Take Back The Streets (...and alleys)

Blackbird said:
But that's my point: it's not indifference, it's a lack of free time! It's the people who have too much time on their hands that can "show up" most consistently.
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Sorry. That's BS. The PTSA and community development meetings I go to down here are all at night. Many of my friends who stay home are off-work and watching the Batchelorette or Rachel Maddow.

Let's face it, they don't want to get their hands dirty. Hell, the troglodytes outside of Mayor Wu's home (per the Globe) are there from 7am - 7:30am. Why can't any supporters come out to counteract???? (she won by over 25% ffs!). Hands gotta stay clean!
 
shmessy said:
Sorry. That's BS. The PTSA and community development meetings I go to down here are all at night. Many of my friends who stay home are off-work and watching the Batchelorette or Rachel Maddow.

Let's face it, they don't want to get their hands dirty. Hell, the troglodytes outside of Mayor Wu's home (per the Globe) are there from 7am - 7:30am. Why can't any supporters come out to counteract???? (she won by over 25% ffs!). Hands gotta stay clean!
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Buh.... Sh..... I'd hafta get up two hours earlier and take the Orange Line and then walk a mile to get there! That's HAAAAAAAARD.
I am serious about the bringing beer and pizza to zoning meetings bit. Screw convention. I've been on the other side of the table as a pro-development elected official. I would have loved to see some people younger than me actually participating. Our Supremely Entertaining Media - and it really is awesomely entertaining - is eating our brains and will. It takes the discipline and resolve of a Normandy Beach stormer to get away from a good Netflix series (no joke). The olds are somehow immune to solid character arcs and generally tight screenplays. I wish I could understand how.

In the meantime, go against type and get thee to a meeting!
 
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Blackbird said:
But that's my point: it's not indifference, it's a lack of free time! It's the people who have too much time on their hands that can "show up" most consistently.
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There is truth to that. Not everyone works 9 to 5 or just 40 hours a week. I personally have never had a job like that. I do okay money-wise but I can see how someone dealing with that schedule, having kids and not making enough could be so overwhelmed that expecting them to get more involved and start going to zoning meetings might be asking too much.

However, zoning is ultimately a democratic process that keeps pig farms out of residential neighborhoods. To change that we have to have a better idea, and that idea should not be just letting the government planning organizations dictate because we like tall buildings.
 
Scott said:
However, zoning is ultimately a democratic process that keeps pig farms out of residential neighborhoods.
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Funny you should mention that... my favorite part of that whole episode:

"It [the pig] took to wandering off, and rooted and grunted about the grounds of Captain Robert Keayne, who had a comfortable house on the corner of what are now Washington and State streets, just opposite to where the old Statehouse stands."

It takes such an exercise of imagination to contemplate that, in 1630s Boston (here was the scene in 1649), the intersection that now features the behemoths of 28 State St., 60 State St., and 53 State St., was characterized by detached residential dwellings. Realistically, it was a semi-pastoral village--yet one settled by a group of extraordinarily (considering the time) well-capitalized, educated, and internationally-connected merchants, bankers, lawyers, venture capitalists, and proto-scientists . . . such that it actually wasn't so surprising at all that said village transformed to become the global juggernaut it is today.
 
An NYC perspective on public meetings: Having a very active local YIMBY group like Open New York makes a world of difference. It's kind of quiet season right now with the start of a new city government, but when there are important rezonings and residential projects going through the review process, an ONY contingency is consistently in attendance. Being organized means: there's some pressure from your fellow members to attend meetings, once there you have allies who are going to cheer you on, and afterwards (when these are in-person) you usually end up at a bar, meaning there's camraderie and socializing. ONY is just a few years old, but has been quite successful by following this model (e.g. fighting for and realizing the rezoning of Gowanus and SoHo).

I know groups like A Better Cambridge exist and do good work, but I'm unfamiliar with how active they are in terms of mobilizing people to public meetings.
 
I'm going to divert away from the topic of public meetings to ask a question related to the original topic.

People on this board like to ask why Hanover St in the North End can't be pedestrianized. The usual answer is that there's a fire station on that street. I figure that fire trucks really only need quick access when they're leaving. Could Hanover be made into a one-lane southwest-bound road from the fire station (Harris St) down to Cross Street? The recovered space could be converted to badly-needed sidewalk space. Take away some parking spaces for the same purpose.

Is this feasible or am I way out of line?
 
W-4 said:
I'm going to divert away from the topic of public meetings to ask a question related to the original topic.

People on this board like to ask why Hanover St in the North End can't be pedestrianized. The usual answer is that there's a fire station on that street. I figure that fire trucks really only need quick access when they're leaving. Could Hanover be made into a one-lane southwest-bound road from the fire station (Harris St) down to Cross Street? The recovered space could be converted to badly-needed sidewalk space. Take away some parking spaces for the same purpose.

Is this feasible or am I way out of line?
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It's absolutely feasible. The emergency vehicle argument is routinely used in bad faith by opponents of pedestrianization and the fire department itself. As someone who walks through the pedestrian zone in downtown crossing on a daily basis, ambulances and fire trucks fly through because people walking can easily get out of the way. On Hanover, the fire truck stalls behind cars who have nowhere to go creating an enormous amount of noise between their horns and the car horns. It's an absolutely ridiculous scene to witness.

Hanover Street should be one way from the fire station on Charter Street to Cross Street. This would improve both safety and quality of life and would be a win for pedestrians, residents, and restaurants. Instead, like most things, the city caters to a small but loud minority of car owners. It's incredibly frustrating but definitely capable of change with leadership and advocacy.
 
May Boston EMS show up on a bicycle the day you have a stroke
 
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Scott said:
May Boston EMS show up on a bicycle the day you have a stroke
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If my post wasn't clear, I'm saying the opposite of this. EMS/fire/police should be the only ones allowed to use vehicles. That way I'm not having a stroke while EMS waits for the light on Cross street which is what happens now.
 
No you said the fire chief is a fraud in bed with NIMBYs
 
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Anytime a decision is made by the fire department there is a detailed explanation in writing that can be appealed. If the fire chief is guilty of anything it is having a singular focus on getting his trucks to the fire ASAP. There is no conspiracy.
 
I don't want to get addicted to hopium here, but there's a nice parking lot at 286 Commercial Street and another at Cross/Fulton.

I think that the one-way road idea is more realistic in the short-term, but if we want this to be a God Mode thread, we can put a lot of mental energy into dreaming up relocation scenarios.
 
Or we can try and find out why it hasn't happened after all these years and inform the discussion
 
BFD had not built a single new fire station since 1984 when the new Engine 42 firehouse opened last year in Roxbury. They’re on a bit of a building spree, with Engines 3, 17, 37 (South End, Dorchester, Fenway) all currently in the pipeline for replacement with Engine 17 probably next. Either way, I believe Engine 8 in the North End got substantial renovations relatively recently (late 90s early 2000s,) so probably ranks relatively low on the list of stations to be replaced.

Besides that, I'd probably want a study done on the impact of closing Hanover. Without it, you're diverting all vehicles to a series of very tight cross roads where they have even less business being. I think it's more realistic to remove street parking, encourage the next development to include a public underground garage and refactor the sidewalks.
 
Stlin said:
BFD had not built a single new fire station since 1984 when the new Engine 42 firehouse opened last year in Roxbury. They’re on a bit of a building spree, with Engines 3, 17, 37 (South End, Dorchester, Fenway) all currently in the pipeline for replacement with Engine 17 probably next. Either way, I believe Engine 8 in the North End got substantial renovations relatively recently (late 90s early 2000s,) so probably ranks relatively low on the list of stations to be replaced.

Besides that, I'd probably want a study done on the impact of closing Hanover. Without it, you're diverting all vehicles to a series of very tight cross roads where they have even less business being. I think it's more realistic to remove street parking, encourage the next development to include a public underground garage and refactor the sidewalks.
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How about making Hanover Street one-way southbound, and North Street one-way northbound?
 
Another issue BFD contends with in the North End is that you can't get a ladder truck down every street even without cars.

But the issue really is no political will, the residents and the businesses don't just want it at this time.
 
Vagabond said:
Another unforced error from the WuTrain...? Hopefully she figures it out before April 1.

www.wcvb.com

Boston's outdoor dining program returns April 1, except for the North End

The city is bringing back the outdoor dining program that allows restaurants to create seating areas in public spaces.
www.wcvb.com www.wcvb.com
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As the coverage clearly states the North End plans are undergoing community review. Why? Because the density of restaurants has caused a lot of community complaints about the implementation there. Residents' opinions matter. People do live there -- it is not just a restaurant/tourist playland.
 
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