Speak Up For A People Focused Northern Avenue Bridge

From Livable Streets:

Join us Monday, June 3rd to help ensure that the future use and design of the Northern Avenue Bridge prioritizes people and respects the historic legacy of this iconic structure.

Event Details:
Northern Avenue Bridge Community Meeting
Monday, June 3rd, 6:30-8:30 pm
@ District Hall
75 Northern Ave, Boston MA 02210

Despite overwhelming public comment against allowing vehicular traffic on the bridge, the City of Boston continues to prioritize a design option that creates an HOV lane for private shuttles and rideshare companies. The breadth of public comment at the community meeting last November was immeasurably valuable — and the City needs to keep hearing from you.

Key talking points include:

1. The bridge should be built to accommodate people walking, biking, and emergency vehicles only.
2. Public input should be given the highest priority in determining the use and design of the bridge.
3. The City should present fully transparent information about funding options, funding gaps, and associated costs of rebuilding the various design options for the bridge.

We need your help again and are asking you to come to the upcoming community meeting and voice your thoughts, concerns, and ideas.

We hope to see you on Monday, June 3rd at District Hall!

LivableStreets Alliance
http://www.livablestreets.info

Add to Reddit.

Tweet

Help Hold The City Of Boston Accountable For The Northern Ave Bridge

From Livable Streets:

————

A year ago, the City of Boston invited stakeholders and the public to help “re-envision a community connection” for the Northern Ave Bridge.

Despite majority public support for preserving the iconic structure as a people-centered bridge for walking and biking, none of the four designs currently on the table align with this vision.

These designs ignore not only current public input, but more than two decades of community advocacy around preservation of the bridge.

It’s clear that this has not been a fair and transparent process for determining the future of our public space.

As members of the Northern Ave Bridge Mayoral Task Force, LivableStreets, Boston Preservation Alliance, and other stakeholders have attempted to address these concerns and have been largely ignored, leading me to write this letter to Mayor Walsh. We have yet to receive a response as the City moves ahead with plans to present the final design at the next Task Force meeting on May 23.

Can you help us hold the City and its leaders accountable for a fully transparent process around the Northern Avenue Bridge?

Contact Mayor Walsh and the City Council members listed below before May 23and ask them to:

• Formally and publicly recommit to a neutral and transparent process that prioritizes the community.
• Commit to presenting for consideration a design and analysis of a bridge that is open only to pedestrians, bicycles, and emergency vehicles.
• Commit to working with the historic preservation community to follow required local, state, and federal reviews to demonstrate why a new bridge is the only viable alternative. The new bridge should reflect the spirit of this iconic structure and the historic context of Fort Point Channel.

If the City is going to invest at least $46 million in a new bridge, it would be immensely flawed not to incorporate public input, ongoing development, and established goals from Go Boston 2030. By its nature, the Northern Ave Bridge represents an opportunity for placemaking at its best, and your advocacy is needed now more than ever to help preserve this unique community asset.

For additional background on the Northern Avenue Bridge project, visit our website.

Thank you for taking action!

Add to Reddit.

Tweet

Somerville: Sign The Powder House Blvd Petition

From the email:

Hi Somerville neighbors,

We created a petition for protected bike lanes on Powder House Blvd so that we can show how many people support the option with protected bike lanes. We will present the petition to the city at the public meeting on May 22. Please sign and share widely!

When we attended the previous meeting, it made a big difference in showing the city that there are many more people in support of a protected bike lane on Powder House Blvd than who oppose. These meetings also provide an opportunity to weigh in and have your comments considered before these protected bike lanes are built.

When: May 22, 6pm-8pm

Where: West Somerville Neighborhood School, 177 Powder House Blvd

Back in February, the city held a public meeting for bike infrastructure on Broadway that was very well attended by advocates for protected bike lanes. Later this month the city will likely implement a design with improvements based on comments raised at the public meeting. It will be amazing to see one mile of bike infrastructure installed on a street which so badly needs it. When we show up to meetings and write emails, we make the city more comfortable with moving quickly on safe bike infrastructure.

The Somerville Bike Committee has put in countless hours of volunteer time to make these projects possible for the city to implement. We are excited to find out how many miles of bike infrastructure Somerville will build this year!

Add to Reddit.

Tweet

Tell City Council You Want Protected Bike Lanes On Mass Ave And Mt Auburn

Tonight the city council will vote on a policy order on complete streets, including putting protected bike lanes on Mass Ave between Central and Harvard Squares. If successful, tonight’s vote would be the first step toward making this happen, so it’s important we tell our city councilors how much we would appreciate their vote in favor of this. While the order is potentially controversial, it doesn’t need to be, and we look forward to collaborating on a design that works well for everyone, especially businesses, seniors, pedestrians, transit users, and those who need to drive.The city is also starting a public process for protected bike lanes and other improvements on Mt Auburn between JFK St and Putnam Ave. Together these would provide crucial routes between Harvard and Central Squares.

Actions:

• Email [email protected], [email protected] and CC [email protected] and [email protected] and tell them that you are happy to see the council voting on protected bike lanes on Mass Ave.
  • Sample email:

Subject: Please support protected bike lanes on Mass Ave and Mt Auburn

Please vote Yes on Policy Order #2 tonight. Protected bike lanes on Mass Ave are very important for the safety of myself and the people I care about. I am also happy to see protected bike lanes being considered for Mt Auburn St and want to see them built as quickly as possible.

-your name and address

• Speak at the city council meeting tonight at 5:30 at Cambridge City Hall. You can sign up ahead of time, or raise your hand at the end of public comment.

When we rallied last week, we chose City Hall’s front lawn partially because it highlights one of the most prominent gaps in Cambridge’s protected bike lane network. Building protected bike lanes here and on Mt Auburn would complete a safe and equitable route for people who bike anywhere between the Charles River and Harvard Square. It is important that the city council vote yes so that city staff can start looking into this.

South Mass Ave survey

The city is asking for your input on the protected bike lanes put in between Memorial Drive and Sidney St. These surveys are tools the city uses to see if people liked the changes they made there and to see what tweaks could be done to improve the experience there. Please fill out the survey or comment on the wikimap.

Add to Reddit.

Tweet

StreetLife: Boston Budget Hearings, Bus-Bike Workshop, And More!

From the email:

—————–

Image: MA Vision Zero Coalition

Last week, the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition released the third annual Vision Zero Progress Report for Boston. While fatal crashes on Boston streets have dropped by nearly half over the past three years, the number of crashes requiring EMS response has not gone down. The momentum to prioritize safe, healthy, and equitable mobility for all is growing, and we encourage you to get involved!

Attend the Transportation Department hearing for the FY20 budget in May, and testify in support of investments for safer, healthier, and more sustainable transportation, which will directly benefit Vision Zero.

Event Details:
Transportation Department Budget Hearing

Tuesday, May 7, 10:30 AM
@ Boston City Hall, 5th Floor, Iannella Chamber
1 City Hall Square, Boston, MA 02201

Join Us at a Bonus Advocacy Committee Session: Understanding the Boston Budget Book

Image: Boston Cyclists Union

Are you curious about how to read the Boston budget book? Do you want to be more informed as you advocate for more funding for street safety and transportation priorities this year?

Join us on on the evening of Monday, May 6th for a bonus session to do a deeper dive into the Boston budget.

Event Details:
Deep Dive into the Boston Budget
Monday, May 6, 6:30 – 7:30 pm
@ LivableStreets Office
100 Sidney Street, Cambridge

RSVP

Street Ambassadors Continue to Build Momentum for Bus Priority in Somerville and Allston

It’s only April, but we’ve already been hard at work expanding our Better Buses initiative this spring.

Our Street Ambassadors have been on the ground on Broadway in Somerville, helping us engage with community members and businesses to support Somerville’s spring implementation of a bus-bike lane along Broadway between Magoun Square and McGrath Highway. The City also has plans to pilot a bus-bike lane along sections of Holland Street between Clarendon Hill and Davis Square.

Soon, we’ll be recruiting Street Ambassadors to lead a thank you campaign for the Brighton Ave bus-bike lane in Allston, which the City plans to pilot in June!

If you’re interested in volunteering as a Street Ambassador, please contact [email protected].

Join Us for a Bus-Bike Workshop

Image: Liana Genito

A shared bus-bike lane is coming to Brighton Avenue this June. In this workshop, we’ll help prepare you to feel confident and comfortable biking in your new 12-foot lane!

Join us for a bus-bike workshop on Saturday, May 18th and learn more about sharing the road with MBTA buses. Participants will have the opportunity to sit in a bus driver’s seat to identify blind spots, and ask questions of Boston Transportation Department and MBTA staff.

Event Details:
Bike-Bus Workshop
Saturday, May 18, 1:00-3:00 pm
@ Jackson Mann Community Center
500 Cambridge St, Boston

Light refreshments will be provided. We hope to see you there! Check out other Bike Month events happening in May here.

Opportunities

• Director of Transit Priority, MBTA: This position will lead engagement with our municipal partners to plan, design, and support the development of bus transit priority infrastructure (bus lanes, queue jumps, signal priority, etc.). The posting closes on April 29, 2019. Click here to learn more.
• Planners and Engineers, City of Boston: The City of Boston is expanding their team of passionate, dedicated, and experienced people working to realize Go Boston 2030’s goals of expanding access, improving safety, and ensuring reliability. To see all available positions, click here.
• Transit Advisory Committee Member, City of Cambridge:  The City of Cambridge is seeking members for Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Transit Advisory Committees. The application deadline is April 26, 2019. To learn more, click here.
• Program Manager, WalkBoston: WalkBoston is seeking a Program Manager to oversee their statewide technical assistance programs that work to improve the safety and quality of the pedestrian environment. Applications are due by April 26, 2019. Click here to learn more.

Thank you!

Check out the following resources to learn more about what we’ve been up to lately!

• Press: Read local and national press featuring LivableStreets and our work.
• StreetFilms: Watch videos highlighting our advocacy and events.
• The Public Way: Transportation, Health, and Livable Communities Blog: Join Steve Miller, one of our founding board members, as he explores how our transportation system and built environment can be better structured to improve our lives, health, and the planet.

Donate

Add to Reddit.

Tweet