We’re happy to see City Councillors Kendra Lara and Ricardo Arroyo, along with the Boston Transportation Department and neighborhood resident Nathan Eckstrom, are leading a safety walk on January 28th at 1pm, focusing on road safety issues along Hyde Park Avenue. The walk will meet at Forest Hills Station (Upper Level). Advance registration is recommended. More details here:
The second half of December was unquestionably consequential for the center of Roslindale as a motor vehicle operator drove into the street level of the building at the corner of Belgrade and Corinth (mostly known these days as The Square Root Building) on the morning of December 18, taking out a support column and parts of 2 store fronts, resulting in structural damage and temporary evacuation of the entire building. We posted about this when it happened and encouraged folks to contribute to the community-based fund that was just then forming to support the businesses that we knew would be forced to leave the building for at least some period of time – potentially months in some cases. We’re happy to circle back now with the news that many of the businesses that had been forced out, including especially The Square Root, are now open again and the remainder have found temporary homes elsewhere in the square. This past Saturday morning found plenty of patronage inside the cafe itself, and, we suspect (based on the photo below), music rehearsal activity upstairs. It’s really good to see activity going on there again, though a discussion about how to make all of the streets in the square safer for everyone outside of motor vehicles is something we think must be on the agenda going forward.
Saturday also saw the official opening of the new brick-and-mortar location at 739 South Street (across from Wallpaper City) for Rozzie Bound Books, which has been the neighborhood’s community-owned virtual bookstore for the last few years. They’ve taken a small, but cozy space on the street level and are selling books and offering order/pickup as well. This promising development represents the presence of a permanent new book-selling location in the square for the first time in more than a decade, since the 2011 demise of Village Books, which had been located in part of the space where 753 South now operates. We hope to see Rozzie Bound thrive and grow in the years ahead!
Join us at the Crabapple and Maple Festival on Saturday 10/15 11am-3pm on South St between Bussey and Archdale! This stretch of road will be closed to vehicles and open for people during the festival.
WalkUP Roslindale, the Arnold Arboretum, and Liveable Streets will all be there to showcase the Roslindale Gateway Path Project and solicit feedback on improving access for pedestrians and cyclists at the Archdale arch.
Rozzie Bikes will be there to provide bike repair, as well as e-bike demos and test rides!
Information on this handy flier from our friends at Roslindale Village Main Street. Hope to see you there!
[Photo credit @wutrain.]
For the first of what we hope will be many community group bike rides with Mayor Wu to come, Adams Park in Roslindale Square will be the starting point on this coming Thursday morning, 11 August 2022, at 8 am. This ride is open to everyone, all ages and types of riders of bicycles. Other key details:
Thanks and hope to see you there!
From time to time, specific street intersections come up for redesign and improvement to promote their safety. We understand that one such case is underway now for the intersection of South and Robert streets in the Longfellow Area Neighborhood Association‘s part of Roslindale, directly adjacent to Fallon Field. It’s an intersection that is used fairly frequently by folks on foot to access the playground and other facilities at Fallon, especially smaller children and their families. It also sports one of the more notorious slip lanes in the neighborhood, used by drivers to go from Robert onto South, with a stop sign that, based on this observer’s personal experience, is actually complied with less than 10% of the time. Thankfully, LANA have been advocating for many years for changes here and we understand that the Boston Transportation Department will be unveiling 25% design plans and seeking feedback this coming Monday evening, 14 March 2022, at LANA’s regular board meeting (which will also reportedly feature an appearance by new District 6 City Councilor Kendra Lara). You can sign up to attend the meeting HERE. Hope to see you there! mjl
Roslindale Arts Alliance is sponsoring Roslindale Porch Fest, this Saturday September 25, 2021 (rain date Sunday Sept. 26) from 1:30-5:30pm. Brochures are available at Square Root Coffee Shop. Rozzie Bikes is coordinating a group ride to a number of Porch Fest locations. If you’re interested, meet on the green at Adams Park at 1 PM (Helmet required). We hope everyone will get out and explore the porches of Roslindale by foot or by bike this weekend!
Following up on today’s impressively successful RoslinTrails bike ride, we here at WalkUP Roslindale will do our part to launch this great concept from our friends at Roslindale Village Main Street and host a walk starting in the square on Saturday, October 9, at 12:30 pm. Our route will take us out on Cummins Highway (tentatively dubbed “RoslinTrails Route 1”) to Hyde Park Avenue and then back via a route running along HP Av to Blakemore Road, Florence Street, Firth Road, and Washington Street. Particular stops are being worked out and more details including an event registration page will be forthcoming. We look forward to seeing as many of our friends as can join us!
It took some time, but the Cummins Missing Middle Walk Assessment Report has finally been released. The full report is below and also available as a PDF. We’ll be using this report to organize around and advocate for pedestrian and other non-auto safety improvements on this critical “link for people” in our neighborhood. Thanks!
We sent a letter and gave live testimony this week at a City Council committee hearing on sidewalk snow clearance (more background from Streetsblog Mass). Our full comment letter is below, you can also watch the entire 2+ hour video, or just jump to City Councillor Matt O’Malley’s shout-out to WalkUP Roslindale or WalkUP Roslindale member Matt Lawlor’s testimony toward the end of the hearing. In brief, sidewalk snow clearance is critical to better walkability in Boston and our current system is completely broken. Read on for more.
