RestoreBroadway Movement as of Friday
What started as a rough unknowing tiny protest a very short while ago has grown very quickly in a very short time. This is due to the fact that the city made a boo boo and decided to implement a plan that was not ready.
We had streets closed down and bridges and things needed to be restored to working order to work on Broadway. Which by the way was not a problem until the city helped. People have been joining in the fight at a record rate having their lives and their pursuit of happiness just suddenly robbed from them.
Traffic sitting and polluting the air. Intersections blocked. Bus lanes with hardly any buses using it. Bike lanes with an occasional bike And I will say it again, everything was running smoothly before this. What has changed is that there has become a huge problem with the small businesses in this area. Every business I have visited to date is suffering, one man used to have 30 customers a day and now has 5.
The new building had their parking taken away from that building. The hairdresser just moved from Union Square because they lost their parking. Now again they lose it right after investing this money to start over. You have to wonder if this is done on purpose! Mama Lisa business is down. I am hearing from people who are now avoiding Winter Hill.
I can understand that. I avoid sections of Somerville myself. And the problem is our fearless leaders now think that now traffic is down once they screw it up and no one goes there anymore they think they did their job. Look around at the empty stores. They are laying off help. It is not working! They will tell you it is working by digging out their computer with a lot of gibberish. Seriously?
They think we are all stupid? Election day is coming, now is the time to tell them or be stuck with even more of this. Watch the council meeting. They start the meeting with the pursuit of happiness! Seriously? They expect us to believe that they believe it? We are now having a number of the political figures in Somerville now coming in to back and support this movement.
Although not everyone agrees with me my belief is this election will make a huge difference in our movement. The current administration to me has not shown any interest in what we the people want. Many won’t even speak out to help undo the wrongs here. Send a big message Tuesday. Join our newsletter at restorebroadway@gmail.com sign our petition at change.org look for restore broadway.
I know adding the stores makes it a bit different but it is a side effect of the original problem. And our hope is everyone will pour in as much support as possible. We are not asking for money and as yet have no expectation of doing so. The only thing I would like to ask is for some sign holding help. I am having hip surgery in March and I cannot spend as much time as I would like to on Broadway.
I can make maybe 2 hours sometimes more when I take medication. I have a good time talking to people and watching for what is going on. No special times or how long. Thank you. Bear in mind the growth of this so big and rapid is now showing we are serious. It is not stopping and neither are we. And I am not anti bike. The bus lanes for now, yes. Until such time as they will properly work here. I speak my mind here and I do it honestly.
I just wanted to clarify that we have not shifted the slightest from the original protest, just incorporated what I now believe to be part of the same problem.
Thank you very much,
Arthur Moore
I think a list of all those in Somerville politics, who agreed to these roadway changes (esp. on Broadway) should have their names listed so we as voters know who NOT to re-elect.
I applaud you, Arthur, for taking the initiative on this. Nothing short of the complete restoration of Broadway to its former configuration will suffice. I’ve seen a few boo-boos made in the past by our municipal elected leaders, but this one wins the Gold Medal. It can and MUST be corrected. If it takes action at the ballot box to do so, well then I guess that’s what it’s going to take. I take my politicians one at a time and NO ONE is “entitled” to my vote. I pay my taxes, pay my bills, love my neighbors, old and new, and just generally do what I can to make Somerville a better place. I love it here and don’t have any plans to pull up stakes any time soon. Not to say I never will, but not now.
City life entails a lot of compromise and a certain amount of patience. I can handle the road closures such as Ball Square and Union Square due to the long-term public benefits they will endure, but to summarily remove 50% of a busy roadway and assign it to less than 5% of the vehicles that use it is just plain stupid in my opinion (and, apparently, in the opinion of many others).
Carry on. Somerville leads the way!
Thank you Bill. Obviously there is a new way of doing things now. I grew up being taught when I make a mistake is not shameful to admit it and you corrected your mistakes. I have done this myself on jobs which ended up costing my money to do the job but when I went home I knew I did the right thing. This infuriates me all the more as they have already admitted it and then they have the nerve to tell us we have to learn to live with it. Is nobody learning any ethics anymore? Do they actually sleep at night knowing what they did? Jack Connolly will be standing with me now as he has similar problems in his area so he is understanding at least. So Jack went on my vote for list now.
We support you .good work I also avoid the area it’s not necessary to have bus lanes there they worked fine without the red.paint it black Rolling Stones