Issue #37 / August 2009
Dear friend, We need your support to be able to keep publishing this newsletter and continue our StreetTalks, events and advocacy for creating more livable spaces in your neighborhood. If you aren't yet a member of LivableStreets Alliance, please click here to become a member today. Thank you! |
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In this issue
StreetTalk Action e-lert · Mass. Legislature: funding problem for MBTA still unsolved
Announcements
· Boston Metro Region could Get Large-Scale Bike Sharing Program
· Boston passes stronger ban on parking in bike lanes · Boston installs first on-street bike parking · Join LivableStreets Alliance team at Hub On Wheels, Sun, Sept 27 >>> · Rail-Volution conference is coming to Boston
· Calendar -- Click here to view full calendar Recent Activity
· Better bike and ped access to reconstructed Charles River Bridges
· Redesign of Route 99 in Boston/Everett needs improvements
· Rutherford Ave/Sullivan Sq in Charlestown to be upgraded
· Progress on Boston's North Harvard St in Allston-Brighton
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StreetTalk ____________________________________________________________________
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StreetTalk Wed, August 26, 7-9 pm
'Taken for a Ride' Film Screening
The story of how the automobile industry hastened a shift from public transportation to private cars through tactics ranging from cultural propaganda to ripping up tracks.
@ LivableStreets office, 100 Sidney St, Cambridge [ map...]  Why doesn't our country have a better rail system? Why are we so dependent on private cars? It didn't just happen -- it was deliberately done. And this award-winning documentary by Jim Klein gives a deeply engaging perspective on the process, using archieval material, interviews, and lots of great photography. Definitely worth seeing in this period where our own state seems unable to find the funds to pay for its own public transportation needs.
StreetTalks are free and open to the public, donation suggested, beer/sodas provided compliments of Harpoon Brewery and delivered thanks to Metro Pedal Power! Sponsored by LivableStreets Alliance. For more information, click here.
Do you find yourself looking forward to the next StreetTalk? Support this event series today!
> Other movies related to the same theme that you might enjoy: Who Killed The Electric Car, documentary directed by Chris Paine
Trolleys: The Cars That Built Our Cities, documentary > LivableStreets is advocating for city and state agencies to use the disruption that will be caused by the rebuilding of the Charles River bridges to encourage people to shift to public transportation or bicycling. Read more about our ideas and efforts here >>> July StreetTalk on "Mode Shift" Packs the House! On July 22 seventy people packed into the LivableStreets Alliance office to hear Jason Schrieber, from Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates, talk about "Mode shift: moving from driving to biking, transit and walking." He described the need to create both "supply" and "demand" pressures for changing behavior and the huge cost of "free parking" -- which can cost up to $20,000 per space to create and raises both housing costs and urban congestion. Click here to access a copy of Jason's slide show on our website. |
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Action e-lert _____________________________________________________________
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Mass. Legislature: funding problem for MBTA still unsolved
Even with a portion of new sales tax revenue going to the T, there is still not enough to cover current operating costs, with the rising cost of payments needed on debt imposed on the T from the Big Dig. Brushing off the problem now only makes the inevitable future crisis worse.
Over 74% of the Massachusetts population, in 105 cities and town, live in the MBTA catchment area. Regional Transportation Authorities (RTA) serve most of the rest of the state. About 1.3 million trips are made on T buses and trains every day. LivableStreets has been working with other advocacy groups to push the state Legislature and Patrick Administration to confront transit financing. Despite the sales tax increase, T operations will still operate with a deficit this year. The biggest burden is payments on the $8.6 million debt which is a third of the annual budget -- a higher percentage than in any other major city transportation authority. However, funds are not only needed to get the MBTA's finances back on track, but also to make regional RTA services more available around the rest of the state.
In a letter submitted to the Boston Globe, LivableStreets wrote: "... even if every possible management reform was implemented at the MBTA, the resulting savings would not close the budget gap. The money that the T is forced to use for debt payments would be better spent improving service to attract more riders and expanding service to new communities. A growing T would get more single-occupancy cars off the road, increase smart growth opportunities, and generate new local and state tax revenues." The current "war" over MBTA leadership might make for juicy headlines, but diverts attention away from the real problems. LivableStreets Alliance urges you to contact your elected officials and push for a comprehensive solution to the transportation funding crisis. In its current condition, the question isn't whether MBTA fares hikes or service cuts are needed, but whether they happen this year or next. Former House Speaker Thomas Finneran was quoted by the State House News Service as saying, "You could have Jesus of Nazareth running the MBTA. It ain't gonna work." Click here to find out who your elected officials are and how to contact them. |
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Announcements _____________________________________________________________
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Boston Metro Region Could Get Large-Scale Bike Sharing Program
Boston and surrounding communities will soon have the opportunity to participate in the first major bike sharing program in the United States. Public Bike System Company of Montreal (PBSC) was chosen as the preferred vendor by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), our regional planning agency. Each city can use the MAPC master contract as the starting point for negotiating details of its own contract. Boston officials are taking the lead, hoping to sign a contract by early fall to include a network of 2,500 bikes and 290 stations across the city of Boston by next summer. Participation by neighboring communities, under consideration by Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville, would open the possibility of expanding to a 5,000-bike system. "This will make it easier for people to use bikes to do errands, to attend meetings during work hours, and to visit friends," Marc Draisen, Executive Director of MAPC, said in a statement. "It will take cars off the road and improve our air quality." Boston bicycle advocates hope that the high profile project and potential surge in on-road cyclists will convince the city's Traffic and Public Works Departments to quickly expand bicycle infrastructure, such as regular on-street bike lanes, protected "cycle track" bike lanes, and off-road paths - as well as bike parking facilities and intersection improvements in all parts of the city. |
The system would offer cyclists short-term rentals to and from hundreds of locations around the Boston area. Bikes would be adjustable for different heights and would be returnable to any location operated by the PBSC. The goal is to allow riders to pick up in one location and drop off in another with the swipe of a credit card. The Public Bike System Company operates a successful bike-sharing program, called Bixi, in Montreal. |
Boston Passes Stronger Ban On Parking in Bike Lanes
 Technically, existing regulations have always made it illegal to park in a designated bike lane. But to make it more explicit Boston recently passed an ordinance that "no driver shall stand or park any motor vehicle in a marked bike or shared bike lane" and raising the fine to $100. LivableStreets Alliance drafted a letter and organized a coalition of support by the cities various adocacy and neighborhood groups.
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Boston Installs First On-Street Bike Parking
Removing car parking spot increases capacity and customer turnover at Other Side Cafe on Newbury Street.
 The City of Boston just installed the first on-street bike parking in the city! Located in front of the Other Side Cafe on Newbury Street, one metered parking space was eliminated and an on-street bike rack was installed capable of holding up to 12 bicycles. This rack protects the bikes parked to it from cars in adjacent parking spaces as well as cars driving by, and frees up space on the sidewalks for pedestrians. Other Side Café owner Henry Patterson approached LivableStreets Alliance in 2008 to help solve their "parking problem" (bike parking, that is). We are very pleased that the City has followed through on our suggestions, and we hope to see more of these installations in the future. |
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Join the LivableStreets Team at Hub on Wheels 
Hub On Wheels, Boston Mayor Menino's annual Bike Ride & Festival, has played a critical role in raising public awareness for the Boston Bikes program. LivableStreets Alliance has been involved in Hub On Wheels since its inception. This year, you can both join the city-wide ride and support LivableStreets (at no extra cost). When registering, just indicate that you are a member of the LivableStreets Alliance team when prompted for a team affiliation. |
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Rail-Volution Conference is coming to Boston
 RailVolution brings together advocates, policy-makers, technical experts, and others interested in making transit and land-use work together for the betterment of our communities and country. From Oct. 29 through Nov. 1 this huge event will be in Boston. LivableStreets Alliance will be attending, and participating in the "Advocates Reception" on the opening night. See Rail-Volution Registration and Scholarship Information for more information. |
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Recent Activity
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Better bike and ped access to reconstructed Charles River Bridges
 The much improved designs created by DCR for the Museum of Science and Boston University Bridges should be kept under new Mass Dept. of Transportation reorganization. The Charles River bridges projects continue, as the BU Bridge and Museum of Science (Craigie) bridges are at 100% design and have both begun construction. LivableStreets Alliance has been the leader in building a coalition pushing the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to ensure that the reconstructed bridges work better for bicyclists and pedestrians. Our successful advocacy campaign resulted in the DCR launching a comprehensive program to study and propose improvements to all of the bridges and paths in the Charles River Basin area. As these bridges are transferred to the new MassDOT under the terms of the state's new transportation reform act, we urge this new department to maintain the commitment to bridge designs that truly balance the mobility needs of all modes of transportation. For more information, check out our project page here >>>
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Pushing for Better Redesign of Route 99
 LivableStreets Alliance and a coalition of advocates, including WalkBoston, MassBike, Institute for Human Centered Design and Bike to the Sea submitted comments stating that the 25% design proposal for Route 99 between Boston and Everett contained substandard facilities for pedestrians and bicyclists. This route provides critical connections for truck and car drivers, cyclists and walkers going to Everett, Chelsea, East Boston and the north shore, and also serves as a temporary on-road route for the Northern Strand Trail. The comments, submitted on July 23 to Environment & Energy Secretary Bowles, the Mass Highway Department, City of Boston and MBTA, urge that the project becomes a showcase for good multi-modal design using the new 2007 MassHighway Design Guidelines. The Mass Highway Department Project Manager agreed to respond to the three alternatives proposed by the advocates at a public meeting in early September.Read our comment letter we sent on behalf of a coalition of organizations here >>>
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 Community members and advocacy groups, including LivableStreets Alliance, pushed together at public meetings in July for a Sullivan Square plan that will best serve the surrounding communities and create a corridor that will create better pedestrian, bicycle and transit connections between the surrounding neighborhoods. The key demand is to separate Main Street and Maffa Way, creating two smaller scaled streets that distribute traffic through multiple intersections. The other option, a combined Main Street and Maffa Way, would have created a very large intersection that would bottleneck traffic and be very challenging for pedestrians and bicyclists to navigate. Still under discussion is whether or not the underpass underneath the current rotary will be retained in the long term. |
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Progress on Boston's North Harvard St. in Allston-Brighton
 Resurfacing and new bike lanes are almost complete on North Harvard Street. New "no parking" signage has gone up, but the bike lanes are not complete and don't yet have bicycle stencils. Once finished, North Harvard St will be a more livable street.
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Sincerely,
Jacqueline Douglas
Transportation Advocate LivableStreets Alliance
E: jackie@livablestreets.info P: 617.621.1746
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