This episode was broadcast on Jan 15, 2019 at 5:30pm. Topics: Notable retirements; recap of Jan 14 City Council meeting and more. Hosts: Judy Nathans, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]
This episode was broadcast on Jan 15, 2019 at 6:00pm. Topics: How Big is Too Big?; table-setting for the election year. Hosts: Judy Nathans, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]
Here’s my take on the interesting stuff this week:
Manager’s Agenda #2. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 18-126, regarding the River Street Infrastructure and Streetscape Project.
The basics: The outreach and design processes will occur throughout 2019 and into early 2020. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2020. $34 million has already been appropriated for the design and construction of sewer and drainage infrastructure improvements and surface enhancements on River Street between Memorial Drive and Central Square, including Carl Barron Plaza.
Manager’s Agenda #6. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 18-120, regarding the focus of Envision Cambridge goals during community presentations.
If you read the infographic and fact sheet that’s meant "to clarify the 100% affordable housing overlay concept and address any misconceptions related to its potential implementation or impact" it becomes abundantly clear that the Community Development Department has already made its decisions and is now in the process of conducting an advertising campaign to sell it (even though it has received dismal reviews in most venues where it was presented – for good reasons).
Manager’s Agenda #7. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 18-97, regarding a report on updating vacant property database and reviewing strategies presented in the Storefront Vacancies Best Practices Report.
I just hope people understand that popup/activation/placemaking or art displays in vacant storefronts is a pretty lame substitute for the real thing. This is really about finding a new economic equilibrium between retail demand and the costs associated with occupying commercial space – and you can’t blame it all on Amazon. My own admittedly naive view is that for multi-story buildings with ground floor retail, that retail space should be re-conceived as something akin to the utilities in the basement – an essential part of the building that should not necessarily be viewed as a primary revenue-generator for the property. Let the upper floors pick up some of the tab.
Resolution #10. Retirement of Timothy MacDonald from the Water Department. Mayor McGovern
Resolution #12. Retirement of Robert Reardon from the Assessing Department. Mayor McGovern
This is a double-whammy for me personally. I have known Tim MacDonald for over 30 years – ever since I served on a Water & Sewer Advisory Committee appointed by then-Mayor Al Vellucci. Tim served as Manager of Water Operations and Director of Water Operations. Blessed with a sense of humor and good nature to go along with his experience and expertise, Tim has long been one of the greatest assets of the Water Department.
Robert Reardon may be one of the most qualified people in his field in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He’s also one of my all-time favorite people in City Hall. He could write a book on the political history of Cambridge. Maybe he should now that he’ll have time on his hands. I don’t know whether to congratulate him or to beg him to reconsider.
Order #1. That the City Manager is requested to direct the appropriate City personnel to compile a report outlining how a prolonged Federal Government shut-down may impact the people of Cambridge. Councillor Simmons, Councillor Mallon, Councillor Toomey, Councillor Siddiqui
There are two sides to this inquiry. First, how will the lack of federal services and funds (for things like housing vouchers) affect residents who need those services and how many residents are affected? Second, how many residents of Cambridge have been furloughed from federal jobs? I’ll add that banks, landlords, utilities, etc. should really step up and grant time extensions on bills and maybe even extend low or zero-interest loans in lieu of paychecks since (I hope) we all know this can’t go on for too much longer.
Order #3. That the City Manager is requested to confer with the Managing Director of the Water Department on whether the department is monitoring aged pipelines to prevent unexpected breaks and if information on the age of the pipes is readily available. Councillor Toomey
This provides an appropriate follow-up to last week’s Order on the age and maintenance of the city’s water mains.
Order #5. That the Neighborhood and Long-Term Planning Committee hold a public hearing to explore the feasibility of Transit X and their potential to provide an affordable, equitable, safe, practical, congestion-reducing, and eco-friendly public transportation solution for our community. Councillor Kelley, Councillor Zondervan, Councillor Carlone
There was a guy going around maybe a year ago trying to sell people on this idea of mini-monorails running all over the city. It still seems a bit like something from a Fritz Lang film.
Order #6. That the City Manager is requested to confer with the Community Development Department and the City’s legal services providers on establishing a system of information-sharing and/ or alternative method for making available that data which may be of beneficial use to the City in analyzing displacement. Councillor Siddiqui, Councillor Simmons, Councillor Mallon, Councillor Carlone
Analysis is good, but please don’t unfairly punish small-scale owner-occupant landlords who are just trying to manage their modest investment. I grow increasingly suspicious every week of the City Council’s intentions. The Order provides a list of 46 outcomes of an eviction proceeding and not once does it make reference to an eviction being fairly carried out for justifiable reasons.
Order #8. That the City Manager is requested to work with the Community Development Department and the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) to explore the feasibility of designing the next iteration of the Cambridge Community Electricity program. Councillor Zondervan, Vice Mayor Devereux, Councillor Mallon, Councillor Siddiqui
If City intervention can land me a better deal on electricity, I’m all in. Otherwise, no thanks. – Robert Winters
This episode was broadcast on Jan 8, 2019 at 5:30pm. Topics: History; Political Trichotomy; Trees; Infrastructure & Inundation. Hosts: Judy Nathans, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]
This episode was broadcast on Jan 8, 2019 at 6:00pm. Topics: Significant passings; arts funding and earmarking; proposed Home Rule petition for a real estate transfer tax; and more. Hosts: Judy Nathans, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]
Snowmelt drains across “protected” bikeway on Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge
OK, spring is around the corner, so I’m a bit late with this post. But the issue I describe here will occur every year, at least until global warming puts an end to snows or converts central Cambridge into an extension of Boston Harbor.
The headline of the February 17 Boston Globe article with this picture is “Snowbank becomes accidental hero for area cyclists”.
The shiny area in the bikeway is meltwater from said snowbank. When the temperature drops below freezing, the meltwater becomes a sheet of black ice. This problem is unavoidable with a street-level barrier-separated bikeway. I discussed it at length years ago in connection with the 9th Avenue bikeway in Manhattan, a bikeway which, on the other hand, I have some nice things to say about.
Neither Steve Annear, author of the article, nor anyone quoted in it, makes any mention of the black-ice problem.
From the article: “’I like this snowbank-protected cycle track,’ Ari Ofsevit, a local cyclist, said on Twitter.” Ari usually ranges widely, imaginatively and thoughtfully in discussing transportation improvements his blog. I usually agree with him, but not in this case.
The article cites Joe Barr, of the City of Cambridge:
Barr acknowledged that the snow mound separating the bike lane and the road has offered a sense of protection to cyclists, but he said it could also be masking damage to the base of the flexible posts.
“We won’t know that until we get some more melting. But it certainly looks good on the street,” he said.
And Richard Fries, Executive Director of Massbike, commented: “It’s great. It won’t last that much longer, but it does help to hammer into people’s heads [road] patterns and driving habits,” he said. “Because it’s there, it makes the existing bike lane more visible to drivers and more prominent.”
Segregation promotes a sense of entitlement on the part of the majority group –in this case, motorists. How do I explain to horn-honking motorists that I have to ride in “their” travel lane, now narrowed to make room for the barrier, to avoid crashing on a sheet of black ice?
Or for that matter, to progress at my usual 15 miles per hour so I’m not stuck behind a cluster of bicyclists who are traveling at 8 miles per hour?
Or to avoid being right-hooked and crushed under the back wheels by a right-turning truck at Douglass Street?
Or that the rear-end collisions that this installation protects against are vanishingly rare on urban streets?
Or that parallel Harvard Street, Green Street and Franklin Street would serve admirably as low-stress through bicycle routes, if the city made the right kind of improvements?
Here’s my take on this week’s agenda:
Manager’s Agenda #3. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appointment of the following persons as a members of the Harvard Square Kiosk Working Group, effective Mar 27, 2017: Abra Berkowitz, Robyn Culbertson, Ankita Deshpande, Timothy Hyde, Janet Si-Ming Lee, Sarah Rosenkrantz, Daniel Andrew Schofield-Bodt, Kenneth Taylor, John DiGiovanni, Bertil JeanChronberg, Frank Kramer, Peter Kroon, Sohail Nasir, Abhishek Syal, Thomas Lucey and Mary Flynn
This is shaping up like a classic turf war and I hope these appointees can get beyond that. Personally, I would just like to see an active use for the Kiosk that’s not all about the tourists – a place where the locals want to gather. My ideal would be something like Sullivan’s at Castle Island in South Boston, but I don’t suppose the Old Cambridge crowd could ever tolerate that much humanity.
Manager’s Agenda #4. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the requirements of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) that the City Council adopt an order for the Statement of Interest Form to be submitted to MSBA no later than Apr 7, 2017 for the Tobin and Vassal Lane Upper School located at 197 Vassal Lane.
The Putnam Avenue School is done and the King Open and Cambridge Street Upper Schools are now under construction. This Statement of Interest concerns the next major renovation or replacement – the Tobin and Vassal Lane Upper School. Let’s hope there’s some state grant money available to help pay for the project.
Manager’s Agenda #11. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to a proposed ordinance related to the growth and maintenance of “Running Bamboo”.
Alternatively, we could import pandas. City officials are just so resistant to creative solutions.
Manager’s Agenda #12. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Numbers 16-64 and 17-9, regarding trash and recycling pick up for small businesses.
"DPW is proposing to expand the municipal recycling pick-up program on a trial basis to small businesses beginning in the spring/summer of 2018. It is proposed that this program will be made available to all small businesses throughout the City on a once per week basis, and will help reduce the cost to businesses in eliminating the need for them to contract with outside vendors as well as enabling the City to further increase the quantity of material diverted from the waste stream in the City. Funds are included in the FY18 budget to initiate the program."
Manager’s Agenda #14. Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the transfer of $1,000,000 from the Water Fund Other Ordinary Maintenance account to the Public Investment Fund Water Extraordinary Expenditures account to fund the replacement of water meters and meter transmitter units (MTUs).
Contained in the message is the following piece of good news: "In October 2016, the Council approved an appropriation to use $3.6 million from the Water Fund’s Fund Balance to purchase water from the MWRA to ensure an adequate supply of water to meet the needs of the community. The severity of the drought has lessened and the usable capacity in our reservoir system has stabilized. The City has not had to use MWRA water since the beginning of December and has only expended $1.6 million."
Manager’s Agenda #15. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to recommendations for the block rates for water consumption and sewer use for the period beginning Apr 1, 2017 and ending Mar 31, 2018.
According to the Manager’s report, the average triple-decker uses about 122 CCF of water per year. My triple-decker apparently uses nearly twice that and we’re generally pretty conscientious about water use. This past year I paid over $2850 and the report says the average for a triple-decker was $1590. Either something is amiss with the plumbing or the Manager’s figures or my water meter is reading a lot higher than it should. Actually, I just checked my records and it appears that the higher readings coincide with when the new meter was installed. Time to call the Water Department, I guess.
Order #1. City Council go on record urging the Governor to resist reducing funding for The Ride. Mayor Simmons
It’s stunning just how backwards things are in this state and, in particular, the Boston Metropolitan Area when it comes to public transportation. I don’t doubt that there are some efficiencies to be had with The Ride and other services, but this hardly seems the place to close a budget gap.
Order #3. That the City Manager is requested to consult with the Acting Police Commissioner with a view toward piloting a Cambridge Police outpost located in Carl Barron Plaza, to be ready for operation by Summer 2017. Mayor Simmons, Vice Mayor McGovern
What should really happen is for the City and the MBTA and a Central Square property owner to create a multi-function site that can house a police substation, an MBTA facility for bus drivers and other personnel, an information center, a public bathroom, and maybe even a newsstand. That, of course, would take coordination, so I won’t hold my breath.
Order #6. That the City of Cambridge opposes H.R. 482 and S. 103, and calls on its representatives in the House and Senate to vote against these bills, and to exert influence on other representatives to oppose these bills and support the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in all efforts to affirmatively further fair housing and collect data to assess the progress of fair housing initiatives and inclusiveness of its communities. Vice Mayor McGovern, Mayor Simmons
In addition to the many positive effects of the Fair Housing Act, there is also the unintended consequence that efforts to more equitably locate some social-service types of housing throughout the city have actually been hindered by this Act. There is no legal way to prevent the over-concentration of such facilities in a place like Central Square.
Order #7. That the City Council agenda be altered to create a section in the agenda between public comment and the City Manager’s agenda entitled “General Council Discussion,” where Councillors would be able to bring their colleagues up-to-date on projects in which they are engaged or ask for updates about projects that other Councillors are working on, even if these issues do not appear on the Council’s agenda or have never been the subject of formal City Council attention. Councillor Kelley, Councillor Devereux
In an ideal world, city councillors would actually be working on such projects collaboratively and in accordance with the Open Meeting Law via the various City Council subcommittees. If this were the case there would be no need to set aside a special time at City Council meetings to reveal what they’ve been doing out of public view.
Committee Report #1. A communication was received from Donna P. Lopez, City Clerk, transmitting a report from Councillor Dennis J. Carlone and Councillor Leland Cheung, Co-Chairs of the Ordinance Committee, for a public hearing held on Mar 16, 2017 to discuss a zoning petition filed by Richard Harding, et al., to amend the Mass + Main Residential sub district and the Central Square Overlay District by amending Sections 20.307.8.1 (a) and (b) and 20.307.6.2 (a).
Even if someone has lingering objections to the Mass+Main project, this is an absurd way to go about expressing those objections long after that train left the station. – Robert Winters
This episode was broadcast on Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at 5:30pm. The hosts are Judy Nathans and Robert Winters. [On YouTube]
This episode was broadcast on Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at 6:00pm. The hosts are Judy Nathans and Robert Winters. [On YouTube]
Much of the discussion in both episodes focused on the Cambridge Water System.
Join the Cambridge Water Department in celebrating the land, water, wildlife and people that make Cambridge’s Fresh Pond Reservation in Cambridge a unique and vital oasis at the 7th annual Fresh Pond Day. The festivities, hosted on the Reservation at 250 Fresh Pond Parkway will run from 11am-3pm and are open and free to all. Parking will be very limited at Fresh Pond Reservation; all visitors arriving by car are strongly encouraged to park at the Tobin School, 197 Vassal Lane.
Fresh Pond Day is for all ages. Highlights of the celebration will include: live music, children’s StoryWalk and storytime, face painting, stilt-walking, kids’ sing-along, wildlife and bicycle parades, container gardening, a live owl demonstration, fire truck and Reservation utility vehicles on exhibition, Reservation and water treatment facility tours, and a chance to meet and greet with City departments and community groups. Feel free to bring a picnic. Rain does cancel the event. For schedules, updates on weather, and volunteering, visit the Public Programs page at www.cambridgema.gov/water, or contact Kirsten Lindquist at (617) 349-6489, klindquist@cambridgema.gov.
Fresh Pond Reservation is readily accessible by public transit and bicycle; these “green” transportation options are strongly recommended. Bus routes #72, 75, 74 and 78 all stop within a 10 minute walk of the Reservation. To arrive by subway, take the Red Line to Alewife Station and walk down Alewife Brook Parkway past Fresh Pond Mall, then cross Concord Avenue into the Reservation. Ride a bicycle here by taking a right on Lakeview Avenue off of Brattle Street, crossing Fresh Pond Parkway to reach the bike path on the Reservation’s perimeter.
June 4, 2011 (evening) – The water pressure has returned for most of Cambridge after the major water main break at the corner of Broadway and Trowbridge Street. It’s not yet clear what exactly failed – the 30 inch main, a coupling, or something else, but it wiped out the water pressure for much of Cambridge for several hours – especially in the eastern half of the city. We’ll have to wait and see what the damage is to the new Main Library where the water flooded into the underground garage and, presumably, into at least some parts of the lower floors. They never lost power and had their pumps running, so hopefully much of the potential damage has been at least somewhat contained.
View westward along Broadway toward Trowbridge
The temporary moat in front of the new Main Library
CPD UPDATE: Residents on the even side of Broadway, from Goodman Street to Quincy Street, may be without water until approximately 7:00am tomorrow (Monday, June 6). Crews are working diligently to restore water to residents as soon as possible. http://bit.ly/iWfx1o
The Day After
Repairs Underway
The Brass Confer – City Engineer Owen O’Riordan, Deputy City Manager Rich Rossi, DPW Commissioner Lisa Peterson,
Water Department Managing Director Sam Corda (not sure who’s in the red shirt)
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