On Tuesday, June 18, 2023, we cosponsored a forum for the candidates running to represent District 5 (much of which is in Roslindale) on the City Council. The candidates were (alphabetically) incumbent Ricardo Arroyo, Enrique Pepén, Jose Ruiz, and Jean-Claude Sanon. In case you missed the forum, a video of the event is below. You can also read a summary on Universal Hub. Our own Rob Orthman asked questions about our priority housing and transportation issues about 39 minutes into the event.
Month: July 2023
Comment letter on 12 Amherst Street (Roslindale Coop Bank parking lot)
This week, we sent a brief comment letter to the Zoning Board of Appeal concerning a proposal by the Cooperative Bank to demolish two nearby homes and replace them with a parking lot (BOA- 1431753). In short, we believe our neighborhood is in dire need of more places for people to live, not more spots to store cars. Our full letter is reproduced below, also available as a PDF.
District 5 Candidate Forum Tomorrow – Tuesday July 18, 2023 – 7pm
We are co-sponsoring a District 5 City Council candidate forum tomorrow night, Tuesday, July 18, from 7pm-8:30pm. Other co-sponsors include Forum for Racial Equity via Educational Experiences in Hyde Park, Hyde Park Neighborhood Association, Keep Hyde PArk Beautiful, Longfellow Area Neighborhood Association, Progressive West Roxbury/Roslindale, RozzieBikes, and the Ward 18 Democratic Committee. Four candidates, eight community organizations, and lots of questions!
Every councilor impacts policy citywide by the votes they take, the policies they put forth, and the committees they serve on, so this election impacts everyone, even if you’re not a D5 voter.
To join on Zoom, register here. And don’t forget to vote on Tuesday, September 12!
The Street Project – A de-brief
It’s been 3 weeks since our community screening of The Street Project at the Rozzie Square Theater and, late as it is, we thought we should provide a de-brief. Overall, the screening was a success. We were delighted to welcome the mayor, who put in a brief appearance prior to the start of the film, to reiterate her administration’s commitment to the full slate of safe street improvements indicated in the documentary – safer pedestrian and cyclist conditions such as open streets, better crossings, speed humps, street narrowings, and protected bike lanes. After the film concluded, we were gratified to have Jeff Speck, author of The Walkable City and one of the experts featured in the film, on hand to answer questions from attendees. It was, all around, a great time. Special thanks to the filmmaker Jennifer Boyd at Boyd Productions, to Courtney Pong and the team at Rozzie Square Theater, and to Anna VanRemoortel at RVMS, as well as Jason Bylsma, Steve Gag, and Elvira Mora from WUR. We’ll look to do more of this going forward!
Gratifying coverage for our friends over at Rozzie Bikes
The Sunday Boston Globe has a lovely article about our friends over at Rozzie Bikes and some of their bicycle advocacy compatriots who have been supplying bikes, free of charge, to new arrivals in our region. Whatever one’s priors, the work they’ve been doing is both note and praiseworthy. We especially appreciate that our long-time steering committee and now board member Alan Wright is prominently featured, along with absolute Rozzie Bikes stalwart and all-around great guy Ron Beland.
It’s also worth noting here that we here at WalkUP and at Rozzie Bikes are advocates for, respectively, walking/transit and biking, don’t do so as “special interests” but as people who simply try to do these things on a regular basis and want our neighbors and visitors to our neighborhood to have the opportunity to do so safely and comfortably because we think these are good things and ways for everyone to move away from access that’s solely based on consuming space and natural resources in a way that beggars us, our neighborhoods, and our planet’s ability to sustain us. It isn’t about us but about the thing we’re promoting.