion of certain specific aspects of the town character. Some of these would have to be approved by town-wide vote; others, at the discretion of the popularly elected Planning Board members. A majority of the people in town registered themselves in favor of preserving the resi- dential atmosphere of the town; 52 per cent were opposed to more in- dustry, 71 per cent were opposed to apartment housing, and 72 per cent were in favor of the acquisition by the town of land for recreation or wild life preservation.


The last question probed gently into the suburbanites' sense of identification with the central city. Their response showed that when 3, 000 miles from home, they are four times more likely to identify with Boston than when they are in a neighboring state. (Table 10) Table 6 - Do you favor the Town's acquiring land for recreation and/or


wild life ?


Recreation


Wild Life


Answer


Households


Percent


Households


Percent


Yes


1589


72


1590


72


No


413


19


412


19


Do not know


58


2


52


2


No answer


151


7


157


7


Total


2211


100


2211


100


16


Table 7 - Would you favor a certain amount of tax money being used


for this purpose (recreation and/or wild life) each year ?


Answer


Households


Percent


Yes


1346


61


No


548


24


Do not know


81


4


No answer


236


11


Total


2211


100


Table 8 - Do you think that there should be more sidewalks in town?


Answer


Households


Percent


Yes


1159


52


No


871


39


Do not know


86


4


No answer


95


5


Total


2211


100


If so, where? (sidewalks) Answers to this question were not tabu- lated because they tended to relate to the immediate neighborhood in which each respondent lived. Many answers did specify main high- ways, within one mile of schools, in housing developments, and around shopping areas.


17


Table 9 - Would you like to see:


Yes


No


Do not Know


No Answer


More industry in Wayland ?


877


1164


75


95


Apartment housing ?


452


1566


78


115


Old age housing ?


940


949


158


164


More individual housing above $20,000 ?


1264


654


108


185


More small house development ?


484


1519


57


151


More rental property ?


595


1353


101


162


Percent (2211 households = 100%)


More industry in Wayland ?


40


52


3


5


Apartment housing ?


20


71


4


5


Old age housing ?


43


43


7


7


More individual housing above $20,000 ?


57


30


5


8


More small house development ?


22


69


2


7


More rental property ?


27


61


5


7


Table 10 - Identification


If you were in New Hampshire and someone asked where you were from,


what would you answer ?


If you were in California and someone asked where you were from,


what would you answer ?


Percent if in


Answer


Number if in N. H.


Calif.


N. H.


Calif.


Cochituate


208


64


10


3


Cochituate, near Boston


14


14


1


1


Cochituate, related to another


place


99


66


4


3


Wayland


721


171


33


8


(Continued)


18


Table 10 - Identification (Continued)


If you were in New Hampshire and someone asked where you were from, what would you answer ?


If you were in California and someone asked where you were from,


what would you answer ?


Answer


Number if in N. H.


Calif.


N. H. Calif.


Wayland, near Boston


72


129


4


6


Wayland, near


(other suburb)


19


9


1


a)


Wayland, Massachusetts


517


267


24


12


Near (other suburb)


26


15


1


1


Boston area


99


299


4


14


Boston


134


516


6


24


Massachusetts


233


560


11


26


N. E., East or Northeast


3


38


a)


1


Place of origin


16


14


1


1


Total


2161


2162


100


100


No geographical answer


50


49


-


--


Percent if in


a) Less than 0.5 per cent


19


1


APPENDIX - STATISTICAL TABULATIONS


Character of the Growth


£


I. When the adults now living in Wayland came to the town


Came to


Wayland


Percent of 4601 Adults


Less than 5 years ago


44


Between 5 and 10 years ago


26


Between 10 and 20 years ago


13


More than 20 years ago


17


Total


100


II. Where the adults living in Wayland grew up


Place


Percent of 4590 Adults


Cumulative Percent


Wayland


9


9


MDC Boston


40


49


Massachusetts - other


14


63


New England - other


10


73


NY, NJ, Del, Pa, Md, DC


11


84


United States - other


10


94


Other country


6


100


Total


100*


*In some tables the percentage column does not add up to 100, due to rounding errors.


20


III. Where adults who have come to Wayland in the last five years were living five years ago.


Place


Percent of 1988 Adults


Cumulative Percent


MDC Boston


58


58


Massachusetts - other


8


66


New England - other


7


73


NY, NJ, Del, Md, Pa, DC


13


86


United States - other


11


97


Other country


3


100


Total


100


IV. Household size: Wayland's average household has 3. 96 persons. The range is from 1 to 16 persons.


Persons Per Household


Percent of 2211 Households


1


3


2


18


3


17


4


28


5


19


6


9


7


4


8


2


9 or more


1


Total


100


V. Distribution of the population by age


Age


Percent of 8744 Persons


18 or under


45


Over 18


55


Total


100


1


21


VI. Distribution of the population by sex


Sex


Percent of 8744 Persons


Male


49.8


Female


50.2


Total


100.0


VII. Children per household


Children


Per Household


Total Households


Percent


0


590


27


1


380


17


2


571


26


3


375


17


4


184


9


5


59


3


6


28


1


7


6


a)


8


3


a)


9


1


a)


10


0


0


11


2


a)


Total


2199*


100


*This figure differs from the 2, 211 figure for households in Table IV because 12 households did not report in response to this question.


a) Less than 0. 5 per cent.


22


VIII. Why residents would leave Wayland or the Boston area


Wayland


Boston Area


Reasons for Leaving


Number of Households


Percent of Households


Number of Households


Percent of Households


Employment status changed


720


35


795


46


High taxes


356


17


138


8


Don't like overcrowding /changes / people


108


5


57


3


More suitable housing /elsewhere


91


4


12


1


Poor transportation/to be nearer work


78


4


5


a)


Don't like local gov't/services


49


2


0


High cost of living


35


2


19


Prefer other place


32


2


17


To be nearer city


27


1


0


0


Quality of schools


27


1


-


Poor climate/health


20


1


31


2


Family changes (family elsewhere)


12


1


10


1


Don't like state government


3


a)


10


1


Wayland not in Boston area


0


0


7


a)


Total reasons


1558


75


1101


64


Total households specifying reasons


1425


69


1040


61


No reason to leave


648


31


675


39


Total households answering


2073


100


1715


100


Households not responding


138


496


1 01 1 0 1


a) Less than 0. 5 per cent


23


D


IX. Destinations of out-of-town commuters


Town


Number


Percent


Boston


558


24


Waltham


310


13


Framingham


195


9


Natick


155


7


Cambridge


143


6


Newton


135


6


Wellesley


85


4


Watertown


59


3


Weston


36


2


Concord


34


2


Bedford


33


1


Needham


33


1


Sudbury


27


1


Burlington


25


1


Lexington


24


1


MDC towns less than


1 per cent each


123


5


Other destinations


123


5


Destination varies


214


10


Total


2312


100


X. Car ownership


Cars in Family


Cars at Home During Day


Cars Per Family


Families


Percent


Families


Percent


0


78


3


875


42


1 (part-time)


0


0


112


6


1


1054


48


1028


50


2


961


44


44


2


3


81


4


5


a)


4 or more


17


1


0


0


Total


2191


100


2064


100


No answer


20


147


--


a) Less than 0.5 per cent


24


XI. Means of transportation of out-of-town commuters


Percentage Distribution of


Means


2244 Commuters


544 Commuters +


1700 Commuters


= To Boston To Other Places


Car


87


65


94


Truck


1


--


2


Car and MTA


3


10


a)


Train


5


19


a)


Bus


3


4


3


Other


a)


a)


Means vary


1


2


1


Total


100


100


100


No answer


76


14


62


a) Less than 0. 5 per cent


XII. Traffic Patterns: relative use of main routes by cars and trucks going out-of-town


Route


Number


Percent


U.S. 20 (east-west)


592


39


Mass. 30 (east-west)


485


32


Mass. 27 (north-south)


174


12


Mass. 126 (north-south)


248


17


Total


1499


100


Other, various routes and


no answer


526


1


Note: Some commuters use a combination of the above routes; how- ever, only those routes which were a point of exit and entry to town were tabulated.


25


-


5


XIII. Traffic Patterns: time pattern of car and truck commuters going out of town on east-west routes


Percent of 592 Commuters


Percent of 485 Commuters


Mass. Route 30


Hour


U.S. Route 20 East


West


East


West


A. M. before 6


1


1


3


1


6 up to 6:30


3


a)


3


1


6:30 up to 7


5


0


9


1


7 up to 7:30


18


a)


15


3


7:30 up to 8


29


1


24


4


8 up to 8:30


23


1


19


2


8:30 up to 9


7


1


4


1


9 up to 10


3


a)


3


1


10 up to 12


1


1


a)


a)


Varies


3


a)


3


1


P. M. 12 up to 4


2


2


3


5


4 up to 4:30


a)


4


2


2


4:30 up to 5


1


5


1


5


5 up to 5:30


1


18


4


12


5:30 up to 6


1


18


3


14


6 up to 6:30


1


23


1


23


6:30 up to 7


a)


9


1


10


7 up to 7:30


a)


5


a)


5


7:30 up to 12


1


3


1


3


Varies


0


9


1


6


Total


100


100


100


100


a) Less than 0. 5 per cent


26


1


XIV. Towns Visited for Shopping, Professional Services, and Recreation


Shopping for Number of Percent


Number of Households that Visit the Town Specified


Food, 2181 Households Households


Households Specifying Specifying


Answering


the Town


the Town


less than 25% of the time


26-50% of the time


51-75% of the time


75-100% of the time


Rank Position of the Town for Purpose Described*


Wayland


995


46


391


353


56


295


2


Boston


81


4


27


30


10


14


9


Framingham


668


31


74


269


84


241


3


Waltham


329


15


44


110


50


125


4


Natick


881


40


101


295


112


373


1


Newton


101


5


18


35


14


34


6


Sudbury


109


5


35


42


15


17


8


Wellesley


108


20


47


11


30


7


Weston


53


52 5 2


11


17


10


15


10


Other towns


145


7


49


49


15


32


5


Other Shopping,


2141 Households


Answering


Wayland


351


16


278


61


1


11


6


Boston


716


33


217


324


58


117


2


Framingham


1441


67


194


685


147


415


1


Waltham


536


25


130


293


23


90


3


Natick


365


17


92


213


20


40


5


Newton


54


3


22


22


1


9


8


Sudbury


24


1


15


6


0


3


9


Wellesley


432


20


133


258


7


34


4


Weston


19


1


14


4


0


1


10


Other towns


199


9


76


87


13


23


7


27


1


XIV. Towns Visited for Shopping, Professional Services, and Recreation (Continued)


Professional Number of Per cent


Number of Households that Visit the Town Specified


Services, 2157 Households Households


Households


Specifying Specifying


Answering


the Town


the Town


less than 25% of the time


26-50% of the time


51-75% of the time


75-100% of the time


Rank Position of the Town for Purpose Described*


Wayland


1172


54


173


543


76


380


1


Boston


519


24


120


282


25


92


3


Framingham


421


20


145


172


16


88


4


Waltham


203


9


50


100


12


41


7


Natick


460


21


74


232


28


126


2


Newton


109


5


18


65


7


19


9


Sudbury


37


2


10


23


1


3


10


Wellesley


167


8


33


110


4


20


8


Weston


327


15


54


217


8


48


5


Other towns


256


12


82


123


9


42


6


Recreation


2005 Households


Answering


Wayland


955


47


139


360


97


359


1


Boston


682


34


173


341


30


138


3


Framingham


638


32


130


295


37


176


2


Waltham


80


4


24


36


3


17


6


Natick


203


10


57


97


8


41


5


Newton


41


2


14


22


0


5


9


Sudbury


20


1


14


6


0


0


10


Wellesley


56


3


9


33


1


3


7


Weston


40


2


8


21


4


7


8


Other towns


422


21


186


149


25


62


4


28


XIV. Towns Visited for Shopping, Professional Services, and Recrea- tion (Continued)


*The following method was used to determine the rank order of towns. When a householder reported that he visited a town, say Framingham, to shop, he was also asked to report whether Framing- ham was used less than 25 per cent of the time, 25 to 50 per cent, 50 to 75 per cent, or 75 to 100 per cent of the time. A tabulation of these responses is shown in Columns 3 through 6 in the table.


Each of these four possible responses was assigned a point value, and these point values were used to calculate a total point score for each town. To illustrate, again using Framingham:


Frequency


Point Value


X


No. Households Reporting this Point Frequency = Score


Less than 25%


of the time


1


74


74


25 to 50%


3


269


807


50 to 75%


5


84


420


75 to 100%


7


241


1687


Totals


668


2988


Thus Framingham, where 668 Wayland householders report they shop, receives a total of 2988 points. This point score reflects the fact that some households go there for a high proportion of their shopping trips, while other households go infrequently. Using the same weighting method, Natick got 4157 points when shopping was considered and Wayland itself received 3495. Thus as a place where Wayland households shop, Natick ranks first, Wayland ranks second, Framingham ranks third, and so on as shown in the table.


The same method was applied to calculate the ranking for Other Shopping, Professional Services, and Recreation.


29


XV. Vacation patterns: where


Vacation


Taken in


Vacations Reported by 2121 Households


Vacations as a Percent of 2121 Households Answering


New England


1289


60


United States - other


343


16


Foreign


110


5


No single place, varies


217


10


Total vacations taken


1959


-


Households Answering


2121


100


Taking vacations


1649


78


No vacations


472


22


Households not answering


90


XVI. Evaluation of living in Wayland


Advantages


Percent of 2123 Households


Disadvantages


Percent of 2123 Households


Country living


34


Growth


3


Town small / suburban


10


Flavor of town


6


Spacious lots


8


Transportation


28


Quiet/private


6


Traffic


4


Pretty /pleasant


6


Telephone service


5


Native/family near/like 11


Taxes


20


Good for children/people


4


Lack of sewers/drainage 4


Flavor of town - other


8


Rubbish disposal


4


Near work 5


Far from work


1


Near Boston


7


Far from Boston


1


Shopping/ services conveni- ent / good 6


Shopping / services inconvenient 11


Convenient location/com- muting good


10


commuting poor


4


Recreation 7


Recreation


5


Schools 25


Schools


5


Zoning 3


Zoning 1


Town gov't/services


8


Just like it


4


Wayland/Cochituate split 1


Households not responding 11


Households not responding 26


Town gov't/ services


4


Inconvenient location /


30


esc


research staff


GREGORY B. WOLFE CIRESTOS OF RESEARCHYA


KALTH KAMINSKY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH


FRANCIS E. C'ERIEN RESEARCH ASSOCIATE


JOHM. E, CONCANNON


RESEARCH ASSISTANT


SECRETARY


SHELLS L. FARRELL


other publications of the greater boston economic study committee


policy statements:


1. COMMUTING, JUNE 1958


2. A REPORT ON DOWNTOWN BOSTON, MAY 1959


economic base reports :


1. THE LABOR FORCE OF GREATER BOSTON, JUNE 1959


2. THE POPULATION OF GREATER BOSTON PROJECTED TO 1970, JUNE 1959


3. RECENT CHANGES IN THE EMPLOYMENT STRUCTURE OF GREATER BOSTON, NOVEMBER 1959


4, THE POPULATION OF THE CITIES AND TOWNS OF GREATER BOSTON PROJECTED TO 1970, DECEMBER 1959


5. A PROFILE OF AN EXECUTIVE GROUP WORKING IN GREATER BOSTON, JANUARY 1960


6. BUSINESS RELOCATION CAUSED BY THE BOSTON CENTRAL ARTERY, APRIL 1960


7. A SURVEY OF COMMUTERS ON THE HIGHLAND BRANCH


regional analysis maps:


1. A LAND USE MAP OF THE G.B.E.S.C. STUDY AREA, LIMITED EDITION, MARCH 1960


publications in preparation :


1. FINANCING RAPID TRANSIT IN GREATER BOSTON


2. THE COSTS AND FINANCING OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTIONS


3. REGIONAL LAND USE PLANNING PROBLEMS IN GREATER BOSTON


4. LAND USE IN THE GREATER BOSTON AREA




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