3 murders in last week prompts Council public safety debate; Louijeune raises q's about civilian flaggers; Culpepper gets support for suspensions at Suffolk Co. Sheriff office; Wu talks street safety
Two comments - First, ten boston homicides past 35 days unlike any stretch since summer 2020.
And regarding Durkan's commentary on safety, the pedestrian first approach she touts while advocating for cyclists can be later utilized as a push back to bike folks when they want a protected bike lane on Charles St or other more pedestrian oriented corridors.
Listening to the Mayor's interview about street safety on WBUR and reading her 7/24/26 letter, it seems pretty clear that Durkan's docket and speech should be viewed as the Mayor's Council ally advancing the administration's policy priorities. Both street safety dockets this week are inspired by the Mayor and seem to ensure that whenever Durkan eventually holds a street safety hearing at the Planning Committee, mayoral priorities can crowd out issues pushed by activists and other interests.
To the point re:pedestrians, the street safety debate in Boston under Wu has always been very narrowly focused on bike and bus lanes, and lacked any wider view of rethinking of city-owned streets. That is best seen in City Hall's lack of curb management and public realm activation policies and actions.
On curb management the City hasn't grappled with how deal with the post-COVID surge of deliveries and hasn't launched any Taiwan-style trash collection. The delivery app insurance ordinance is the only policy action City Hall has taken, and that isn't curb management.
For public realm activation, the lack of public consumption zones outside downtown really underscores the failure of City Hall to push World Cup celebrations into the neighborhoods, which had been a big talking point for more than a year prior. The lack of public consumption zones also highlights the announced budget cuts to Open Streets, and points toward that program failing to fulfill its promise.
Also, outdoor dining permits numbers appear down compared to last year.
Two comments - First, ten boston homicides past 35 days unlike any stretch since summer 2020.
And regarding Durkan's commentary on safety, the pedestrian first approach she touts while advocating for cyclists can be later utilized as a push back to bike folks when they want a protected bike lane on Charles St or other more pedestrian oriented corridors.
Listening to the Mayor's interview about street safety on WBUR and reading her 7/24/26 letter, it seems pretty clear that Durkan's docket and speech should be viewed as the Mayor's Council ally advancing the administration's policy priorities. Both street safety dockets this week are inspired by the Mayor and seem to ensure that whenever Durkan eventually holds a street safety hearing at the Planning Committee, mayoral priorities can crowd out issues pushed by activists and other interests.
To the point re:pedestrians, the street safety debate in Boston under Wu has always been very narrowly focused on bike and bus lanes, and lacked any wider view of rethinking of city-owned streets. That is best seen in City Hall's lack of curb management and public realm activation policies and actions.
On curb management the City hasn't grappled with how deal with the post-COVID surge of deliveries and hasn't launched any Taiwan-style trash collection. The delivery app insurance ordinance is the only policy action City Hall has taken, and that isn't curb management.
For public realm activation, the lack of public consumption zones outside downtown really underscores the failure of City Hall to push World Cup celebrations into the neighborhoods, which had been a big talking point for more than a year prior. The lack of public consumption zones also highlights the announced budget cuts to Open Streets, and points toward that program failing to fulfill its promise.
Also, outdoor dining permits numbers appear down compared to last year.