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Register Now for Tour de Streets - Our 10th Year!

TDM Photography

Tour de Streets is an annual family-friendly event that builds community and supports LivableStreets' work. Choose from a 10-mile urban bike route, a 4-mile kid-friendly route, or a walk exploring parts of the Emerald Network. Enjoy a celebratory lunch at Turtle Swamp Brewing afterwards.

Watch this short promo video for a preview of what you can expect at Tour de Streets this year!

Event Details:
Tour de Streets 10th Anniversary
Saturday, September 7th, 9am - 2pm (Rain Date: Sunday, September 8th)
@ Turtle Swamp Brewing
3377 Washington Street, Jamaica Plain

Will you join us to celebrate 10 years of Tour de Streets this September?

Massachusetts House Passes Ban on Hand-Held Phones While Driving

Shutterstock

We're celebrating exciting progress for distracting driving legislation on Beacon Hill! Last week the House overwhelmingly voted in favor of legislation that would ban the hand-held use of cellphones while driving. The legislation also includes a data collection requirement to help detect whether law enforcement officers are racially profiling drivers. Similar legislation has passed the Senate in past years, and the Senate is expected to take up its own version of the legislation in early June.

Thanks to the many of you who submitted comments, lobbied your legislators, posted on social media, and got the word out about the need for a hands-free bill in Massachusetts!

Sign Up to be a Street Ambassador in Allston

Thanks to the advocacy of many Street Ambassador volunteers, bus riders, and other community members and stakeholders who travel along Brighton Ave in Allston, a shared bus-bike lane is coming to the corridor this June! Once the lane is operational, our Street Ambassadors will be surveying bus riders and people biking in the lane about their experience. Collecting this feedback is a critical part of building the case for permanent bus lanes across the city, and we need your help!

Can you volunteer as a Street Ambassador in late June and early July? Contact [email protected]. 

To learn more about the Getting Allston on Board campaign, click here. 

Recap of Envision Beacon Street Event

Photo credit: Rebecca Slocum

On Saturday, dozens of people turned out to stroll, jog, bike, scoot, and enjoy a pop-up path along the Green Line tracks on Beacon Street in Brookline. The event was designed to showcase a vision for a bridleway path along Beacon Street between Audubon Circle and Cleveland Circle, reviving Frederick Law Olmsted's original design from the 1880s. The Town has authorized scoping of a feasibility study that will shape the project’s design requirements. 

This path is included in LivableStreets' Emerald Network, and would provide a safe and pleasant greenway link on busy Beacon Street. To learn more about the Beacon Street bridle path project, click here. 

Planning for McGrath Boulevard Heats Up Again

McMahon Associates, Inc.

The City of Somerville is hosting a community meeting to provide an update on the completion of the preliminary design phase for MassDOT’s McGrath Boulevard Development Project.

Event Details:
McGrath Boulevard Community Meeting
Wednesday, May 22, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
@ East Somerville Community School
50 Cross Street, Somerville

The design includes a corridor concept that would replace the Route 28 McCarthy Overpass with a boulevard at street level to support safer pedestrian and cycling routes as well as reconnect the Somerville neighborhoods separated by Route 28. For more background on the extensive advocacy and community engagement that went into this design, please visit our website.

Although construction funding for the project will not be available until 2026, community participation during this planning phase is important to ensure the community’s goals for the corridor are realized. City staff from the Transportation and Infrastructure Division, as well as MassDOT staff, will be on hand to provide a status update and answer questions.

We hope to see you there!

Opportunities

• Blue Hill Ave/Columbia Rd Corridor Planner, City of Boston: The Boston Transportation Department (BTD) is seeking a highly motivated Transportation Program Planner to lead a community process for revitalization of Blue Hill Avenue and Columbia Road, two of the City's most iconic and diverse boulevards. To learn more and apply, click here.
  
  
• Executive Director, Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization: The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (Boston MPO) and Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS) seek an experienced and innovative urban transportation professional to lead Greater Boston's regional transportation planning agency. To learn more and apply, click here.
  
  
• Bike/Pedestrian/Transit Advisory Committee Member, City of Cambridge: The City of Cambridge is seeking members for their Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Transit Advisory Committees. To learn more, click here.

Thank you!

Check out the following resources to learn more about what we've been up to lately!

• Press: Read local and national press featuring LivableStreets and our work. 
• StreetFilms: Watch videos highlighting our advocacy and events. 
• The Public Way: Transportation, Health, and Livable Communities Blog: Join Steve Miller, one of our founding board members, as he explores how our transportation system and built environment can be better structured to improve our lives, health, and the planet.