another instance of small/local businesses benefitting from more pedestrian infrastructure (in this case literally an entire roadway closing)
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/u...
@eric4brookline.bsky.social
Dad of 2 PSB kids, Town Meeting Member Precinct 8 ("the fightin' 8th"), Shared Mobility Advisory Committee, Entrepreneur, Musician, Oberlin & Temple Alum
another instance of small/local businesses benefitting from more pedestrian infrastructure (in this case literally an entire roadway closing)
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/u...
@samjmintz.bsky.social would be down to write something data-focused on the myriad positive impacts that better/safer bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure has for residents, homeowners, visitors, and business owners
misinformation, exceptionalism, and misconception abound in these discussions
lmk
in 2023 7,314 people were killed by someone driving their precious car or truck into them (preliminary numbers for 2024 show a consistent trend)
an attempt to find the corresponding statistic for pedestrians killed by bicycles yields little traction but is almost certainly fewer than 5 per year
not that it should effing matter, because housing values are not among our god given rights, but multiple studies have shown that proximity to bicycle infrastructure increases residential property value, because of course it does!
trec.pdx.edu/sites/defaul...
the eagerness of people to willfully ignore both reason and data when discussing bicycle infrastructure is incredibly galling..
making a dangerous street safer for bikes, pedestrians, public transit riders, and drivers is good for everyone
smh
brookline.news/heated-neigh...
Coolidge corner, Fenway, timeout come to mind (probably just not enough stations in those areas?)
17.05.2025 23:38 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0Yeh theyβd have to invest in bikes that have cable locks built in (like dc has done)
17.05.2025 21:45 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0have been using Boston and Brooklineβs mostly excellent @ridebluebikes.bsky.social system lately
by far the biggest issue with the network is your desired destination having no spots when you arrive
why not adopt DCβs policy of a $2 fee to park at a public bike rack?
what a nice day for a picnic in the Coolidge Corner Park, you know the one behind the thea-- oh wait it's a giant parking lot
very excited to reimagine this space!!
www.brooklinema.gov/3895/Centre-...
nailed it
trynna slow em down and make it less terrifying to ride bikes sir π«‘
wen toby sillman newsletter
brookline.news/re-meet-the-...
πΏ
25.04.2025 16:48 β π 3 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0excited for this release
increasingly convinced cars are terrible in almost every way
www.lifeaftercars.com
proud to endorse Michael Rubenstein for Select Board
among many other reasons, he's the only candidate who voted in favor of Brookline's mbta communities act compliance (and even led the Yes! In Brookline campaign that supported it)
happy voting!
town hero of the week explains why bike lanes and vision zero are good for our neighborhoods (and why disingenuous cries of foul play are just that)
brookline.news/re-what-to-k...
wen betting market for whether heβs even read the declaration of independence
16.03.2025 13:42 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0this is simultaneously so scary and depressing I almost can't believe they're doing it but then I remember it's them
bsky.app/profile/evan...
I'm a parent with school kids, how come my hard earned property taxes are going to the council on aging and the senior center? /s
26.02.2025 19:31 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0how come I have to pay taxes for this whole fire department that's just saving OTHER people's houses? /s
26.02.2025 19:31 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0why am I paying taxes for all these damn traffic lights on roads I never use? /s
26.02.2025 19:31 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0π¨π¨town grump on the week alertπ¨π¨
sir we live in a society
rationalize it however you want
the reality is our FY26 plan puts the schools in financial peril while preserving nearly all town staffing and projects
we can and must work together to do better for our kids, our teachers, and our schools
Do you think an amendment is the best approach to having that conversation tho?
From what Iβve seen, budget amendments from TMMs are not well received by town staff, select board, or advisory committee, presumably because theyβve created the financial plan by that point.. is there a better way?
*FY 26 budget is more like $456 million
stories.opengov.com/brooklinema/...
if Town Meeting were presented 2 budgets for FY 26 (total budget of ~$440 million)
one that gave the Schools $6 million more (1.35% of the total) at the expense of non-school departments, which one would you vote for?
followup question, why doesn't Town Meeting get to make such a choice?
nice read summarizing how "in study after study, in city after city" small business owners' opposition to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure has proved misplaced
www.vox.com/future-perfe...
claps for Cambridge for doing the right thing here
..so many rebuttals to choose from..
going with: should have referred this to the comprehensive planning committee
ha, do we just call them posts?
07.02.2025 17:20 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0how many things in one blorp?
more money for schools, more houses and apartments, more speed humps, better T stops, more bike lanes, fewer cars going slower, more buses & trains, social workers not SROs, fewer more-accountable representatives, broader reproductive rights, athletics for all