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Greetings!
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STREETS AND DEMOCRACY? This past
Tuesday, "Election Department drivers got stuck in
traffic and the city [of Boston] was forced to
speed surplus ballots to the polls in police cruisers."
In an odd twist, our streets and transportation
system failed us and put democracy
at risk. "The city ran out of ballots Tuesday at about
30 precincts in Mattapan, Dorchester, Roxbury,
Jamaica Plain, and East Boston,
heavily minority areas where voters turned out in
droves to support Deval L. Patrick for governor." Source: Boston
Globe
Click here for a comprehensive
calendar of events.
LivableStreets E-bulletin has over 2000
subscribers!
Contact Jeff Rosenblum 617-939-3824,
jeff@livablestreets.info, for more
information.
| 1. LIVABLESTREETS ALLIANCE, MASSHIGHWAY COMMISSIONER PAIEWONSKY TO RECEIVE MASSBIKE "INFLUENCE PEDALER" AWARDS MONDAY EVE. |
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LivableStreets Alliance will be presented with
a 2006 "Influence Pedaler" award at MassBike 2006
Bike Night.
MONDAY NOVEMBER 13
6:00 -
9:00pm
Ryles Jazz Club in Cambridge
[Click
here for directions]
$30 (member), $45 (Non-
Member/ includes trial membership)
MassHighway Commissioner Luisa Paiewonsky will also
be receiving a 2006 "Influence Pedaler" award. The
evening features special guest
speaker Richard Fries (BikeCulture Magazine, Pedro's
USA, cycling commentator, pundit), dinner, cash bar,
Influence Pedaler Awards, Big Ring
Volunteer Awards, silent auction, and, of course, free
valet bike parking.
Click here for more
information...
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| 2. AMIDST OPPOSITION, MBTA BOARD OF DIRECTORS APPROVES FARE INCREASE, GOVORNER-ELECT PATRICK ISSUES STATEMENT |
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Globe: "The MBTA board, saying it had no other
way to balance its budget, voted unanimously
yesterday to approve the T's second set of
fare hikes in three years over the objections of top
elected officials and the protests of riders, who
booed the final vote."
 Nov. 10-- Outcry over T fare hikes;
After 2d increase in 3 years, riders
call on lawmakers to revamp funding
Governor-elect Deval Patrick issues first "issue"
press release, November 9, 2006:
"I am disappointed that the MBTA fair increase was
voted forward today.It is clear that the MBTA
revenue system needs a good long look and
significant reform, but raising the fares is the wrong
answer. This places the fiscal burden on workers,
students, and tourists using public
transit to visit our beaches and historic sites. We
should be working to attract new riders by making
the subway, commuter rail, and buses
more efficient and appealing. I have said for months
that this is the wrong action at the wrong time."
For more information, read the June 12, 2006
LivableStreets "Special MBTA Issue" E-
bulletin.
Feature article 1-- "FISCAL CRISIS: From
piecemeal to
no meal at the T"
Feature article 2-- "FAIR BURDEN:
Public Speaks
Out Against Fare Hike."
Click here for the LivableStreets Alliance "Citizens' info sheet" on the fare
increase.
Click here for the MBTA's brochure on the fare
increase/restructuring.
Click here for "Mr.
Nice Guy-- Everybody loves Dan Grabauskas. But can
he keep the MBTA’s customers satisfied?", an
article recently published in MassInc's
Commonwealth Magazine.
More from today's news:
 Nov. 10-- MBTA’s GM: ‘We’re broke’;
Says new fare hike may not be enough.
Nov. 10-- MBTA board raises fares;
riders object
 Nov. 4-- Concerns voiced over MBTA
fare increases
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| 3. LIVABLESTREETS, DCR, MBTA COLLABORATE PEDESTRIAN/BICYCLE IMPROVEMENTS TO LONGFELLOW BRIDGE AND OTHER AREAS |
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Last week, the Department of Conservation and
Recreation (DCR) striped 5-foot
bicycle lanes on the Longfellow bridge. This was done
as part of a larger initiative by Commissioner
Burrington to improve access for
pedestrians and bicyclists on DCR property in the urban Boston area using
the existing road striping contract.
Late this summer,
the DCR asked LivableStreets
to conduct a rapid advocate input process to gather
key areas of concern. Within 1 week, LivableStreets
compiled the results from over 20
advocacy groups and individuals. The "DCR Bike/Ped
Advisory Committee," comprised of advocates, cities
& towns, and DCR staff, reviewed this
report at their last meeting and recommended
priorities. Commissioner Burrington is committed to
having several high-priority items done
this fall, much more will be done this spring (road
striping can only be done when the temperature is
above 40 degrees F).
But anyone who has (or has tried to) walk across the
LongFellow bridge all the way
to/from the Charles Circle, knows that it is an
unwelcoming place. Pedestrians are forced to use a
1-foot "sidewalk" (except when there is a
lampost taking up that foot). Wheelchairs and
parents with strollers are forced to go down a ramp
into the roadway and risk their life
competing with the vehicles. Not only is it shocking
that this "wrong" was allowed to happen in the first
place, but not to have been
corrected in so many decades is remarkable.
LivableStreets proposed a "quick fix" solution that
involved using concrete "jersey barriers" to
provided a protected walkway where there currently
is none. Unfortunately this idea was rejected by DCR
snow clearing staff concerned with
the effort needed to keep it clear in the winter. The
DCR is hoping to install a sidewalk this spring on both
sides to solve the problem.
An
other obstacle in this effort is the (seemingly never-
ending) Charles/MGH Red-line
MBTA project in the area. Because there is not a
legal sidewalk on the Longfellow Bridge on-ramp from
the Boston side, the MBTA contractor
would not install wheelchair ramps nor crosswalk
markings on north of the station protecting
pedestrians going from Cambridge Street to the
Bridge. (However this MBTA Charles/MGH project
came up with a design without any thought into
bicycle accommodation is a topic for another
story.)
Following are some of the areas completed over the
past month as part of this DCR initiative:
- Bike lanes on Longfellow Bridge.
- Crosswalks @ Soldiers Field Rd. at Ramp "A" and
Arsenal Street Bridge, Brighton.
- Crosswalks @ McGrath Hwy and Washington St
Somerville.
- Crosswalks @ Memorial Drive @ Anderson Bridge &
JFK Drive Cambridge.
- Stop line at the main Arnold Arboretum entrance.
- Stop line at Francis Parkman Drive at Kelly Circle.
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| 4. DID YOU KNOW: THE MORE TRAFFIC ON YOUR STREET, THE FEWER FRIENDS YOU HAVE? |
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"People have always lived on streets. They have
been the places where children first learned about
the world, where neighbors met, the
social centers of towns and cities, the rallying points
for revolts, the scenes of repression... The street
has always been the scene of
this conflict, between living and access, between
resident and traveler, between street life and the
threat of death." (Appleyard,
"Livable Streets", 1981.)
In the late 1960s Appleyard conducted a renowned
study on livable streets, comparing three residential
streets in San Francisco which on the
surface did not differ on much else but their levels of
traffic. The 2,000 vehicles per day street was
considered Light Street, 8,000
traveled on Medium Street and 16,000 vehicles
passing down Heavy Street. His research showed
that residents of Light Street had three more
friends and twice as many acquaintances as the
people on Heavy Street.
Further, as traffic volume increases, the space
people considered to be their territory shrank.
Appleyard suggested that these results were
related, indicating that residents on Heavy Street
had less friends and acquaintances precisely because
there was less home territory
(exchange space) in which to interact socially.
Light Street was a closely knit community. Front
steps were used for sitting and chatting, sidewalks
for children to play and for adults to
stand and pass the time of day, especially around
the corner store, and the roadway for children and
teenagers to play more active games
like football. Moreover, the street was seen as a
whole and no part was out of bounds.
Heavy Street, on the other hand, had little or no
sidewalk activity and was used solely as a corridor
between the sanctuary of individual
homes and the outside world. Residents kept very
much to themselves, and there was virtually no
feeling of community. The difference in the
perceptions and experience of children and the
elderly across the two streets was especially striking.
Excerpted from Project for
Public
Spaces.
 New York's
Transportation Alternatives released a study in
October, "TRAFFIC'S HUMAN TOLL: New Yorkers who
live on high traffic streets have a measurably lower
quality-of-life."
It has long been known that New York's heavy traffic
too often leads to injury and asthma. With the
release of "Traffic's Human Toll" there
is new, measurable evidence that high traffic
volumes also impose significant negative impacts on
New Yorkers' quality of life.
"Traffic's Human Toll" finds that New Yorkers living on
streets with high volumes of traffic spend less time
outside and are more likely to
restrict their children's outdoor play compared to
people who live on "medium" and "low" traffic streets.
The study also finds that compared
to residents on low traffic streets, residents on high
traffic streets are twice as likely to be disrupted by
traffic while they are
walking, talking, eating, playing with kids and
sleeping.
Further, the study finds that New Yorkers on high
traffic streets harbor more negative perceptions of
their block, are more frequently
disturbed during sleep, meals, and conversations,
and, in two of the four study areas, possess
significantly fewer relationships with their
neighbors compared to residents on low and medium
traffic streets. Based on these findings, it is no
surprise that 49% of all respondents
stated that reducing the number of cars traversing
their street would "totally improve" their quality of
life. Of those respondents residing
on heavy traffic streets, that figure jumps to 62%.
Click here for
more information and to read
the executive summary.
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| 5. REGIONAL PLANNING AGENCY UNVEILS BIKE RACK PROGRAM WITH MUNICIPAL INCENTIVES |
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by Amanda Patterson, Staff Writer for
LivableStreets Alliance
New bike racks should soon be appearing in cities and
towns thanks to the Metropolitan Area Planning
Commission (MAPC) and the Metropolitan
Planning Organization (MPO). MAPC negotiated a deal
allowing cities and towns to order discounted bike
parking equipment. And the MPO
secured federal money to reimburse the purchase
price of the equipment. It is likely the first
arrangement of it’s kind.
"No one we are aware of has negotiated this kind of
deal," said MAPC transportation and land use planner,
Scott Walker.
Three bike parking equipment companies have agreed
to offer a substantial discount to 101 cities and
towns in Massachusetts. This includes
most municipalities inside I-495, as well as the MBTA
and Department of Conservation and Recreation.
According to Walker, all Dero, Madrax,
and Cycle-safe catalogue items will be available at
the discount.
To further sweeten the deal, and encourage cities
with tight budgets to take advantage of the offer,
the MPO secured $1.4 million of federal
money over the next three years to be given to
projects expected to improve air quality. This money
will reimburse cities and towns for the
purchase price of approved equipment.
Municipalities will still have to pay for shipping and
installation, and Walker acknowledges that it may be
harder for smaller cities and
towns to pay up front and wait to be reimbursed.
For now, the DCR and MBTA are eligible for the
discount but not the reimbursement -unless they
negotiate with a town- because, as
Walker said, “We were afraid the big agencies would
use up all of our reimbursement money.”
While all of the items in the three catalogues will be
sold at a discount, the MAPC has established quality
control criteria for
reimbursement eligibility.
Click here for
more information...
Also, see MAPC's Draft Regional
Bike Plan
released lat week.
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| 6. OCTOBER HUB ON WHEELS BIKE RIDE A SUCCESS! STEVEN MILLER, CO-FOUNDER, STEPS DOWN |
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Success! The rain held off until noon, 100's
of volunteers came before dawn, and 2000 people
participated in the Second Annual Hub On Wheels
Citywide Bike Ride and Festival. Thanks to DCR
Commissioner Burrington, Storrow Drive was closed to
traffic and open to cyclists! The post-ride Festival in
City Hall Plaza gave Americans their first glimpse of 7-
time Artistic Cycling World Champion, Martin Rominger
as well as World Champion Trial Bike rider Jeff
Lenosky.
Hub On Wheels Co-founder Steven Miller steps
down. After two years of incredibly hard work
starting what is now known as Boston's Hub On
Wheels, Steve stepped down as Executive Director.
Known for his ability to forge key relationships within
the City of Boston, bring good people together, and
nurture collaboration, Steve succeeded to do what
many thought impossible: raise the level of
awareness about bicycling within City Hall.
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The End of
the Road. Boston has a long history
of ruining itself to make room for drivers and their
infernal cars. It’s time to start taking back our
streets.
By Joe Keohane
November, 2006
Excerpt: "The nonprofit LivableStreets Alliance has
been working to reshape notions of how cars, people,
and public transit should coexist."
Click here for the
entire
article...
Good news: The enormous parking garage near
Haymarket—the 2,310-spot concrete monstrosity
erected as part of the Government Center “urban
renewal” project—is reportedly up for sale, and may
ultimately be razed. If this happens, we should all go
over there and pound the rubble with our shoes, the
way the Iraqis did when that Saddam statue came
down.
The obliteration of this architectural horror would
mark a long-overdue reversal—a brief reprieve from
the tyranny of the automobile. For all the talk of
Boston being a “walking city,” we’ve gone to
staggering lengths to make the place more car-
friendly through the years, bulldozing countless
gorgeous old buildings to accommodate drab garages,
cutting a nasty gash through the middle of town to
build the Central Artery, and tearing up the tracks of
highly efficient trolleys to make way for a bright and
glorious future of congestion, smog, rage, and traffic
fatalities.
Those of us who do opt to get around on foot must
endure the noise, the stink, and the ever present
possibility that stepping off the curb could result in
being dashed into a fetid rain of meat confetti. And if
you think you can play it safe and not cross the road
at all, think again. As an April CNN.com headline told
us: “Boston police fire on SUV for driving on the
sidewalk.” Even if you discount the bullets, the
conjunction of the words “SUV” and “sidewalk”
indicates something’s gone awry.
A handful of people have offered ideas for easing
traffic woes in the city, from a London-style
commuter fee to a surcharge for suburban drivers
who cause accidents in town. One guy in Cambridge
even painted a happy blue mural in the middle of a
busy intersection outside Huron Village to “calm”
drivers. But all of this misses the point. We don’t
need to slow people down or hit them with new fees.
We need to start getting rid of motor vehicles
altogether. It’s time to create at least one car-free
throughway in every neighborhood in town. Pronto.
I recognize that suggesting such a thing is akin to
eating peanut butter off a crucifix. Bostonians, as
Americans, view driving as a God-given right, on par
with the right to cultivate morbidly obese children
and then sue Coke for it. But there are precedents.
Memorial Drive in Cambridge is closed to traffic on
Sundays from late April to mid-November,
transforming the raging throughway into an Elysian
field, only paved, where skateboarders, sunbathers,
and squirrels frolic with the blithe assurance that, at
least for the moment, they can do so without being
killed by a speeding UPS truck. Elsewhere, places like
Bogotá, Colombia, and Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium,
have created car-free zones. If the Belgians can do
it, so can we.
Before the you’ll-have-to-pry- the-steering-wheel-
from-my-cold-dead-fingers crowd starts sending me
hate mail—I’m not the only person suggesting this.
The nonprofit LivableStreets Alliance has been
working to reshape notions of how cars, people, and
public transit should coexist. The Franklin Park
Coalition has been lobbying for a traffic ban in that
park on weekends. In October a chunk of Storrow
Drive was closed off for a Hub on Wheels bike ride.
More promising still, Boston City Councilor Sal
LaMattina recently proposed converting Hanover
Street in the North End to a pedestrian mall. The
idea, endorsed by the mayor, calls for the strip to go
car-free during weekends in the summer,
transforming it into an Italian-style piazza. If that
works, they’ll make it permanent.
Others, meanwhile, are taking up the opposite side of
the debate. In September the Boston Redevelopment
Authority commissioned the Toronto-based Urban
Marketing Collaborative to rebrand the blighted
Downtown Crossing area; preliminary suggestions
include reintroducing cars into the district. Weirdly,
the lefty Globe has rallied in favor of more traffic. A
recent op-ed, for instance, quoted the paper’s
architecture critic, Robert Campbell: “Many of us, if
asked, will say we prefer ‘open space’ to streets. But
we’re far more likely to be saying this while sitting at
a sidewalk café on Newbury Street than picnicking on
Boston Common.” The problem with this argument is
that it’s built on rickety logic—the implication being
that we go to Newbury Street because of the traffic,
rather than in spite of it. (Also: picnicking?)
Fact is, the reason Downtown Crossing has hit the
skids has less to do with the absence of gridlock
than the grim, low-rent atmosphere that hangs over
the place. Actually, you could argue that, in terms of
foot traffic, the Crossing has been a success. On
weekends it’s wall-to-wall humanity—albeit not the
kind of humanity Globe editorialists tend to mingle
with.
The Newb, for its part, is already one of the city’s
most popular streets, and its appeal will only grow if
people are allowed to walk down it without being run
over, elbowed by trundling tourists, or suffocated by
the toxic cologne clouds that hang over the packed
sidewalks. You’d get more foot traffic, but it would
seem like less. Restaurants could expand outdoor
seating. Instead of the intermingling, migraine-
causing bass lines of passing cars, you could have
live musicians. Sure, we’d lose the valet parking, and
the posh set might wail and rend their Armani
garments at the thought of having to walk an extra
block, but that would be kind of funny to watch, in a
class-warfare sort of way.
Of course, this idea will require a snout-to-tail
overhaul of our public transit system, along with a
major infusion of funds. But if the city is made less
car-friendly, the T will see an increase in riders, and
therefore revenues. And with more riders comes more
political pressure to transform the T into the modern,
efficient system the city deserves, as opposed to
something you’d find at the Ninth Circle of Hell’s eBay
store.
No doubt it will take time to disabuse people of the
notion that car ownership is a precondition for happy
and rewarding urban life, but we need to keep
plugging away. Once Hanover and Newbury streets
are secured, we should move on to the new
development at Fort Point, then Charles Street,
maybe knock off a couple of blocks in the South End.
Should any of these areas suddenly become
desolate, pedestrian-free wastelands, I’ll admit
defeat and treat Robert Campbell to a coffee drink of
his choice, to be sipped beside the Mass. Pike at
rush hour.
It’ll be a bastard to pull off. It’ll require a lot of
political will. It’ll raise an unholy stink from drivers,
but the incessant demands of motorists are what got
us to where we are today. Boston wants to be
known as a progressive city, a city with big ideas. If
nothing else, a serious push to reclaim the city for
pedestrians would get us the world’s attention, and
maybe spark similar reforms in other gridlocked, smog-
filled American cities. They’d call it the “Boston
Model” of urban development (sorry, Bogotá). And if
all this makes driving around the city more difficult,
so be it. Boston’s a city. If you like driving so much,
move to Framingham. I hear there’s plenty of
parking.
Originally published in Boston Magazine, November
2006.
Click here for the entire article.
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