Come Out May 2 To Create A New Inman Square Safe For Everyone!

From the email:

Together, we’re making streets in Cambridge safer for all ages and abilities. As a result of our voices, we have seen some initial wins with pop-up lanes and great community support in favor of the city’s plans for Cambridge Street protected bike lanes. We need to continue this momentum this Tuesday, May 2 at the important Inman Square redesign meeting where the city will unveil the results of its months-long internal deliberations.

Cambridge St Update: 150 people showed up for the Cambridge Street protected bike lane meeting, and the tone was overwhelmingly positive, especially for making the street safe for the hundreds of CRLS students that bike or walk to school. Many bicyclists also emphasized the need to support local businesses and how this project can benefit them. The city has promised to begin construction in June, with one more public meeting between then and now, and we’ll keep you posted on how we can all make sure this project is a success.

Inman Sq Public Meeting: The other major project happening this Spring is the redesign of Inman Square, which will connect directly to the east end of the Cambridge Street protected bike lane. There is an important public meeting this Tuesday, May 2where city staff will present their preferred design and solicit feedback. All four of the designs presented at the last meeting, particularly the bend options, need significant changes to be as safe for all users as they can be. Thus, it’s crucial for as many of us as possible to come out on May 2 in support of safe, protected bicycle infrastructure and traffic calming! We deserve safe streets for all ages and abilities and the final design must reflect this.

When: Tuesday, May 2, 6-8pm (6-7: presentation, 7-8: discussion)

Where: Cambridge Public Library (Main Branch), Lower Level (L2)

Please RSVP so that your friends find out about it too!

Members of Cambridge Bike Safety have spent the last several months talking with local residents, businesses, neighborhood associations, and transportation professionals to understand how best to meet the needs of the community. CBS has put forward criteria for the project reflecting these conversations, based on safety, convenience, and environmental sustainability, and ranked the four proposed designs by the city. Read our full recommendation.

All plans meet the basic goal of providing safer bicycle facilities, in particular through the use of protected bicycle lanes. The Roundabout scores best on our metrics of safety, convenience, and environmental sustainability, with Bend Cambridge scoring second best.

Regardless of the design chosen, we expect that further changes will be needed, and Tuesday is a critical juncture to make these views known to the city.

Read our blog post for our full recommendation and considerations for all designs.

We hope to see you on May 2!

Sincerely,

All of us at Cambridge Bike Safety

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Action Alert: Make Your Voice Heard At The Allston I-90 Community Meeting!

From Livable Streets:

Join us in advocating for a vision of the Allston I-90 Interchange that puts the community first.

Attend tomorrow night’s community-led meeting to tell state and local officials that we need a design that prioritizes:

• Reconnecting Allston with better biking and walking infrastructure
• Transit-centered mobility through West Station and a north-south bus priority corridor
• Enhanced, accessible parkland along the Charles River

The stakes couldn’t be higher. This project has the opportunity to dramatically reshape 100+ acres of land in a critical location, create much needed green space, and make way for long-desired transit.

Will you join LivableStreets, the I-90 Task Force, and other advocates in having your voice heard?

Event details:
Allston I-90 Community-led Meeting
Tuesday, February 7th, 6:30 – 8 pm
@ Jackson-Mann Community Center

For more information, check out our project page and the People’s Pike Facebook group. MassDOT’s latest project proposal, which was presented in December, is available here.

We hope to see you there!

LivableStreets Alliance
http://www.livablestreets.info/

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Don’t Miss Your Chance To Give Public Comments On The New Comm. Ave. Design!

The big Comm. Ave. public meeting is tomorrow, make sure you show up to give your input!

From Livable Streets.

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An example of a more complete street design with protected bike lanes.

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Support Cycle Tracks On The Arborway Feb 2nd

From the Boston Cyclist Union

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Since 2011, the Bike Union has helped lead local residents and other orgs to reconnect the Emerald Necklace for bicycles. Over the past 4 years, the coalition has successfully promoted an at-grade solution for the reconstruction for the Casey Overpass, and a buffered bike lane on Morton Street that now reaches halfway to Mattapan. One of the last remaining problems to solve is the connection between the Casey Arborway project and Jamaica Pond. Next week we have an opportunity to bridge one of the last gaps!The Arborway cycletrack discussions were sparked last year shortly after the #WinterBiker campaign created by the many neighborhood groups in the Bike Union’s Organizing Group took place. The momentum started by that campaign birthed the new Urban Paths & Parkways Committee at the Department for Conservation and Recreation, and then, due to an internal communication breakdown, the DCR’s maintenance crew painted inadequate bike infrastructure on the Arborway. This sparked a Bike Union letter campaign that asked the agency to remove the dangerous new bike facility to make space for a more thorough discussion of how this portion of the Arborway (from Eliot Street to South Street) could be made comfortable for cyclists. Now, the DCR is moving forward with that discussion!

There will be two public meetings for this project within one week. At the first (Feb. 2) the DCR will seek community input on what kind of bike facilities would work along the Arborway. This includes Kelly and Murray traffic circles. At the second (Feb. 5), the DCR will present alternatives and gather more input.

It is extremely important that the DCR hears from people like you who would prefer cycletracks on Mon., Feb. 2, and also that you or your friends or family also show up on Thurs., Feb. 5 to support the cycletrack alternative moving forward.

Show up, speak up for Bikeways for Everybody!

Arborway Bicycle Facilities Public Meeting
Mon., Feb. 2 6:30 to 8:30pm
and
Thurs., Feb. 5, 6:30 to 8:30pm
Arnold Arboretum Visitor Center/Hunnewell Building
125 Arborway, Boston

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Public Meetings On Mass. Transportation Planning And Investment

From the email:

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MassDOT is hosting a series of public meetings in Boston, Worcester, Amherst, Pittsfield, Dartmouth and Lynn, beginning on Wednesday, January 29, to get feedback on weMove Massachusetts: Planning for Performance (WMM) and the MassDOT Capital Investment Plan (CIP).  Together, WMM and the CIP are responding to Transportation Reform and our customers’ need to create a safer and more effective transportation system. MassDOT welcomes your ideas and comments on the reports.

The meeting locations and dates are as follows:

Boston – Wednesday, January 29, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Transportation Building, 2^nd floor
10 Park Plaza

The Transportation Building can be reached by public transportation via the MBTA Green Line (Arlington and Boylston), MBTA Orange Line (Chinatown and Tufts Medical Center), Silver Line 4 and 5, and Bus Routes 9, 11, 43, and 55.

Worcester – Wednesday, January 29, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Union Station, CMRPC Meeting Room (2^nd floor)
2 Washington Square

Union Station can be reached by public transportation via MBTA Commuter Rail and WRTA Bus Routes 15, 16, 33, and 42.

Amherst – Monday, February 3, 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Bangs Community Center, Activity Room
70 Boltwood Walk

The Bangs Community Center is served by public transportation via PVTA Bus Routes Gold 30, Pink 31, G32, Blue 43, G45, and G46.

Pittsfield – Monday, February 3, 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Berkshire Athenaeum
1 Wendell Avenue

Dartmouth – Wednesday, February 5, 6:00 – 8:00 PM
UMass Dartmouth, Law Building, Moot Court Room
333 Faunce Corner Road

Lynn – Monday, February 10, 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Lynn City Hall, Council Chambers
3 City Hall Square

Lynn City Hall can be reached by MBTA Bus Routes 426, 429, 431, 435, 436, 441, 442, 455, 456, 459, and MBTA Commuter Rail (Newburyport/Rockport Line).

weMove Massachusetts: Planning for Performance (WMM) is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). The report summarizes MassDOT’s new approach to multimodal capital planning and the use of scenario planning. The Planning for Performance tool can be used to calculate the performance outcomes resulting from different funding levels available to MassDOT. The WMM tool also begins to incorporate MassDOT’s important policy initiatives, such as mode shift and sustainability, into the capital planning process.  In the future, MassDOT will use the tool to update and refine investment priorities. The performance tool also allows our customers and stakeholders to understand the impacts of investment or disinvestment in our transportation system

http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Portals/22/Docs/WWM_Planning_for_Performance.pdf

MassDOT Capital Investment Plan (CIP): The $12.4 billion CIP program makes long-term investments that will create growth and opportunity for residents across the Commonwealth and represents the first unified, multi-modal capital investment plan covering all MassDOT highway and municipal projects, regional airports, rail, and transit, including the MBTA and Regional Transit Authorities. The plan makes investments across the entire state, is flexible and spends wisely while creating thousands of jobs over the next several years.

http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Portals/0/docs/infoCenter/docs_materials/cip_FY14_FY18.pdf

MassDOT welcomes your comments on the two documents.  You can send comments to Scott Hamwey at MassDOT, Office of Transportation Planning, 10 Park Plaza, Room 4150, Boston, MA, 02116; or[email protected].

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