MILTON /Martin Road
No trick: Martin Road a treat for families

By L.E. CAMPANELLA
For The Patriot Ledger Area: 13.2 square miles

POPULATION
2000: 26,062
2006: 26,500
Density: 2,023 res./square mile
Median age: 41
Median household income: $88,377

FINANCES
Tax rate: $10.84 res./$20.34 comm.
Town budget: $80.6 million
Avg. water/sewer bill: $1,445/year

HOUSING
Median home price
2006: $455,000
2007: $428,700
Median condo price
2006: $400,000
2007: $325,000

SCHOOLS
Number of students: 3,724
Number of teachers: 266
H.S. grads to 4-yr. college: 75%
H.S. grads to 2-yr. college: 11%
Median SAT score (2006): 1550

If Tara and Walter O'Leary moved from their Martin Road home, Halloween just wouldn't be the same. Since moving to the street about 15 years ago, the couple have amused their five children and hundreds of others with elaborate lawn creations every October.

"We started off doing it for the kids. Now we have to keep doing it because people pull over around Oct. 2 or 3 and yell, 'What's going up this year?'" Tara O'Leary said. "Now we can't stop."

The O'Learys decked out their 100-year-old Victorian home at the corner of Reedsdale Road and Martin Road this past October with a life-size creation of the headless horseman, complete with fiery steed rearing up on its hind legs.

The couple's two sons made a Grim Reaper out of an old water heater that a neighbor had put out with the trash.

"The kids always say, 'I hope we never move,'" Tara O'Leary said. "I don't think we ever will."

Nestled in a quiet neighborhood bordering Reedsdale Road, it's hard to tell the area is surrounded by busy streets that bring commuters to routes 128 and 25 and Interstate 95 in minutes.

Milton High School,St. Elizabeth Church, the main branch of Milton Library and Milton Hospital are all within walking distance.

Paul Rege, co-owner of Kelley and Rege Properties in Milton, said the real estate market in the area has been remarkably steady despite the slowdown in the industry.

A house on Martin Road is listed for $589,900. Across the way on Highland Street is a house for sale for $2.8 million.

"The market pool for the $2.8 million isn't the same as it is for the $589,900, but Milton overall is doing well no matter where the house is," Rege said.

Last year, Milton was named one of the top 10 places to the live in the United States by Money.com.

Rege said that could be a reason Milton is still selling at a good clip, while sales in other towns are stagnant.

The area around Martin Road, which includes Spafford Street, Highland Street and Buckingham Road, offers residents a convenient place to live that is close to Boston.

The O'Learys bought their house from Walter's parents.

The O'Learys have spent the last 15 years renovating and restoring the Victorian from top to bottom, except they are waiting to do the floors until their five children, who range in age from 6 to 14, are grown up and out on their own.

"There are many people in the neighborhood who have had families here for years," Tara O'Leary said, noting at least three neighbors on the road bought their homes from family members.

Marilyn Flaherty moved to Martin Road five years ago after living on Buckingham for nearly 15 years. She said her family of four needed more elbow room.

"We love the neighborhood," Flaherty said.

Having the highway nearby is one advantage, but having the high school within walking distance for her children is a blessing, she said.

"It gives a sense of security knowing that if anything should happen and I'm not here in Milton, they can walk home on their own," Flaherty said.

"Everybody's so nice," Flaherty said of her neighborhood. "We're loving it."