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