StreetUpdate 32: January 12, 2009
StreetUpdate! The new name for our monthly e-bulletin. Same great news and insights of course!
IN THIS ISSUE:
- Event: LivableStreets to host first annual "Boston Bikes" update with director Nicole Freedman -- Boston Public Library, Thurs, Jan 29, 7 pm
>>> - Special StreetTalk: "Urban Happiness" with Enrique Peñalosa! Former Bogotá Mayor who implemented radical transportation change in the Colombian capital city-- Boston Public Library, Thurs, Feb. 5, 6:30pm
>>> - DCR Public Meeting re: BU and Craigie (Museum of Science) Bridges-- Tue. Jan 27, 6:00pm >>>
- Street Films: Check out our
new Street Film about "Riverbend Park" car-free Sundays on Memorial Drive
>>> - LivableStreets Alliance gets a Streetsie Award for "Best out-of-town" StreetFilm
>>> - Roadway redesign project updates
>>>
- CALENDAR -
Click
here
for our full calendar of regional
activities - MoveMASS: "Greater Boston's Transportation Inequities"-- Fri. Jan 16, 8:10am (yes AM)
>>> - Mass Ave Corridor Project Community Meeting, Arlington-- Feb 3, 7 pm
>>>
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headlines every week for articles on the subject of
livable streets? Now you can! LivableStreets
Alliance
board member and Director of Advocacy Charlie
Denison compiles them weekly. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
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LivableStreets to host first annual "Boston Bikes" update
with Nicole Freedman, Director of Boston Bikes program
Thursday Jan. 29, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
@ Boston Public Library, main branch at Copley
[
map... ]
free and
open to the public
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align="left"
style="margin-right:12px">LivableStreets Alliance will host the 1st annual "Boston Bikes Report" by the city's Director of Bicycle Programs, Nicole Freedman. This important event is scheduled for Thursday, January 29, 7 pm, Boston Public Library, main branch at Copley, mezzanine conference room. It is free and open to the public.
The focus of the meeting will be on future steps needed to create the "world class bicycling city" that Mayor Menino has promised. There will be additional discussion about what could be done to significantly expand the cycling population -- and its political influence -- by attracting "traffic intolerant" bicyclists, by installing low-cost bike-friendly infrastructure in all parts of the city, and by setting up programs to assure that low-income and non-white communities feel included, among other strategies.
Over the past couple of years, LivableStreets Alliance has built coalitions with other groups to push the city and state towards transportation policies that create a safe, accessible, and ubiquitous infrastructure that supports walking, bicycling, and transit options as well as appropriate car and truck traffic.
In particular, LivableStreets Alliance members have played a special role in helping Boston begin becoming more bike-friendly. LivableStreets board members co-founded the Hub On Wheels bike festival, organized the Bike Summit soon after Nicole Freedman was hired, helped convince the city to include bike lanes on Commonwealth Ave redesign project that originally didn't have any, and now serve on Boston Bike's advisory board.
This event is sponsored by LivableStreets
Alliance.
target="_blank">Click here for more information
Special StreetTalk: "Urban Happiness" with Enrique Peñalosa
What happens when you give street space back to people?
Thursday Feb. 5, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
@ Boston Public Library, main branch at Copley
[ map... ]
free and open to the public
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style="margin-right:12px">An accomplished public official, economist and administrator, Enrique Peñalosa completed his three-year term as Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia on December 31, 2000. While mayor, Peñalosa was responsible for numerous radical improvements to the city and its citizens. He promoted a city model giving priority to children and public spaces and restricting private car use, building hundreds of kilometers of sidewalks, bicycle paths, pedestrian streets, greenways, and parks. After organizing a Car-Free Day in 2000, he was awarded the Stockholm Challenge Award and rewarded by a referendum vote endorsing an annual car-free day. Peñalosa also led efforts to improve Bogotá's marginal neighborhoods through citizen involvement; planted more than 100,000 trees; created a new, highly successful bus-based transit system; and turned a deteriorated downtown avenue into a dynamic pedestrian public space. He helped transform the city's attitude from one of negative hopelessness to one of pride and hope, developing a model for urban improvement based on the equal rights of all people to transportation, education, and public spaces.
This event is part of a 4-day series of events sponsored by
LivableStreets Alliance and the
Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, in collaboration with
WalkBoston,
Institute for Human Centered Design,
Bikes Not Bombs,
Charles River Conservancy,
MassBike.
This is a great article about
Enrique Peñalosa:
movement: A radical campaign to return streets from
cars to people (GlobeAndMail, June 2007)
From living hell to living well: A radical campaign to
return streets from cars to people in Colombia's
largest city is now a model for the world. “A city
can be friendly to people or it can be friendly to cars,
but it can't be both,” says former Bogotá
(Colombia) Mayor Enrique Peñalosa. "Car
Free Day is just one of the ways that Mr.
Peñalosa helped to transform a city once
infamous for narco-terrorism, pollution and chaos into
a globally lauded model of livability and urban
renewal. His ideas are being adopted in cities across
the developing world. They are also being
championed by planners and politicians in North
America, where Mr. Peñalosa has reinvigorated
the debate about public space once championed by
Jane Jacobs."
And a few great StreetFilms:
Click here for a film about car-free streets in Bogota >>>
Click here for a film about bus rapid transit in Bogota >>>
Click here for more information.
DCR Public Meeting re: BU and Craigie (Museum of Science) Bridges
Tue Jan. 27, 6:00pm
@ MIT, Kirsch Auditorium, Stata Center, 32 Vassar Street
[ map ]
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align="left"
style="margin-right:12px">Wondering what is happening with the BU Bridge and Craigie Bridge (Museum of Science)? We are too! Come join us at this important DCR public meeting Tuesday, January 27.
The DCR seems to be more responsive and open to public input, and they are hiring new consultants to help with short-comings of their original designs. However, there is still a lot that is undecided and uncommitted. Public input is vital on these two bridge, (and future bridges as well). Major improvements to these bridges will not happen again for decades, so LivableStreets and other advocates are working hard to improve the user structure of the bridges to increase safety and efficiency for all users.
Come to this meeting and show your support for better pedestrian, bicycling and public transit facilities.
For more information, check out our project pages or feel free to contact Jackie at LivableStreets at jackie@livablestreets.info, 617.621.1746
To view the powerpoint presentation from last night's DCR public meeting,
click here.
To learn more about the Accelerated Bridge Program, visit
www.mass.gov/acceleratedbridges.
To learn more about DCR projects, visit
www.mass.gov/dcr/projects.
Check out our project pages here for more
information.
New "Street film": "Riverbend Park" car-free Sundays on Memorial Drive
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style="margin-right:15px">Cambridge's Memorial Drive has been car free on Sunday's for over 30 years. It runs along the Charles River and the adjacent parklands and is one of the most beautiful spots to enjoy the outdoors.
LivableStreets headed to the last session before the winter to catch all the residents enjoying their streets. We also found out a little history of how a few committed residents a while back were able to make this great event happen.
Memorial Drive resumes car-free Sundays April 26, 2009!
view online!
LivableStreets Alliance gets a Streetsie Award for "Best out-of-town" StreetFilm
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style="margin-right:15px">LivableStreets BU Bridge film was named Best out-of-town film by StreetBlog.org! We are very excited to be producing films and we look forward to making more this year! Our streetfilms highlight the great uses of streets in Boston that are making it a more connected, livable city. The videos also encourage progress where change is still needed. They are part of the ongoing effort by LivableStreets Alliance to inform and inspire citizens to demand more than the status quo for their community.
A special thanks to George Zisiadis for his contribution to LivableStreets!
Roadway Redesign Project Updates
By Charlie Denison, Advocacy Chair, LivableStreets Alliance Board of Directors
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style="margin-right:15px">In addition to our advocacy efforts related to the accelerated bridge program, LivableStreets has been working on following and contributing to a number of very important roadway redesign projects in the Boston area.
For more information, check out www.livablestreets.info/projects for information on the following:
- Crossroads Initiative (Boston's BRA, streets crossing the Rose Kennedy Greenway)
- Mass Ave (Boston)
- Rutherford Ave (Boston)
- BU Bridge (DCR)
- Craigie Bridge (DCR)
This month, we met with partner advocacy organizations to discuss the latest phase of the Rutherford Avenue / Sullivan Square Redesign Project. We're very excited about the potential of this project to re-knit Charlestown proper, Sullivan Square, and parts of Somerville and Cambridge. The project looks to transform a number of major auto-oriented arterials into true multi-modal urban streets. We recently submitted comments on behalf of our group of advocates to the City of Boston in order to contribute our thoughts and vision for the corridor.
Another project we're excited about is the Crossroads project, which looks to redesign many of the streets that connect to the new Rose Kennedy Greenway. We met with one of the project managers at the Boston Redevelopment Authority to discuss the status of the project and learn how we can best stay involved. We plan on meeting with other advocates this month to discuss the current plans and provide collaborative feedback to the city. The first street to be redesigned is Broad St, with construction to begin this Spring. Congress St and Summer St are currently at 25% design, with a public meeting to be held in January where the city will present the current plans and provide an opportunity for public input.