Accomplishments

In just a short time we have brought a more open dialogue to city planning, built relationships with stakeholders and informed the community process. Here’s some of what we’ve accomplished so far:

Commonwealth Avenue Reconstruction

We led a coalition of advocacy groups to halt an in- equitable transportation design — and created a more “complete street” including safer pedestrian crossings for the BU bridge [one of the City’s most dangerous areas for bikes/peds] and bike lanes that connect the BU bridge to Kenmore Square.

Boston Bike Summit & Report

We helped design and facilitate this groundbreaking event hosted by Mayor Menino—bringing together key players to launch and build capacity for the city's new approach to street design. This led to our hosting the first annual Boston Bikes Progress Report event in Jan 2009. The second annual event will be Thursday, December 10, 2009.

Citizens’ forum: Rethinking Urban Transportation

Working with Boston’s Museum of Science, we designed and facilitated four 3-hour sessions that helped citizens better understand, and be prepared to act upon urban transportation issues.

Transit advocacy

We connect the MBTA to advocates when considering station upgrades for bike parking, access and security. We fight fare increases and service cuts, while raising awareness of the agency’s unjust debt burden.

Enrique Peñalosa: Urban Happiness

We hosted this world-renowned strategist and former mayor of Bogotá for four days in 2009. Our series of high-profile meetings and events raised awareness of options for improving the quality of life in our cities.

StreetFilms

We produce film shorts that highlight the varied uses of Boston area streets and encourage action to make them accessible to all users.

Press

Media writers who cover lifestyle, business, health and environment turn to us as experts to offer quotes, opin- ions, raise public awareness and articulate a vision on a variety of local and regional urban transportation issues.

Charles River Basin bridges

We successfully advocated for the Department of Conservation and Recreation [DCR] to revise their substandard designs of two Charles River Basin bridges to include bicycle lanes, improved intersections and wider sidewalks. LivableStreets also convinced the DCR to engage a consulting team in a $1.5 million contract to provide bicycle and pedestrian planning support for these Basin paths and bridges, which will create safer streets for all.

Bicycle lanes

We worked with Nicole Freedman, Director of the Boston Bicycle Program, and the Boston Bikes Advisory committee to identify four miles of roadway on which to paint “quick and easy” bicycle lanes using Economic Stimulus money. The installations have already begun – tripling the miles of bicycle lanes installed by the City of Boston. 

Transit bicycle facilities

We pushed the MBTA to apply for Economic Stimulus money to improve bicycle parking – including 15 secure bike cages. The first bicycle cages, installed at Alewife and Forest Hills T stations, were made possible by our close working relationship with senior management at the MBTA. We also collaborated with StreetFilms NYC to make a film about the new bike parking which has helped build the enthusiasm and political support needed to replicate the project. At our urging, the MBTA has hired a designer to improve outreach to the public, to encourage the use of these new facilities.

On-street bicycle parking

Provided technical support to store manager and the City of Boston to get the city’s first transformation of on-street car parking space to bicycle parking facility approved and constructed. Twelve biking customers fit in the space where one car would have been. Bikes are off the sidewalks—opening up space for walking and outdoor seating.

Boston/Everett connector

We led a coalition of transportation advocates to create alternatives to the Massachusetts Highway Department’s (MHD) designs for Route 99. The original MHD design for this key connector between Boston and Everett narrowed the sidewalks adjacent to a residential neighborhood, and provided only a shared traffic lane or shoulder space for bicyclists. With trucks comprising 20% of the traffic, we argued that—for safety and accommodation—bicycle lanes must be provided in both directions. We achieved our first level of success – MHD is reworking the design and has scheduled an additional public meeting.

Downtown Crossing pedestrian zone

Each day over 230,000 people walk through Downtown Crossing—the connection point for 3 subway lines and a major commercial district adjacent to Boston’s Financial District. Recently, the area’s vitality has been impacted by vacant storefronts and stalled development projects. LivableStreets worked with advocates and the city, finding solutions that would strengthen and enrich the pedestrian zone. Since then, vehicle restrictions have been tightened and enforced, and regular events such as arts fairs and lunchtime concerts have been instituted.

Rutherford Avenue/Sullivan Square

LivableStreets is working to remedy this outdated 1950’s roadway network that caters to cars—currently not serving the surrounding neighborhoods with pedestrian, bicycle and transit connections. We are working with community groups and advocacy organizations on outreach and education to rethink what the area should look like. As a result, the City has agreed to create an “urban boulevard” with two roadway lanes and striped bicycle lanes and/or multi-use paths in each direction. This human-scaled street will better serve Charlestown residents – connecting them to the MBTA station and the surrounding communities of Somerville and Cambridge.

Ordinance to prohibit parking in marked bike lanes

LivableStreets led a coalition of advocacy and neighborhood groups to support a proposed ordinance in Boston that would prohibit parking in marked bicycle lanes. The ordinance was passed in August 2009, and has been successfully enforced.

Complete Streets Initiative

Based on our growing reputation for effective education and technical assistance, we have been asked to help structure and facilitate the city’s first public workshop to discuss potential Complete Streets guidelines by the Director of Transportation Planning for the City of Boston.

Bike Rack Request website

In collaboration with the cities of Boston and Cambridge, we created a Google-map-based approach to collecting bike rack requests. The cities will incorporate the requests into their databases, and install bicycle racks where they are needed most. LivableStreets provided support to city staff, helping them do their jobs in a bureaucracy that often makes it difficult to implement high-tech tools.

Hub on Wheels annual city-wide bicycle ride

This annual ride, founded by a LivableStreets board member, has been critical to encouraging bicycling throughout the city. It also provided an opportunity to connect with city hall, which has led to the growing cultural change we are now experiencing. LivableStreets is currently working with the city to expand road closures during the annual ride, and we have created a LivableStreets team to encourage people to bicycle with us.

First annual Cambridge Bicycle Block Party

LivableStreets collaborated with a local bicycle shop to organize their first-ever block party. The adjacent street was closed for activities, which included a People’s Choice Award for best commuter bicycle, a raffle supporting LivableStreets, free food/drink donated by local businesses, and more. It was a huge success – a celebration of bicycling, encouraging new cyclists.

As part of national Park(ing) Day 2009, LivableStreets coordinated the transformation of 5 parking spots in Cambridge and Boston in collaboration with WalkBoston, neighborhood groups, and university clubs who designed each individual spot. Park(ing) Day is an annual, one-day, global event where artists, activists, and citizens collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spots into Park(ing) spaces: temporary public parks intended to promote creativity, civic engagement, critical thinking, unscripted social interactions, generosity and play.