[MassHistPres] [External] Re: Public way

[rcsmitharch at verizon.net]

Looking through the document Ralph Slate posted, it looks pretty clear that public parking lots would be considered public ways.  I believe that is also true of navigable waterways, which is a consideration for coastal towns.  These discussions tend to focus on roads for motor vehicles, but there are public ways that serve other forms of locomotion.

Richard Smith
Swampscott Historic District Commission
________________________________
From: MassHistPres <masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu> on behalf of Robert Casinghino via MassHistPres <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Sent: Monday, November 17, 2025 1:49 PM
To: Gretchen Schuler <ggschuler126 at gmail.com>
Cc: Barbara Saint Andre <bsaintandre at medwayma.gov>; MHC Preservation listserv <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] [External] Re: Public way

In Royalston public ways are not only roads but also parks, the common and parking lots that are considered town property.

On Mon, Nov 17, 2025, 1:13 PM Gretchen Schuler via MassHistPres <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu<mailto:masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>> wrote:
My apologies - I am the one who said parking lots for town property are public ways - Always counted them as well as public parks, train and MBTA tracks in a town in which I worked as per lawyers on Commission.....In fact most definitions of public ways include parks and parking lots - perhaps there is a definition in MGL that does not?
Gretchen Schuler
Wayland, MA

On Mon, Nov 17, 2025 at 9:22 AM Barbara Saint Andre <bsaintandre at medwayma.gov<mailto:bsaintandre at medwayma.gov>> wrote:
Note: As of July 1st, 2025, all Town of Medway emails have changed to @medwayma.gov<http://medwayma.gov>. Please edit your contacts to reflect this change.


I would caution that parking lots are not generally public ways.  A public way is a street that has been laid out and accepted as a public way by the Select Board and Town Meeting, or has become a public way by other legal means.  Check with your town clerk or planning board for a list of public ways in your town.



Barbara J. Saint Andre

Director, Community and Economic Development

Town of Medway

155 Village Street<https://www.google.com/maps/search/155+Village+Street+%0D%0A+Medway,+MA+02053?entry=gmail&source=g>

<https://www.google.com/maps/search/155+Village+Street+%0D%0A+Medway,+MA+02053?entry=gmail&source=g>

Medway, MA 02053<https://www.google.com/maps/search/155+Village+Street+%0D%0A+Medway,+MA+02053?entry=gmail&source=g>

(508) 321-4918



From: MassHistPres <masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu<mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu>> On Behalf Of Gretchen Schuler via MassHistPres
Sent: Friday, November 14, 2025 9:28 PM
To: Nancy Dole <nlouisedole at gmail.com<mailto:nlouisedole at gmail.com>>
Cc: MHC Preservation listserv <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu<mailto:masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>>
Subject: [External] Re: [MassHistPres] Public way



YES, absolutely!  It is a public way.

Gretchen Schuler

Wayland Historic District Commission



On Wed, Nov 12, 2025 at 9:10 AM Nancy Dole via MassHistPres <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu<mailto:masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>> wrote:

Would a structure visible from a town owned parking lot be considered visible from a public way?
Nancy Dole
West Tisbury HDC
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