This is a busy week in Boston, despite the stay-at-home advisory. Here are three ways you can take action for safer streets and better transit:

1. Send an email to speak up for a people-first Northern Ave Bridge

The City of Boston is holding a virtual meeting this Wednesday, May 6th to share an updated design for the Northern Avenue Bridge project. Despite significant public support, the City has not committed to ensuring the bridge is reserved for people walking, biking and emergency use only.

Take 5 minutes now to let the project team and City Council know that this project should not be approved in the budget until the City commits to a Northern Avenue Bridge that prioritizes people and respects the historic legacy of this iconic structure — email the City of Boston and at-large city councilors by Wednesday, May 6th (see suggested template in the orange box at link). 

2. Register for our third Virtual StreetTalk this Wednesday at 6pm! 

Once jobs and businesses begin to re-open, how can the MBTA continue to allow people to be safe and feel comfortable getting back on transit? Join us for our third virtual StreetTalk as we explore what is happening globally as transit systems in other countries begin to welcome non-essential riders back and discuss what we can learn from their experiences. To explore this topic in depth, we’ll be joined by Heather Thompson from ITDP (Institute for Transportation & Development Policy) and Steven Higashide from TransitCenter.

Event Details:
StreetTalk: Keep Transit Moving
Wednesday, May 6, 6:00pm – 7:00pm
@ Virtual Zoom Conference
Register here 

3. Speak up for safe streets and better transit at the Boston Transportation and Public Works Departments budget hearing on Thursday.

Join us at the “streets” budget hearing to thank Mayor Walsh for proposing budget increases for Vision Zero programs and the bike network, and to comment in support of the City Council approving the proposal.

As outlined in our recent Go Boston 2030 progress report, we know the City needs to pick up the pace on critical projects, including the bike network and the Columbia Road redesign. Projects like the protected bike network and walk- and bike-friendly Main Streets are even more important in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we hope to see the City make significant progress this year. Check out our report and recommendations, and let the City Council know that Go Boston 2030 goals and projects are important to you. 

Event Details:
Boston Transportation + Public Works Departments Budget Hearing
Thursday, May 7, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
@ Virtual Zoom conference (Meeting ID: 359 230 088 | Password: 018142)

If you aren’t available during the hearing to testify live via videoconference, you can send in written testimony or pre-recorded videos to michelle.a.goldberg@boston.gov.

Sincerely,

LivableStreets

http://www.livablestreets.info

Double Your Donation For Tour de Streets

TDM Photography

Tour de Streets is Saturday, September 7th — less than three weeks away! This annual event is turning 10 this year, and will feature a 10-mile urban bike ride, a 4-mile family-friendly bike ride, and a 3-mile walk. Don’t care to bike or walk? Simply join us for the party! Your participation directly supports all of our programs, including Vision Zero, Better Buses, and the Emerald Network!

We just launched our $15K in 15 Days Donation Matching Challenge! Every donation between now and August 30th will be matched up to $15K! Register, donate, or become a member before August 30th to have your contribution double!

Event Details:
Tour de Streets – 10th Anniversary
Saturday, September 7th, 9:00am-2:00pm
@ Turtle Swamp Brewing
3377 Washington St, Jamaica Plain 02130

Check out the Cambridge Vision Zero Progress Report

Nicolaus Czarnecki

Last week, the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition and the City of Cambridge jointly released a Progress Report assessing the City of Cambridge’s implementation of its Vision Zero Action Plan. The report outlines the City’s accomplishments and challenges faced in the first year after the release of the Vision Zero Cambridge Action Plan, and provides next steps for implementation.

We are committed to reporting on the progress of Vision Zero initiatives and welcomed the opportunity to collaborate with the City of Cambridge on this report.

To read the report, click here.

Are You Ready To Vote in Upcoming Elections? Learn More About Local Candidates

LivableStreets and our Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition partners distributed a people-centered streets questionnaire to candidates in Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville in order to help residents make informed choices in the upcoming election.

Here are three ways that you can use the candidate questionnaire:

1. Read candidates’ answers to help inform your vote.
2. Reach out to your local candidates to let them know that their answers to these questions matter.
3. Forward this email to five of your friends. Encourage them to learn more and vote.

This election is an important opportunity to weigh in on the issues that matter most to you. The leaders we elect will make decisions that affect the livability of our streets. So if you’re able to vote in local races, please head to the polls this fall! Here are the dates for upcoming municipal elections:

Tuesday, September 10, 2019 – Somerville Preliminary Election
Tuesday, September 24, 2019 – Boston Preliminary Election
Tuesday, November 5, 2019 – General Election for Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville

Join Us For a Bus Priority Learn-A-Thon

The City of Boston and the MBTA are teaming up to improve bus travel experiences across Boston. These improvements can take many different forms. Come and learn about all the different tools that can be used to make bus trips faster, safer, and more reliable on Wednesday, August 21st.

Event Details:
Bus Priority Learn-A-Thon
Wednesday, August 21, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
@ Central Boston Elder Services
2315 Washington Street
Boston, MA 02119

Join Us For MOTHERLOAD Film Screening

Feeling inspired by Tour de Streets? Join us a few days later, on September 15th, at a film screening about cargo bikes and learn why people love them. MOTHERLOAD is a crowdsourced documentary about a new mother’s quest to understand the increasing isolation and disconnection of the digital age, its planetary impact, and how cargo bikes could be an antidote. Kids are welcome!

Event Details:
MOTHERLOAD
Sunday, September 15, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
@ The Brattle Theatre
40 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA

Opportunities

• City of Boston, Director of Engineering: The Boston Transportation Department is searching for a Director of Engineering who is well versed in state of the art tools and practices to create sustainable and multi-modal transportation networks including bicycle, pedestrian and transit focused street design and cutting edge safety treatments. To learn more and apply, click here.
• ITDP (Institute for Transportation & Development Policy), Public Transit Manager: The Public Transit Manager will play a key role in overseeing the conceptualization, design and implementation of sustainable transport solutions. To learn more and apply, click here.
• MBTA, various:
  • Bus Traffic Signal Systems Fellow
  • Municipal Engagement Fellow
  • Civil Asset Information Manager
  • Project Manager – Commuter Rail, Transit & Facilities
• WalkBoston, Intern: WalkBoston interns gain experience in transportation-related planning and design, community engagement, advocacy, and neighborhood revitalization efforts. If you have an interest in learning firsthand how walkability affects community health, civic participation and overall quality of life, then an internship at WalkBoston could be a career-enhancing experience for you. To learn more and apply, click here.
• City of Somerville, Pedestrian and Transportation Advisory Committee Members: Pedestrian and Transit Advisory Committee members: The City of Somerville is accepting applications to fill 10 seats on the newly formed Pedestrian and Transit Advisory Committee. The committee’s input will support and guide city policies and plans to make improvements for public transit riders and pedestrians. To learn more and apply (deadline: 9/6/19),click here.
• UrbanAdventours, various: Do you love riding bikes and being outdoors? Are you looking for an active, hands-on job that provides a livable income? Urban Adventours (UA) is Boston’s Downtown Bicycle Shop, and they are looking for hard working people who are passionate about bicycles to help grow their fast paced, dynamic business. To learn more about open positions and apply, click here.

(from U Hub)

This year’s ride will be 8/17 – 8/18, 2019.

It’s very helpful whe we have a few more HAM radio operators to run
commuications with communication.  If you are a HAM or know one who is
interested in the ride, please let me know.  We’re always happy to have
more helpers.  We also have spare radios this year, so if you’re
licensed, but don’t have a radio, please don’t let that stop you from
volunteering.

I have some help coordinating radio operators this year, so if you’re
interested, please reply to midnight-radio@mit.edu.

Please note that there is (intentionally) no Midnight Ride email list.
I’ll try to be helpful about letting people know what I know, but make
no promises.

Quoting from this year’s flyer:

>>> Boston By Bike…At Night
>>> Midnight ’til dawn
>>> Saturday, August 17, 2019
>>> Thirty-first Annual Tour of Architectural and Historic Sites
>>> Meet at *11:15pm* in front of Trinity Church in Copley Square
>>> Bring a bicycle with a light and wear something reflective; helmet recommended.
>>> Commemorative T-shirts available.
>>> Bring something for pot luck breakfast Sunday in Christopher Columbus Park.
>>> –> Please bring a spare inner tube that fits your tires.
>>> Sponsored by the Back Bay Midnight Pedalers
>>> For information call 617-522-0259
>>> Ride Support provided by Ferris Wheels Bike Shop, Jamaica Plain

City staff just released their survey data and it shows that, according to online survey results, more than 70% of Somerville residents wanted protected bike lanes on Powder House Blvd as their most preferred option.

That’s right — not only did city staff decide against protected bike lanes on Powder House Blvd, they did so despite learning that more than 70% of surveyed residents wanted them. Somerville says that Vision Zero is a top priority, that they want to reduce the number of residents using cars, and that catastrophic climate change is an emergency. But when it comes time to make a decision, they choose to keep parking no matter how this impacts their other goals.

Please go to the meeting this July 31st at 6:30pm at West Somerville Neighborhood School and speak up for protected bike lanes on Powder House Blvd. Be vocal and speak your mind to city staff. Protected bike lanes save lives and we must show them why they made the wrong decision. Also, at the meeting ask city staff to share what they learned regarding the opinions of people living on Powder House Blvd.

Many volunteers and neighbors had reached out to others on Powder House Blvd to learn what people and organizations needed and how their needs could be met. However the city was somehow unprepared for the quick pace of road work, despite the lengthy public process, and had to scramble to choose an option. They chose a painted bike lane in one direction to test for the next 12 months instead of the safest option preferred by residents. It is sad to see Somerville throw away their volunteers’ hard work.

Mayor Curtatone replied to some emails saying that they need more public process to make a decision. Let us be clear: the city is in charge of its public process and whether they build protected bike lanes on Powder House Blvd. If the process ignores that more than 70% of surveyed residents were in favor of protected bike lanes, the process is broken.

The survey also says that more people who attended the May 22 meeting opposed protected bike lanes. Mayor Curtatone encouraged people to attend a different meeting for lowering the McGrath Highway at the same time as the Powder House Blvd meeting. That is a laudable goal and meetings sometimes conflict. But this highlights that safety decisions should not be made based on who can make a meeting.

These are difficult decisions to be fair, but these decisions need to be made. Somerville committed to reduce the number of serious injuries and deaths to zero and to reduce the number of people driving cars. That means making it safe and comfortable for people to bike to wherever they need to go. A parent should feel safe biking with their kid to West Somerville Neighborhood School. We need to make sure city officials remember how this decision went and how unhappy residents were with their actions.

Thank you to everyone who emailed city officials and told them how you felt about this earlier this week — this really makes a difference. If you haven’t yet, email transportation@somervillema.gov, mayor@somervillema.gov, citycouncil@somervillema.govand CC somerville@cambridgebikesafety.org and tell them how disappointed you are that they chose not to build protected bike lanes on Powder House Blvd.

You might have noticed that this email is coming from Somerville Bicycle Safety. We have created it to be a sister organization to advocate for protected bike lanes in Somerville. If you are interested in flyering or other advocacy, respond to this email and let us know.

Finally, there is an election fast approaching. The mayor and at-large city councillors all have competition. Let’s make the best use of it and demand activist leadership for building more protected bike lanes in Somerville.

Sincerely,

-your neighbors at Somerville Bicycle Safety

The city published an update Friday evening saying that Powder House Blvd will not get protected bike lanes this year. Instead they will paint a single painted bike lane in only one direction and that’s it. This decision unacceptably sacrifices the safety of people biking on Powder House Blvd. They say they will use temporary paint for the bike lane and revisit the decision in 12 months, but this decision will not be any easier to make then, and could be easily further delayed without notice.

Please email transportation@somervillema.gov, citycouncil@somervillema.gov, mayor@somervillema.gov, and CC somerville@cambridgebikesafety.org. Say that protected bike lanes save lives and that you are disappointed and angry with their decision on Powder House Blvd. Also, since election season is just starting to heat up, it is a great time to tell elected officials that safe streets are important for your vote in the election this November. There is also a meeting on July 31 @ 6:30pm at the West Somerville Neighborhood School on Powder House Blvd if you want to hear city staff explain their decision or voice your frustration in person.

We have to voice our anger now so that city officials feel a backlash at least as bad as any backlash from removing parking. Volunteers have spent many hours working on this project, talking to residents and stakeholders. We cannot make it easy for the city to throw away this hard work. When city officials avoid building protected bike lanes they must hear from all of us how disappointed we are with them.

As you may have heard a woman from Somerville was killed crossing Mystic Ave near the Stop and Shop in a hit and run crash. While this street is owned by MassDOT and not the City of Somerville, this tragedy should be a wake-up call to city staff that taking shortcuts on safety infrastructure can have terrible consequences. Advocates have complained about this intersection repeatedly and MassDOT has a project scheduled for safety improvements — unfortunately too late for her. Safety improvements always seem to come too little and too late. That’s why it is so important for the city to make the right decision when it can. And that is why we need to write to city officials and voice out anger with their decision.

Please email city officials and tell them that protected bike lanes save lives and that you are disappointed with their decision not to build protected bike lanes on Powder House Blvd. There are many Somerville residents on this list and we can make a big impact when we all speak up.

Sincerely,

-your neighbors at Cambridge Bicycle Safety

Thanks to everyone who came out to protest DCR’s plans despite the pouring rain! Almost 100 of us attended the rally where speakers advocated for more space for people walking and biking and more trees and greenspace.

Now we need to get to work. DCR needs to hear from all of us by this Thursday July 25th

that keeping four lanes on Memorial Drive is not in line with a safer, more sustainable riverfront. To maximize our impact we need to comment on DCR’s feedback form and also email our state elected officials.

We have two main asks:

1. A protected bi-directional bike path, replacing two travel lanes.
2. Protect existing trees and plant new trees wherever there are gaps.

Please comment on DCR’s site here, select “Memorial Drive Greenway Improvements Phase III”, and write your thoughts, then email Jay.Livingstone@mahouse.gov, Jonathan.Hecht@mahouse.gov, Marjorie.Decker@mahouse.gov, Mike.Connolly@mahouse.gov, Joseph.Boncore@masenate.gov, Patricia.Jehlen@masenate.gov, Sal.DiDomenico@masenate.gov

and CC

info@cambridgebikesafety.org with your comment.

Please also check out the Boston Cyclists Union’s suggestions for Memorial Drive and add any other concerns you have about Memorial Drive or the greenway. This project will renovate the part of Memorial Drive and the greenway between the Eliot Bridge and the BU Bridge (including the rotary). This renovation is a once in a generation opportunity to remake our riverfront so we need to make sure DCR gets this right.