LANA Hosting South & Walter Streets Visioning Session on April 7, 2016 7pm-9pm 1300 Centre Street

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South and Walter Streets Visioning Session Flyer
South and Walter Streets Visioning Session Flyer

WalkUP Roslindale ally Longfellow Area Neighborhood Association is hosting a visioning session regarding the South and Walter Street Corridor on Thursday, April 7, 2016 from 7pm-9pm at the Weld Hill Research Building, 1300 Centre Street. South and Walter Streets connect Centre Street near Bellevue, West Roxbury at one end back to Centre Street adjacent the Arboretum and Faulkner Hospital at the other end, cutting through one of a densely populated, mostly residential, area of our neighborhood. These streets were historically designed (or more likely re-designed in the car era) to move cars quickly with little concern for pedestrian safety, walkability, and quality of life. There have been some small recent improvements but much remains to be done to reclaim this important corridor. Please show up and share your views!

Arboretum Gateway Path in the Roslindale Bulletin

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Roslindale Bulletin - Gateway Path Picking up Steam
Roslindale Bulletin – Gateway Path Picking up Steam

The latest Roslindale Bulletin features an article by Jeff Sullivan on the Arboretum Gateway Path initiative, including interviews with several WalkUP Roslindale members and allies from RozzieBikes and LivableStreets Alliance. Check out the article, and be sure to RSVP for our upcoming vision session on March 30 at 6:30pm at the Roslindale Community Center and respond to our survey about the path project.

Official WalkUP Roslindale Comment Letter – Roslindale Bicycle Corral Installation

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Corner of Corinth and Cohasset, Proposed Location for Bike Corral (Image Courtesy Google Maps)
Corner of Corinth and Cohasset, Proposed Location for Bike Corral (Image Courtesy Google Maps)

Yesterday, we sent an official comment letter to the City in support of a long overdue bicycle corral installation in Roslindale Square, specifically at the corner of Cohasset Street and Corinth Street in front of Fornax Bakery. We encourage anyone who also supports real bicycle infrastructure in our neighborhood to also voice their support via email to Boston’s Active Transportation Director, Stefanie Seskin.

The content of our letter is reproduced below.

Read More

Roslindale Village Walkable Film Series – Making a Killing – Thursday, March 31, 2016 @ 5:30pm

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Making a Killing
Making a Killing (Original Art by Andy Cross)

We’re now ready for the third installment in The Roslindale Village (Walkable) Film Series. Next up is Making a Killing: Guns, Greed, and the NRA. This film tells the stories of how guns, and the billions made off of them, affect the lives of everyday Americans. It features personal stories from people across the country who have been affected by gun violence, including survivors and victims’ families. The film exposes how the powerful gun companies and the NRA are resisting responsible legislation for the sake of profit – and thereby putting people in danger.

Check out the poster, original art again courtesy of Andy Cross.

The film will be shown at the Roslindale Branch of the Boston Public Library on Thursday, March 31, at 5:30pm, and continues our experiment of various venues (public and private spaces) for this trial run of the Film Series. RSVP to secure a spot and get a reminder near show time.

Questions or comments to film@nullwalkuproslindale.org.

Roslindale Village (Walkable) Film Series Profiled by RVMS

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Check out this Roslindale Village Main Street interview with Kevin Tobin, film curator for the Roslindale Village (Walkable) Film Series:

How did the Roslindale Village (Walkable) Film Series come to be and what is your particular role in it?

Steve Gag — what a guy. I had hiked with him and my father last summer and had expressed interest in trying to create a Roslindale film society, or something similar. Meanwhile, Adam Kessel and Matt Lawlor of WalkUP-Roslindale, had spoken with Steve about doing some sort of “walkable” or walking-inspired series of films. Steve and Laura Gang had hosted films at their home in the past, and, being such amazing organizers and community members, put the two ideas together and started talking to groups and business owners to try and make it happen. And a fine job they have both done! My particular role has been curation (coming up with movies and networking with the filmmakers/producers for access), poster design, and I will be moderating the series. Andy Cross, an old friend, has done a great work inventing surreal sketches and art for each individual film.

We still have four Boston-themed films remaining in our pilot run; RSVP if you’re interested, and stay tuned for more news this summer.

Design Charrette for Sumner School Walkway Improvements – March 13, 2016 at 2pm, Roslindale House

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Sumner Walkway
Sumner Walkway

Our good friends and allies at Roslindale Wants to Play have partnered with the Charles Sumner School’s Parent Council to redesign the school’s rear walkway, which provides access to the school from Cummins Highway. This area has the potential to be a vibrant, fun, and educational space that better connects the Sumner School (between Basile Street and Cummins Highway) to the Roslindale community. To this end, they are hosting a design charrette[1]
on March 13, 2016 from 2:00 – 3:30 PM at Roslindale House, 120 Poplar Street. At the meeting, designers will look for ideas for the best play elements for this space and lead the group through fun design exercises aimed at all ages. Children are encouraged to attend! Facebook users can RSVP here.

WalkUP Roslindale encourages everyone to attend this event to provide ideas and feedback and also demonstrate support for community efforts to improve walkable spaces.

Footnotes    (↵ returns to text)

  1. A “charrette” is a meeting for community stakeholders to come together to imagine new solutions and resolve any conflicts. This can be one of the most powerful and effective techniques for launching walkability improvements.↵

Taft Hill Project Approved by Zoning Board of Appeal

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20 Taft Hill Rendering
20 Taft Hill Rendering
We’ve discussed the proposed Taft Hill development several times here and we support the project. This afternoon, the proposal, which requires numerous zoning variances (among others, the project provides 1.0 rather than the required 2.0 parking spaces per unit), was heard by the Boston Zoning Board of Appeal and unanimously approved. Several WalkUP Roslindale members spoke in favor of the project, as did representatives from the offices of the Mayor, City Councillor Michelle Wu, and City Councillor Tim McCarthy. No one at the hearing opposed the project. We expect the developer to break ground this spring.

Please Fill Out a Gateway Path Survey

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Update 4/16/16: the survey is now over; keep an eye on http://walkuproslindale.org/gateway for news.

In advance of the upcoming visioning session for the Arboretum Gateway Path, we and our partners in the Tufts Urban Environmental Policy Planning program are conducting a survey to better understand the needs of the community. Please complete the survey and spread the word to your neighbors!

Also hot off the presses, check out these posters for the upcoming event:

Report of another neighbor on foot struck by a car in Roslindale

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This time at Belgrade Avenue and Walworth Street (near Fallon Field), this morning around 7 am. Only report so far is on Keep Roslindale Quirky’s Facebook page (reproduced below for those without access). The report indicates that an ambulance was on the scene. More needs to be done to put an end to this wave of car on walker crashes. The city’s Vision Zero ramp up this spring can’t come soon enough.

Facebook Rozzie Crash Announcement

We don’t yet know exactly which corner the crash occurred or any other circumstances, although one after-the-fact eye witness reports it may have been near the auto body shop on the back right corner in the image below. Here’s the general area, which, unlike several other recent pedestrian crashes, at least has crosswalks and signals albeit poorly designed (and hence dangerous) due to the odd angles of the crossings:

Belgrade and Walworth Street

 

 

Roslindale Village Walkable Film Series – The Friends of Eddie Coyle – Thursday, March 17, 2016 @ 6:30pm

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Eddie Coyle Film Logo
Friends of Eddie Coyle (Original Art by Andy Cross)

We’re now ready for the next installment in The Roslindale Village (Walkable) Film Series. Next up is The Friends of Eddie Coyle,  a classic Boston gangster film starring Robert Mitchum and based on a novel by George V. Higgins. The movie was shot throughout the Boston area, including in Dedham, Cambridge, Milton, Quincy, Sharon, Somerville, Malden, and Weymouth.

Check out the poster, original art again courtesy of Andy Cross.

The free screening will be at a private residence (details provided upon RSVP) on Thursday, March 17, at 6:30pm. Runtime is about an hour forty minutes.

This is a very small screening facility; if all spaces fill up, check back for any cancellations. Questions or comments to film@nullwalkuproslindale.org.