About the Author
Welcome to “Can’t Get There from Here,” a blog about land use and growth, particularly in my hometown of Billerica, MA. My name is Jeff Parenti. I’ve lived here with my wife and daughters since 2006. I am a native New Englander, growing up in Acton, a couple towns away. Before choosing Billerica as the place to raise our family, my wife and I lived in Haverhill. Before we met, I owned a house in Boston for six years.
I represent precinct 5 in Town Meeting.
I work as a civil engineer for the City of Cambridge, where I have been since 2002. I also spent about four years working for the Town of Brookline Department of Public Works. I specialize in road and intersection design, particularly traffic signals. As part of my job, I also review land development proposals and help build the transportation component of their mitigation. I also review and comment on traffic studies drafted by developers. I began my career with a consulting company writing traffic studies on behalf of developers.
I am a registered professional engineer (P.E.) in Massachusetts. I hold a BS in civil engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and a MS from Georgia Tech.
Writing credits. Wrote a column for the “Local Voice” section of the Billerica Minuteman for 2 years. Wrote a column for the Billerica Green as the Green Handyman. Published a short story in an anthology called Fenway Fiction, available at Amazon or your local library. As a professional I wrote “Cambridge Plans a Livable Community” for a magazine called Public Roads, a publication of the Federal Highway Administration. I have also presented my approach to livable communities at several conferences.
Personal. I am a sports nut, home handyman and amateur cabinetmaker. I enjoy independent music, which I learned all about as a staff member of WRCT 88.3 fm at Carnegie Mellon and WREK 91.1 fm at Georgia Tech. I was the sports director at WRCT and was lucky to have the opportunity to call CMU football and basketball games, along with a club baseball game at Three Rivers Stadium. At WREK I announced baseball and women’s basketball.
Please write to me at cantgettherefromhere@comcast.net if you have any questions about me or the blog. Also, please see my writing interests.
William said
Loved your article on the dirt bike problem. It’s insane!
I have talked to Officer Avant (the dirt bike policeman) many times, but the ATV’s, dirt bikes, and pocket bikes keep going up and down endlessly. Worse still, once I told them to slow down, now they egg my cars, leave notes in my mail box, etc. Just a bunch of punk kids, but they know nothing will ever happen to them. The pits or fox hill are usually they destination.
What a shame, it’s ruining this entire area.
Jeffrey R. Parenti, P.E. said
William, I think it’s even more than a nuisance. I see it as a safety problem, too. Two things you can do: 1. Run for Town Meeting. TM makes laws like the one regulating dirt bike use. 2. Submit a warrant article making those regulations tougher. This is a problem that no one is talking about, but clearly is a widespread problem in town. If enough of us take action, we can make a difference.