You’re invited to the Boston Mayoral Candidate Forum on Transportation & Livable Communities. Meet the future mayor of Boston and show all the candidates you care about transportation & livable communities. 

The mayoral election is a huge opportunity to improve our city and our communities. Find out where Boston’s candidates for mayor stand on vital issues that impact our neighborhoods.

The forum is sponsored by LivableStreets Alliance along with host of other organizations throughout Boston. It will be moderated by Paul McMorrow, Associate Editor at CommonWealth magazine, and Stephanie Pollack, Associate Director at the Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy and LivableStreets board member.
Register for a free ticket today, so we can plan for enough room!

RSVP and invite friends on Facebook here>>

Route 99 – a LivableStreets win!

 

In July 2009, LivableStreets worked with a coalition of advocates including WalkBoston, MassBike, Institute for Human Centered Design, and Bike to the Sea. Together, we advocated for a number of significant improvements to the planned reconstruction of Route 99 in Everett and Charlestown, between the Alford St Bridge and Sweetser Circle. This project is especially important because this is the only bicycle route across the Mystic River and Boston Harbor in Boston. This is a primary route for people going between Boston, East Boston, Everett, and Chelsea.We advocated for:

• bicycle lanes throughout the project by
  

  Route 99 today.

  narrowing the travel lane

• preserving the wider stretch of sidewalk
• keeping the trees
• providing an additional pedestrian crossing at Thorndike Street to serve local bus riders

Now, Route 99 has:

• bicycle lanes
• maximum of 11.5 feet lanes (narrowed from 15 feet)
• improved sidewalks
• a new crosswalk and signal at Thorndike Street

The project was just completed and now provides a much safer and more pleasant environment for people. Although it certainly isn’t perfect, it’s a much safer and more complete street than before! LivableStreets works to build consensus with community groups so we can speak as one unified voice to create these much needed changes.

 

 

Where are you from?

I grew up in Brookfield, CT, a town without sidewalks or a downtown.

 

What is your favorite street in greater Boston?

I like finding back alleys and side streets with low car traffic. These streets tend to be full of character, and they usually go completely unnoticed. If you find the right one, it can be a little escape from the city chaos.

 

What do you like about volunteering for LivableStreets Alliance?

It’s good to participate in such an inclusive system. There is an opportunity for
everyone to be involved with LivableStreets, and they advocate for every kind of
person. That’s what makes the whole thing work. I’ve made some great friends and
learned so much about our cities.

What kinds of projects are you involved with at LivableStreets?

I copyedit so I get to review most written work before it is published. The orange postcards have been really fun to work on. How many synonyms for “advocate” can you think of?

 

What would your bumper sticker say?

Why is it called a bumper?

 

> Read Sarah’s full spotlight here.

> If you are interested in volunteering with LivableStreets, come to our

Monday, September 16, 6-8pm

@ JF Condon School, 200 D Street, South Boston

More details here >>