Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Boston City Council President Mike Ross on His Election

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This morning, I had the honor of being unanimously elected president of the Boston City Council.

On Boston Daily, I’ve written about what I plan to accomplish this year. The financial crisis is hitting Bostonians hard, and I will make sure the council does its part to keep the city on track during these trying times. I’ve proposed that the Council:

  • Tap into the area’s brain-trust by holding an economic summit, which will be comprised of leading business, non-profit, and economic leaders;
  • Hold several of its formal sessions in the community, at night, to allow greater public access to local government;
  • Make all Council documents available online.

I’m also proud to relaunch my website, mikerossboston.com. There you will find several new features, including a constituent request form and a Suggestion Box that residents can use to tell us what they love about Boston, and what they think the Council can do to improve the city. Every month, we’ll post the ten best suggestions or comments, even if we don’t agree with them.

Overcoming the challenges of today is a daunting task, but I can’t wait to get started. I look forward to hearing what you think about my proposals and what the year ahead holds for the city on both my website and in the comments here on Blue Mass Group.

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  1. I don’t live in Boston, but I could throw a baseball due east and hit Boston, drive a golf ball due south into Boston, and … if you got a sports metaphor for 1/2 mile, that’d be Boston to the north of me.

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    p>Here’s what I want to know: what is Boston doing to coordinate with neighboring cities and towns?  I’m thinking about things like bridges, parks on both sides of the line, bike lanes, streetscapes, etc.  It seems to me that residents all over Boston who happen to live near the city line often suffer from lesser infrastructure because projects along the boundaries often require extra coordination and, as a result, are passed up in favor of those which don’t require that additional layer of interaction.

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    p>An example close to my heart: bike lanes.  There’s one on Mass Ave in Cambridge and on the Mass Ave bridge.  As soon as it touches Boston soil, it disappears.  Instantly.  Not at the intersection with Beacon St, but immediately.  There’s a bike lane* heading north on Harvard St in Brookline, but it immediately disappears at the town/city line where the road becomes Harvard Ave.  Harvard Ave is certainly wide enough for bike lanes all the way to Brighton Ave [or past], but it hasn’t gotten done.  The DCR put in bike lanes along Perkins St near Jamaica Pond.  There are bike paths just north of the Muddy River terminating at Chestnut Circle, just in Boston.  Boston hasn’t managed to put in a bike lane for the one-tenth of a mile on it’s streets to connect these two facilities.

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    p>Now I recognize that it’s not as if Boston is ignoring these locations — Boston is miserable with respect to bike lanes everywhere.  But, it demonstrates how surrounding communities and agencies desire to improve the areas along the border and can’t seem to get Boston to work with them.

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    p>So, what is Boston doing to work with her neighbors on financially small local projects which happen to span both sides of the line?

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    p> * legally it’s a striped shoulder because it’s not quite wide enough, but all cyclists and all motorists treat it like a bike lane.

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