Happy Birthday to you

June was a big month for LivableStreets! We kicked off our 10th anniversary celebration with a Birthday Bash at Aeronaut (see photos from the party here!) and launched a new membership program.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out the new program, learn more by visiting our brand new website and become a member today!

We have a membership level for everyone. Whether you are able to contribute $5 a month (yep, just 5 bucks!) or $1000 a year, by becoming a member you aren’t simply donating to a cause, you are demonstrating your support for creating a world-class transportation system in metro Boston.

And don’t worry if you missed the Birthday Bash, we’ll be celebrating our anniversary throughout the remainder of 2015, so stay tuned for other opportunities to get involved!

Get to Watertown on September 12

Registration is live for Tour de Streets (formerly Bike4Life), our annual family-friendly ride and BBQ! Whether you are a lifelong biker, or you haven’t touched a bike in decades, Tour de Streets has a route for you.

The start and end location of the ride will take place at a beautiful green space on The Arsenal on the Charles in Watertown. The routes will be scenic and comfortable for both new and experienced riders. And if you prefer not to ride, you are welcome to join the BBQ and post-ride activities. To learn moreclick here.

We hope you’ll save the date for September 12th and join us this year as a rider or supporter of this important fundraiser for LivableStreets!

It’s time to rethink buses

After a tough winter, more and more people are recognizing how vital public transit is to moving people efficiently and effectively in and around the region.

A new report, Better Rapid Transit for Greater Boston, recognizes buses as a key piece of our transit system and highlights Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) as an option that should be considered for Greater Boston’s transportation future.

The report identifies five corridors ripe for BRT. As CityLabhighlighted, Gold Standard BRT in these corridors has the potential to dramatically cut commute times and connect communities. To read the full report click here!

LivableStreets has been exploring BRT for more than two years as a member of the Greater Boston BRT Study Group–a group made up of transportation experts, planners, and community leaders. This report is a result of the study group’s work and part of LivableStreets broader effort to prioritize transit on our streets.

To learn more and get involved in making our transit system better for everyone in metro Boston, visit our Transit Priority Page.

Carshare in Cambridge, bike lanes in Brookline and rethinking the I-90 interchange

A vision of Allston from the NBBJ team

In June LivableStreets advocates stepped up in a big way to help make Brookline, Allston and Cambridge more livable and enjoyable for everyone.

In Brookline Mark Tedrow and Rebecca Albrecht spoke up for creating a safer and better design solution for Babcock street and secured a bike lane on Newton Street.

In Cambridge several LivableStreets members showed their support for increased carshare capacity and Steve Miller and Chris Taylor helped dispel misconceptions about carshare in a letter to the editor.

In Allston dozens of community members shared their thoughts on a major project to renovate the Allston entrance and exit of the Mass Pike. LivableStreets members asked for a design that could result in 60 new acres of developable land, a new commuter rail station, a new neighborhood, and an unparalleled opportunity to improve connectivity for everyone walking, biking, driving and taking public transportation throughout the region. To learn more about this effort visit our I-90 project page.

These are just 3 of the more than 80 street project our Advocacy Committee is involved with. If you’d like to learn more about how you can get involved in the committee and make a street, intersection or neighborhood you care about more livable contact Jeff Dietrich at jeff.dietrich@livablestreets.info

Win

Connect Historic Boston Groundbreaking

Pedestrian bridge over the Charles River

Friday, July 10, 1pm
@ Union Street in Blackstone Block, Boston

The City of Boston will be breaking ground on construction for Connect Historic Boston this Friday—come celebrate! You may remember hearing from us about this project a couple of years ago. LivableStreets was a member of the advisory committee that helped shape this initiative and we are excited to see it finally being built!

The goal of Connect Historic Boston is to make walking, biking, and taking the T to National Park Service sites and other destinations in downtown Boston easy and fun.

 To learn more visit Connect Historic Boston’s page.

We hope you will join us in celebrating this important step in connecting historic Boston on Friday!

Opportunities

Boston Women’s Bike Ride & Bites Festival

Saturday, July 18
@ Daisy Field, Willow Pond Road and Jamaicaway, JP, Boston

Join New England’s largest cycling event for women! This year the event will celebrate active, healthy living with fabulous food provided by some of the top women in Boston’s food businesses, like Jody Adams and Joanne Chang. To register and learn more click here.

Job opportunities in Cambridge and Boston

Are you looking for a job that will contribute to making our streets and community more livable? The cities of Cambridge and Boston are hiring!

Cambridge is hiring for anAssistant Director for Street Management. This new position supervises the Engineering, Operations, Street Occupancy and Planning units within Traffic, Parking, and Transportation.

And the City of Boston is hiring for two positions, Director of Communications and Community Engagement and aGreenovate Boston Program Manager.

Please share these jobs with your networks and consider applying today! 

Sincerely,
LivableStreets Alliance

(Above) Cindy Walling with her trusty bike. (Below) Thanks to Hubway, Katy Wetzel is able to ride in Boston without owning her own bike.

Cindy Walling is the consummate bike commuter – it’s the primary mode of transit for her and her kids, ages 11 and 13. Katy Wetzel is a dedicated walk-to-work-er, but is intimidated by Boston drivers. She doesn’t even currently own a bike. But when friend and fellow parent Cindy sent out an email inviting her to join Team Menstrual Cyclists in the Bites and Bikes ride, Katy was quick to sign on.

“I think bike riding should be something people do in the city – getting around either on their feet or on a pedal – anything to make that accessible,” she shared when asked why she’d signed on. “Besides”, she added, “my friends were doing it, it sounded like fun, and it’s for a good cause!” The chefs weren’t unappealing either, she confided.

In fact, when Katy’s told others that she signed up, they asked how they could join. When asked why she decided to lead a team, Cindy shared that it was just so easy. “I sent an email to a bunch of women I know, mostly from my kids’ school – I didn’t even know Katy didn’t have a bike! I just figured I’d put the word out and see who got excited.”

Do you want to host a team? No special skills necessary – and no team is too small! You can invite friends, co-workers, neighbors…team prizes will be available! It’s easy to start a team – you will, however, have to compete with Cindy’s team name. Don’t worry, we won’t judge.

Start a team or register yourself now!

Can’t ride? We need a team of excellent volunteers – especially experienced bikers – but there are roles for all skills and folks!

The Get Biking Challenge, which encouraged Boston K-8 students to bike during the month of May, was a great success! Eleven schoolsparticipated, with a total of1,389 students entering into the challenge. These students reported biking a collective 597,760 minutes, which converts into a distance of 79,700 miles – or the equivalent of biking around the Earth’s equator three times!!! In terms of calories, the students burned about 859,810 calories, the equivalent of 6,230 cans of soda.

This was a friendly competition, with schools being ranked based on percent participation and days ridden. The Josiah Quincy Elementary School took first place, earning the Golden Pedal Award and a bike raffle, with Perkins Elementary and Nathan Hale Elementary coming in a respective second and third place.

Check out our blog for more details and pictures. Congratulations to all participants!

Join us on June 26th for the next Bike Friday! Join a convoy of cyclists or pedal over to City Hall Plaza on your own. Bike Friday is your chance to mingle with cyclists from across the Boston area and learn more about Boston-based organizations that love cyclists. As always, food will be provided by Boloco,LARABAR, Iggy’s Bread of the World, and Whole Foods.

Registration is free, but we need to know you’re coming! Register now atbikefridays.org.