We’re happy to be among the co-sponsors for the upcoming District 5 City Council Candidates Forum to be held a week from tomorrow via zoom. The registration link can be found HERE. We’d be delighted if you could attend. Thanks!
Author: Matt Lawlor
Roslindale Squares & Streets – Boston Zoning Commission Hearing on Deck – Wednesday, 21 May 2025, at 9:00 am – ADOPTED! UPDATE BELOW
The Boston Zoning Commission is set to hold their public hearing starting at about 9 am on this coming Wednesday, 21 May 2025, on the zoning text and map amendments developed through the small area planning process here in Roslindale Square over the course of the last year-plus.
LINK HERE: BZC agenda and information on how to register.
We encourage supporters of the proposed zoning changes to attend and offer testimony at the hearing, which will be over zoom, if at all possible. Whether you can make it or not, we also encourage you to submit supportive written comments to the Boston Zoning Commission’s Secretary, Jeffrey Hampton, at their official email address of zoningcommission@boston.gov. We’re going to submit our WalkUP Roslindale comment letter around the time of the BPDA Board vote last month. Hope to see many supporters on hand on Wednesday morning and here’s a LINK to a helpful tool that was put together for the BPDA Board meeting, but is also very helpful for preparing for the hearing and submitting your written support in advance!
UPDATE:
As first reported by Universal Hub (“Denser zoning approved for Roslindale Square”), the Roslindale Squares & Streets zoning amendments – both text and map – were adopted by the Boston Zoning Commission at their hearing this past Wednesday morning by a unanimous vote of 11 in favor, 0 against. As we have said many times, deep thanks go to the mayor and her administration, especially the folks at the Boston Planning Department, who worked tirelessly over the last 15 months to solicit feedback, develop the small area plan, and then craft zoning amendments to meet this moment in our neighborhood and city. Now we will all get to see what kinds of improvements and projects the new zoning will engender. Onward!
Bike to Work Day & Festival on City Hall Plaza – Friday, 16 May 2025 – WR/Roslindale Convoy Departs at 7:10 am in Adams Park
This really is a great event every year and if you register early enough, you get a free Boston Bikes t-shirt. Get with the program if you can! Registration link is HERE.
Soft Open Alert – Roslindale Gateway Path Phase 1!
We here at WalkUP Roslindale have been advocating and organizing around the Roslindale Gateway Path since our inception almost a decade ago and, thanks to the sustained leadership and partnership of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, the Arboretum Park Conservancy, LivableStreets Alliance, the Tufts University Department of Urban and Environmental Planning, Rozzie Bikes, Hubluv, the Solomon Foundation, and of course the City of Boston (especially the leadership of Mayor Michelle Wu as well as the Parks and Recreation Department, the Department of Public Works, and the Transportation Department), we now have the first tangible result of those efforts – the Phase 1 extension from the terminus of the Blackwell Path at South Street alongside and then under the MBTA Needham Line tracks to a brand new and fully fledged Arboretum entrance on Arboretum Road. This is a great step forward in providing better access to this Emerald Necklace jewel to/from this part of Roslindale. It’s long overdue and very welcome, and we will continue to advocate for the rest of the path going forward, so that improved access can be achieved at Archdale Road and at the Roslindale Village Commuter Rail Station. We also urge everyone to mark your calendars for Saturday, 19 July 2025, when the formal grand opening celebration will be held. We’ll share details on that as they become available. Many thanks to all of the players who made this possible!
Our most recent summary piece on the full path can be found here: Roslindale Gateway Path.
Planning Department advances Squares & Streets Zoning Map and Text for Roslindale Square through BPDA Board
There’s been light reporting on this so far in the broader media, but we can confirm that the Planning Department successfully moved the proposed Squares & Streets Zoning Map and Text Amendments through the approval recommendation stage with the BPDA Board at their meeting this past Thursday, April 10. The next and final step for the small area plan and zoning process will be the Boston Zoning Commission’s public hearing and vote on adopting the proposals as part of the city’s official zoning map and code. That is expected to occur in May, on a to-be-determined date. Many thanks to Planning Department staff (there are many, but special thanks to Abdul-Razak Zachariah, Kathleen Onufer, and Eileen Michaud) and everyone who has been involved. Stay tuned for more information on the BZC date as it becomes available!
Squares + Streets Zoning Map – Roslindale Square – Closeout Meeting – 8 April 2025 @ 6 pm on ZOOM
Close on the heels of the end of the comment period yesterday, the Planning Department is hosting their scheduled closeout meeting on the zoning map and the revisions made thereto since its release in February. We encourage supporters to attend and thank the staff who have worked so hard over the last year to move the process from visioning to the small area plan and now the adoption of a new zoning map for the plan area. Information on the meeting and how to sign can be found HERE. Thanks!
The “Paris-ification” of Cambridge – Go read this piece now!
As we continue to work our way through the Squares & Streets planning and zoning reform process here in Roslindale and look ahead specifically to the Rozzie Zoning Zoom on the 13th of March in which one of our panelists will be none other than Cambridge City Councilor Burhan Azeem, we simply cannot commend enough this piece by Susan Gittelman from B’nai B’rith Housing that recently appeared in Banker & Tradesman
Cambridge legalized multifamily housing citywide…
It’s a quick, but hopeful read about the compelling message that one of our principal, short-, medium-, and long-term goals must be to “build housing where people want to live.” That the Cambridge City Council voted 8 to 1 to support this fundamental a change in that city’s approach to how it zones for housing is indeed remarkable. In the end, the broader idea is to move toward that goal in the way that makes the most sense for every city, town, and neighborhood. As City Councilor Sumbul Siddiqui, co-chair of the council’s housing committee along with Councilor Azeem, notes in the article: “Cambridge has unique economic forces and a unique culture that will affect the details of how other communities might want to apply these concepts.”
Here we go again: Roslindale Snow Clearance Collaborative Version 7.4 (UPDATE with Photos)
Lather, rinse, repeat. Our old, but fairly familiar this winter friend the Boston Yeti is calling us out for the fourth time this season! The reported snowfall before the rain came is in the range of 4-6″ (10-15 cm) and therefore exceeds our 4″ (10 cm) threshold. Accordingly, we are again calling our forces out onto the snowy streets to clear bus stops, curb ramps, and key sidewalk segments for our neighbors. As has been the case for many years now, if you send us pix of the clearing you’ve done, we will send you back $10 in Rozzie Bucks as a reward and heartfelt thank you. Send pix to info@walkuproslindale.org. Thanks!!!
UPDATE: One of our neighbors just sent in the following photos upon clearing the storm drain at the intersection of Belgrade and Aldrich and indicated that a “satisfying whoosh” greeted the finish product as the water that had pooled was allowed to drain. Thanks!!
WalkUP Roslindale Snow Clearance Collaborative Version 7.3 – All Forces Deploy!
Yes, you read that right. This is not a drill. Our old friend Boston Yeti is calling us out for the third time this winter! The reported snowfall total of 6″ so far exceeds our 4″ (10cm) threshold, so we are again calling our forces out onto the snowy streets to clear bus stops, curb ramps, and key sidewalk segments for our neighbors. As has been the case for many years now, if you send us pix of the clearing you’ve done, we will send you back $10 in Rozzie Bucks as a reward and heartfelt thank you. Send pix to matthew.j.lawlor@gmail.com. Thanks!!!
WalkUP Roslindale Snow Clearance Collaborative Version 7.2 – All Forces Deploy!
Our old friend Boston Yeti is calling us out for the second time this winter! The reported snowfall total exceeds our 4″ (10cm), so we are again calling our forces out onto the snowy streets to clear bus stops, curb ramps, and key sidewalk segments for our neighbors. As has been the case, if you send us pix of the clearing you’ve done, we will send you back $10 in Rozzie Bucks as a reward and heartfelt thank you. Send pix to matthew.j.lawlor@gmail.com. Thanks!!!