WUR’s Preview of Issues on the 43 Lochdale Road Proposal

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The rescheduled BPDA-hosted community meeting for this 36-unit residential development is coming up on Tuesday evening, May 28, at 6:30 pm at the Menino Community Center, 125 Brookway Road.

We encourage attendance at this meeting. This will be a consequential development, located under half a mile from the end of the Orange Line, and as of now we at WalkUP Roslindale have the following concerns that we intend to raise on Tuesday evening:

1.     Parking

  • As proposed, this project is overparked. The parking ratio should be reduced from 1:1.28 to 1:1 (or less). Zero parking projects have recently been allowed in Roslindale Square, and this location is under a half mile (<10 minute walk) from Forest Hills Station (Orange Line) and steps from bus stops serviced by a dozen bus routes. Excessive parking will induce car ownership and car use, moving our neighborhood and our city away from the mode shift and greenhouse gas reduction goals to which we have committed. Reducing the amount of parking also has direct implications for the next issue.

2.     Affordability

  • The space saved from the above parking recommendations should be used to increase overall unit count and the number of affordable units.
  • Parking should be unbundled from the residential units to increase affordability.
  • We are aware that RISE’s Housing Justice group will be particularly focused on pushing the developer to increase both the percentage of affordable units and the level of affordability offered. We support RISE Housing Justice on these related issues and will make our views known at the meeting.

3.     Environment

  • Environmental cleanup/remediation appears to be needed on the proposed project site. While we recognize that environmental cleanup is not specifically a zoning issue, we do want to hear what the developer has to say both about what they have found and how they intend to deal with it.
  • Although the project has dropped below the Large Project Review threshold and is technically required to meet only building code-based green building requirements, we would support a call for this project to exceed those standards and approach Net Zero/Zero Plus/LEED standards.

4.     Surrounding Neighborhood

  • The developer should assist financially with ongoing efforts around the Roslindale Gateway Path/Arboretum Road Entrance as this will be a significant amenity for residents of the development and the broader surrounding neighborhood.
  • The developer should provide support for the overall improvement of Lochdale Rd, Arboretum Rd and Kitson Rd (the private way running along the site, parallel to Washington St). The developer’s application mentions a “9-foot walkway/bike path to be created as part of the project” on Kitson Rd. We would like to hear more about what is contemplated here.

West Roxbury Walk Audit Complete

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West Roxbury Walk Audit Route

Hot off the presses, our friends over at West Rox Walks just released the results of the first ever Walk Roxbury Walk Audit, highlighting aspects of Centre Street most in need of pedestrian safety improvements. We welcome our neighbors to the walkability club. Many who live in Roslindale work and shop and West Roxbury, and vice-versa, and thus we care deeply about improving walking conditions there. Be sure to follow West Rox Walks on Twitter and like them on Facebook.

The report’s key recommendations are 1) decrease the speed of vehicular traffic, 2) improve crosswalk safety, 3) add protected bike lanes, and 4) conduct studies of the business section between Knoll and Weld Streets and of the rotary by Holy Name. Stay tuned for next steps!

Join us on Lilac Sunday 5/12 10am-3pm to learn about a new entrance to the Arboretum

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A NEW ENTRANCE TO THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM IS COMING!

The City of Boston in partnership with the Arnold Arboretum, WalkUP Roslindale, and the Arboretum Park Conservancy are working to create a new entrance to the Arnold Arboretum at the end of Arboretum Road that will ultimately connect up with our planned Gateway Path.

Please stop by on LILAC SUNDAY (this coming Sunday, May 12) to learn about the project and enjoy some ice cream and music on your way to viewing the lilacs! The entrance is not yet paved, so please wear sturdy shoes or boots

Date and Time:    Sunday, May 12, 2019, 10 AM to 3 PM

Location:        End of Arboretum Road, Roslindale

Important Boston Transportation Department Budget Hearing This Tuesday, May 7, 2019 at 10:30am

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Boston City Council Transportation Budget Hearing
Boston City Council Transportation Budget Hearing

WalkUP Roslindale is a proud member of the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition. The Coalition has been doing great work following the City budget process with respect to safe streets. We’ve reproduced below an announcement about an important transportation budget hearing this Tuesday, May 7, 2019. Please show up if you can!

RSVP and/or spread the word from this Facebook event page.

Funding is a critical component for building safer streets. Now is your chance to influence the Boston budget process!

Join us in calling for more support and faster implementation of projects this year, by:

1. Attending the Boston Transportation Department Budget Hearing and testifying.

Event Details:
Tuesday, May 7, 10:30 am – 1:00 pm
@ Boston City Hall, 5th Floor, Iannella Chamber 

2. Asking for support from your at-large and district city councilors for the following priorities:

  • Faster implementation and more focus on improving safety along arterial corridors, which are disproportionately dangerous for all modes. 
  • A permanent, full-time, Boston Police Department data analyst to clean up crash report data, investigate trends, and work closely with the Transportation Department, Boston EMS, and MassDOT to ensure Boston’s crash data is properly reported.
  • Clear organizational structures that will help establish how projects are managed and executed, and better integration of operations and policies between the Public Works and Transportation Departments.

In past years, hundreds of you have shown up for the Boston Transportation Department Budget Hearings, and it has had a direct impact on securing more funding benefiting Vision Zero. Can we count on you to keep the momentum going in 2019? Speak up to support safe streets!

For more details about the proposed Transportation Department budget and what we’re advocating for, read on below.

Thank you and we hope to see you on Tuesday! 

Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition
http://www.visionzerocoalition.org

Background

The Mayor’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) includes a $4 million investment in Boston’s Walkable Streets and $2 million in bike infrastructure, which will be funded through strategic changes to the City’s current parking meter rates. Join us at Boston City Hall to comment in support of the City Council approving this budget proposal and to call for more support and faster action.

Within this budget, Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition members are working on several specific issues. For more information and talking points about the following aspects of the budget, see below:

Arboretum Road Street Mural – This Monday, May 6, Starting at 5pm

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Please join us to create a street mural on Arboretum Road with Artists from the Mayor’s Mural Team!

Date: Monday, May 6, 2019
Time: 5pm to 8pm
Location: Arboretum Road near Washington Street, Roslindale

Please join artists from the City of Boston’s mural team and volunteers from WalkUp Roslindale, and the Arnold Arboretum as we paint a street mural on Arboretum Road! The mural will draw attention to the future entrance to the Arnold Arboretum at the end of the road. The lilacs in the street mural will help celebrate Lilac Sunday.

The road will be closed except for essential traffic while the mural is being painted.

If you have any questions please contact Charlotte Fleetwood at 617-635-2462
Or send an email to charlotte.fleetwood@nullboston.gov

Birch Street Pop-Up Plaza This Week – Runs Tuesday through Sunday (30 April-3 May 2019)

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We here at WalkUP Roslindale are just simply awed at the progress that RVMS and the Birch Street merchants have been making on seeing what can be made of the one-block section of Birch between Corinth and Belgrade. Following up on last year’s series of Open Birch Saturdays during June, they’re plunging even further ahead and, as part of the city’s new pilot program for tactical public realm interventions and in cooperation with A Better City and architects Merritt Chase, we will see the first fruits of their labor this week. Check out the facebook page and let the world (or at least the world on facebook) know that you’ll be stopping by to enjoy a little bit more of our city that is being repurposed for people instead of vehicles. It’ll be worth your while — and remember, we’re not closing this part of Birch to anyone, we’re opening it fully to everyone — so, feel free to walk around, sit, read, enjoy, converse in this bit of our neighborhood, and, if you like it, support making it permanent.

Robert Street Bridge Meeting TOMORROW (Monday, 29 April 2019)

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We encourage everyone to attend the Robert Street Bridge replacement project’s public meeting scheduled for tomorrow, Monday, 29 April 2019, at 6:30 pm at the Roslindale Community Center (6 Cummins Highway). There should be an opportunity to influence the final design of the project as well as learn more about what the MBTA has planned for the construction period and how it will affect both access to Robert Street and Roslindale Square as well as service on the Needham Line. [NOTE: Photo courtesy Universal Hub.]

Organizing Meeting for West Roxbury Walking Advocacy Group Scheduled – April 30, 2019

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In the wake of the driver-on-pedestrian crash on Centre Street in West Roxbury that took the life of neighborhood resident Marilyn Wentworth, there has been a renewed focus on how to make West Roxbury safer for the most vulnerable users of its streets. While much of this focus will be on addressing Centre Street and its manifest problems in the near-term, this is really a neighborhood-wide (indeed, a city-wide) problem. To that end, working with our friends at WalkBoston and walking safety advocates in West Roxbury convened by West Roxbury Main Streets, we’re happy to spread word of a “Ped 101” training and organizing meeting to be held at the Area E-5 Police Station’s community room on Tuesday, April 30, at 6:30 pm. Details can be found at the event’s facebook page. We hope to see you and many of our friends from West Roxbury there and then!!

Slides now available from 25% design meeting for Gateway Path

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On February 28, 2019, we held a well-attended community meeting at the Archdale Community Center to elicit feedback the 25% design for the Roslindale Gateway Path. Several attendees as well as folks who followed the live video feed of the meeting asked for a copy of the slides. They’re now available; please feel free to share any additional feedback in the comments below.

Comment Letter on Roxbury Preparatory Charter School (361 Belgrade)

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We sent a comment letter today to the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) in support of the proposed move of the Roxbury Preparatory Charter School to 361 Belgrade Avenue. We believe the proposed development is consistent with our core principles and primary goal of making a more walkable neighborhood. As discussed in more detail below, this development should be a catalyst for long overdue walkability and transit improvements to Belgrade Avenue, and we urge all the stakeholders to work together to make sure these happen. As a side note, we recognize there has been outspoken support for and opposition against this project from a variety of perspectives; as a community group focused on walkability, we take no position on education policy or various debates relating to charter schools generally or this school specifically. Our interest is in insuring that students, staff, and the community at large can enjoy safe and vibrant streets with easy and convenient access by sustainable modes of transportation.

The full text of our letter is reproduced below.

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