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The Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition and the Great Neighborhoods Network have distributed a questionnaire to candidates for upcoming municipal elections in the Cities of Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville on issues related to mobility, transportation, and housing. The questionnaire gives candidates the opportunity to share their priorities to help residents make informed choices in the upcoming election.
Learn more about Boston candidates' positions and priorities here, and stay tuned for responses from Cambridge and Somerville candidates coming soon!
Victory! Governor Baker Signs Bill Establishing New MBTA Board
The Transit is Essential coalition is celebrating today: after months of advocacy, Governor Baker signed a supplemental budget bill that establishes a new board of directors for the MBTA, replacing the expired Fiscal and Management Control Board. Among the seven-member board will be appointees with different areas of expertise, including one who is a T rider from an environmental justice community, one who is from a transit operations background, and one chosen from a shortlist provided by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. Learn more about the bill here.
Fare-Free Bus + Low-Income Fare News
There is lots of movement regarding low income fares and fare-free buses this week!
- The City of Boston announced a pilot for fare-free bus service on the 28 bus from August 29 through November 29th. We are very excited that the City of Boston will have the opportunity to test out fare-free bus service and help test the proof of concept.
- Bills advancing fare-free bus service and reduced T fares for low-income riders were presented to the state legislature’s transportation committee earlier this week. We testified in support, along with many of our partners. Here is some more information about these bills:
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S2340/H3403, An Act relative to fare free buses, will require the MBTA and allow RTAs to implement a one-year fare-free pilot.
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H3526, An Act relative to low-income transit fares, will give a boost to thousands of people, many of them essential employees who carried our state throughout the pandemic. These low-wage workers, who predominantly live in communities of color, continue to struggle with disproportionate health & economic hardships due to COVID-19.
While we wait for the legislature to act, you can visit our website to learn more about our fare-free bus advocacy.
This is an exciting year, as LivableStreets turns 16! Instead of getting our driver’s license, we’re continuing to focus on working towards a multi-modal future—and we need your support to do that!
Tour de Streets, our largest annual event, will be in-person at Aeronaut Allston, located at Zone 3, and we'd love to see you there. We’ve missed being able to get together with all of you, and Tour de Streets this year will be an exciting opportunity to reconnect.
Event Details:
Tour de Streets
Saturday, September 18th
@ Aeronaut Allston
Zone 3, 267 Western Ave, Allston MA
Stay tuned for details on how to sign up and help us reach our fundraising goal coming next week!
Ride for Us
As part of our Gender and Mobility Initiative we organized our first Ride for Us earlier in July, which was an opportunity for women, trans, nonbinary, and other gender expansive folks to get together and reclaim their streets! We rode from Franklin Park to the highest point in Ronan Park in Dorchester, where we had a view of the shore. It was an excellent opportunity to make new friends and comrades in the fight for gender equity.
If you couldn’t join us on the ride but are interested in the project, please check out our website, www.gendermobility.com, where you can learn more about the initiative and access our public participatory map and online survey (coming soon in multiple languages).
Street Ambassadors have been out in Cambridge, asking people about their traveling on Mass Ave in Cambridge (between Central Square and Memorial Drive). If you use Mass Ave please fill out our survey to have your voice be heard!
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Meet Our Summer Interns
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Madison Anthony is the Community Engagement Intern, working on data collection and coordinating volunteers. She is currently a graduate student at Tufts University’s Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning program. Prior to graduate school, she received her bachelor’s degree at the University of Florida, where she studied Political Science, Urban Planning, and Mass Communications. In her free time, Madison enjoys running, crafting, and exploring the city. |
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Archana Apte is the Online Engagement Intern; she manages social media, designs website updates, and drafts written and graphical content for both web and print. She recently graduated from Northeastern University. In her free time, Archana enjoys playing video games, exploring the city, and reading. |
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Rachael Burstein is the Emerald Network and Great Neighborhoods Intern. She is currently writing greenway stories for the LivableStreets website; newsletters for the Emerald Network; and the Emerald Network Playbook, a guide on best practices for greenway creation, implementation, and management for greenway advocates. She is a recent graduate of Northeastern University. In her free time, Rachael loves reading fantasy books and trying out new local coffee shops in her area. |
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Moctar Fall is the Community Engagement + Advocacy Intern, supporting both the Street Ambassador program and Better Buses. A native New Yorker, Moctar is a fourth year undergraduate and first year masters candidate in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT, with a concentration in the histories of built and lived environments. In his free time, he enjoys practicing taekwondo, cooking, and video gaming. |
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Kelsey Tustin is the Policy + Great Neighborhoods Intern, supporting various programs including Vision Zero, Great Neighborhoods, and the Planners of Color Initiative. She is also instrumental in the development and distribution of our mobility- and housing-focused candidate questionnaire for municipal elections in 2021. Kelsey is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University and plans to graduate in May. In her free time, she enjoys birdwatching and exploring Boston on her bike. |
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Opportunities
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Director of Leadership - Union Capital Boston: Reporting to the Lead Organizer, the Director of Leadership is a full-time position responsible for designing, developing, and running a new leadership development program for UCB members. Learn more and apply here.
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Events Manager - Boston Cyclists Union: The Events Manager plays a lead role in planning and executing Boston Cyclists Union (BCU) events, including major fundraisers and community-building events. This position also manages membership growth and engagement, and works with the BCU’s development team on sponsorship and other fundraising opportunities. Learn more and apply here.
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Technologist for the Public Realm - MONUM: The Public Technologist will help the City to create new approaches to civic engagement around technology, assist in the creation of policies that enable testing of new tools, develop educational materials, create service level agreements to ensure that any technologies or services are utilized in alignment with the City’s equity goals and ensure the privacy of Bostonians and visitors to the city. Learn more and apply here.
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Freelancers - StreetsblogMass: StreetsblogMass is looking for freelancers to help them cover political races this summer and fall. They pay $0.50/word and are especially keen to have more bylines from women and people of color. For more information, reach out to [email protected].
- Climate/Policy Intern - MACDC: The Climate/Policy Intern will be an integral part of MACDC’s team, their climate work with LISC and New Ecology, and the implementation of all aspects of Decarbonization of Affordable Subsidized Housing (DASH) activities. Learn more and apply here.
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Program Officer, Mobility - Barr Foundation: The Barr Foundation seeks a Program Officer to work primarily with the Mobility strategy of its Climate Program, along with support to its Clean Energy strategy and the Climate Program overall. Learn more and apply here.
As a policy, LivableStreets will only advertise opportunities that include salary or compensation information.
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