I don’t normally discuss my political views on this list, and I wouldn’t be doing it now, except that this particular political crisis may well pose an existential threat to the continuation of this group.
The problem is that the Cambridge project for increasing bicycle safety, which originally did not include changes to my street (Broadway), is now scheduled to install Protected Bike Lanes and remove over half the parking on my block by the end of the summer. I believe that reasonably mobile people will still be able to park within four or five blocks of here, but someone with less mobility because of either physical impairment or carrying heavy instruments or both, will stop coming. We’re none of us as young as we used to be.
The last chance to stop this project is tomorrow, Monday, June 16, because the Cambridge City Council stops meeting for the summer, and the work is scheduled to happen before it resumes.
If you want more information about this, let me know and I will send you both the email I wrote to the councillors and the one from the “The Coalition to Save Broadway Parking”. This is especially true if you might want to write a councillor, since the one from the Coalition had a suggested cut-and-paste mail and all the relevant email addresses.
I think it would help if everyone signed the Petition, maybe with a comment if you aren’t a resident of Cambridge saying that you’re a regular visitor.
Everyone who’s a Cambridge voter should also consider writing any city councillors they have a relationship with. The organizers of the group trying to block this project believe that Councillors Nolan and Siddiqui are the ones that aren’t on board yet, but might be convinced by a demonstration of voter support.
If you’re near Central Square tomorrow afternoon, there will be a demonstration in front of City Hall starting at 4:45 and ending some time before 6, when the Council meeting starts. The more people show up for that, the better. I have seen on-the-fence councillors about the cast their votes, and it’s obvious that one of the pictures going through their minds is the mass of people asking them to vote right.