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