Michelle Wu Archives - WalkMassachusetts

Rally with Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu to build support for investing in transit service

By WalkMassachusetts | June 28, 2019

As WalkBoston testified at a MBTA Fare Proposal public hearing in February, the debate over increasing MBTA fares is a symptom of a much larger problem: how we fund transportation in Massachusetts is broken, and we fail to consider our transportation system as a whole.

MBTA riders are asked to pay more time and time again, yet the gas tax has only been increased once since 1991 (in 2013, by just 3 cents). Meanwhile our Regional Transit Authorities continue to struggle and our roads and bridges face significant funding gaps. We need to raise revenue across all travel modes to support the infrastructure needed for all travel modes.

Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu, Golden Shoe winner & annual meeting keynote speaker in 2017, is mobilizing riders, colleagues on the Boston City Council, councilors across the region, and lawmakers on Beacon Hill to build support for investing in transit service by leading two days of transit activism this Sunday, 6/30, and Monday, 7/1, in protest of the MBTA fare hikes taking place on Monday, July 1st. Her goal is to show strength in numbers of MBTA ridership–we can force political will to change if everyone just gets on the same page!

To get involved

If you’re interested, you can sign up at bit.ly/unfairhikes, or through the Facebook Event on Michelle’s Facebook here. You can also connect with her on Twitter or Instagram @wutrain.

Learn more

Boston Globe: Michelle Wu to protest MBTA fare hikes with volunteers at T stations

WBUR: Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu To Rally For A #BostonTParty

Letter Thanking MassDOT Secretary Pollack

By WalkMassachusetts | June 29, 2018

Re: Thank You for MassDOT’s thoughtful I-90 process and presentation

June 29, 2018

To: Stephanie Pollack
Cc: Rep. Kevin Honan, Rep. Michael Moran, Senator Sal DiDomenico, Senator William Brownsberger, Councilor Mark Ciommo, Councilor Michelle Wu, Katherine Fichter, Jonathan Gulliver, James Gillooly, Tad Read

Secretary Pollack,

Thank you very much for presenting and responding to questions at Wednesday night’s I-90 Allston Task Force meeting, and your follow up in the Boston Globe Opinion piece. We appreciate all the thoughtful planning by you and your team that is evident in your presentation.

We’re very excited! Your announcement of the Independent Review Team to analyze the throat options is a great way to proceed. We look forward to working with Jack Wright, Ilyas Bhatti, and the rest of the team to find how the at-grade design can be best accomplished. Your help to implement near-term improvements for transit, biking, and walking in Allston is also much appreciated.

And we certainly agree how West Station and the Malvern Street busway do need rail and bus service plans to accomplish the mission of serving the needs of regional commuters and local businesses & residents, and we will work with the Focus40 and Commuter Rail Vision as the process to discuss that service. However without their physical construction there can be no service. So because of the urgent need for better transit through Allston, we hope MassDOT will work with the Task Force on the design and implementation of an ADA-compliant, two-track, interim West Station and the Malvern Street busway for inclusion in the first phase of the project.

We also hope that the review of permitting issues will look at how MassDOT can permit a project that yields improvements for all modes and all parts of the project area – and not take the perspective that the simplest permitting path is the best.

Lastly, we look forward to working with Mike O’Dowd and his team on improving the Phase One design by designing and evaluating:

Rail yard flip
Cambridge St. Bypass Road
Lane reduction on Cambridge St. and its intersecting streets
“Unchoke the Throat” improvements to Charles River paths and parkland
Two-track Grand Junction Bridge over Soldiers Field Road
Ecological restoration of the Charles River edge

Again, thank you for your thoughtful and sincere approach to finding the best way forward for this impressive project, which truly is a generational opportunity for the Commonwealth.

Sincerely,

Galen Mook, MassBike
Harry Mattison, Charles River Conservancy
Wendy Landman, WalkBoston
Tony Lechuga, LivableStreets Alliance
Jessica Robertson, Allston Resident
Hazel Ryerson, Allston Resident
Anthony D’Isidoro, Allston Civic Association
Jason Desrosier, Allston Brighton CDC
Emma Walters, Allston Village Main Streets
Frederick Salvucci

Curbed – How multimodal city councilor Michelle Wu gets around Boston

By WalkMassachusetts | May 9, 2018

Curbed: “How multimodal city councilor Michelle Wu gets around Boston”
by Alissa Walker

After the budget meeting, we have a Vision Zero briefing from the coalition of community groups, with leaders from Livable Streets, WalkBoston, and the Boston Cyclists Union. Vision Zero refers to the city’s commitment to eliminate pedestrian and cyclist fatalities and serious injuries from crashes with cars. It’s about the principle that our infrastructure choices directly determine how safe it is to get around the city.

The briefing focuses on equity needs—bus service is still congested and unpredictable, but it’s the only affordable option for many of our residents, particularly in communities of color. We can and must do more at the city level to prioritize bus service and improve multimodal options. Mayor Marty Walsh made a big investment in this year’s proposed budget for staffing and resources to improve infrastructure and transit. We all can’t wait to see these passed and implemented!

Posted May 9, 2018

Congrats to this year’s Golden Shoe Award Winners!

By WalkMassachusetts | March 30, 2017

As presented at this year’s annual event on March 29, 2017

See the list of all time winners:
https://walkmass.org/events/goldenshoe-award

Alison Pultinas | Persistent, effective Mission Hill/Roxbury citizen activist
Alison Pultinas is a leading Mission Hill activist and a key member of the Friends of Melnea Cass Boulevard. Alison has been a guiding hand for the design of the Melnea Cass roadway as it has evolved from a roadway widening project to a Complete Street. Throughout the five-year advocacy effort, Alison has been persistent and effective, providing key institutional memory, recalling comment letters sent and informal decisions reached.
Alison is a strong advocate for development that is not dependent upon automobiles. She is a key ally of WalkBoston and consistently encourages WalkBoston to attend meetings and to respond to projects, like the proposed Tremont Crossing mixed-use development. She keeps watch over several of the outdoor stairways which connect walking routes on the hilly landscape of Mission Hill, cleaning and shoveling when needed. Alison is happy to report that the reconstruction of the Hayden Street Stairs, a City of Boston Public Works project, is upcoming. She also writes for the monthly community newspaper, The Fenway News, with a focus on development and historic preservation issues.

Sarah Bankert, Healthy Hampshire | Rural walking advocate in Western Massachusetts
Sarah Bankert conceived of the Route 202 – Common to Courthouse Corridor Study in Belchertown, which brought together municipal staff, Belchertown seniors, and economic development entities to work toward a shared goal of a safer, higher quality walking experience along Route 202. Sarah and her team’s efforts attracted the attention of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Design & Resiliency Team (DART) who conducted a multi-day workshop which resulted in a “Three Villages & A Farm: Belchertown Beyond” case study report. She is also leading efforts to improve health and walkability in 14 towns in Hampshire County as part of the MDPH 1422 grant.

Caitlin Marquis, Healthy Hampshire | Rural walking advocate in Western Massachusetts
Caitlin Marquis has been a committed voice for incorporating physical activity – particularly walking – into town-wide planning efforts in Williamsburg. She contributed to the formation of the Facilities Master Plan Committee, plays an advisory role with seniors at the Williamsburg Council on Aging, and promotes healthy food choices at the local town center market. Her efforts demonstrate how walkability permeates so many aspects of the daily lives of Williamsburg residents. Caitlin also works to improve health and walkability in 14 towns in Hampshire County as part of the MDPH 1422 grant.

Dillon Sussman, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission | Rural walking advocate in Western Massachusetts Dillon Sussman, a land use planner at the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC), has also brought walkability to the rural towns of Hampshire County. Dillon conducted a Health Aging and Community Design regulatory review in Williamsburg and directed the town’s Facilities Master Planning efforts. He also authored the adaptation of PVPC’s Healthy Community Design Tool-Kit to include age-friendly design elements that are applicable across the Commonwealth.

Michelle Wu, Boston City Council President
Boston City Council President Michelle Wu has elevated the conversation about walking (and bicycling and transit) at the City Council, in City Hall, and among many Bostonians. Her proactive efforts to reach out to WalkBoston and many of our fellow activists about the importance of making Boston safer for people walking in the City has helped keep active transportation efforts alive in Boston. Partnership with Councilor Wu is particularly powerful as we work with many City departments, grassroots organizations and residents to implement Vision Zero.

————————————————————————————————
Join WalkBoston’s Mailing List to keep up to date on advocacy issues.

Like our work? Support WalkBoston – Donate Now!
Connect with us on Twitter and Facebook