By Karen Glover

MBTA BOARD OF DIRECTORS CO-CHAIR, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF QUINCY, THE HONORABLE THOMAS P. KOCH, WHOLEHEARTEDLY SUPPORTS THE ONGOING EFFORTS OF ALL SOMERVILLE CITIZENS TO SAVE ALL VITAL BUS ROUTES!

Finally, a glimmer of hope!…The Somerville Bus Riders Take Action! Committee received a letter from the Office of The Honorable Thomas P. Koch, Mayor of The City of Quincy, MA, who also hold the Office of Co-Chair of the MBTA Board of Directors. We are most grateful to receive this letter. Mayor Koch strongly indicates that he will be keeping a watchful eye on the MBTA’s Redesign Projects to make sure his city of Quincy, The City of Somerville and other communities will not be adversely affected and suffer repercussions by any ill-conceived ideas. Oftentimes, after citizens express strong opposition to proposed changes, courtesy letters are written by politicians, etc. to acknowledge the efforts if the citizenry. In the case of this letter, the tone far surpasses that of the typical standard courtesy letter. Thankfully, Mayor Koch expresses an additional concern for the fate of small businesses from curtailed and/or cancelled bus routes. In Somerville, we are deeply concerned for the fate of small businesses due not only to the pressing bus issue, but, in addition, because of the determination of our city government officials to eliminate massive amounts of parking spaces in their blatant zeal to radically reduce the number of cars in our city…no parking spaces, no cars, no customers parking to frequent small business…so goodbye to small businesses! We can see with our own eyes the ever-increas-
ing citywide bike lanes! The mayor, along with Brad Rawson, are redefining Somerville in accordance with their dream of a car free eutopia, featuring a population of carefree, blissful bicycle riders. Their dream is a spin-off of the original dream of X-mayor Joseph Curtatone. Ironically. Curtatone is seldom, if ever, seen riding a bicycle.
Due to this common interest of saving small businesses as well as our bus routes, we have immediately extended several invitations to Mayot Koch, his Staff and The Quincy City Council to view this Wednesday’s, Oct.19th virtual meeting to be conducted by Mayor Ballantyne and her city staff in their attempts to minimize their purposeful elimination of city parking spaces to the satisfaction of the very loud bike interest groups, and somehow brainwash us to agree that their actions will have no effect whatsoever on the continued success of longtime businesses, but in actually, will quickly drive them all out of business!
It’s ironic and frightening that Brad Rawson, The Director of
The Somerville Mobility Division of Strategic Planning & Community Development, is the liason and advisor to the members of The MBTA Bus Redesign Team, considering he is anti car ownership and against the flourishing of Somerville small businesses. It’s obvious from his recent Presentation at Clarendon Hill Towers, that he exercises too much authority over these MBTA members…as they express themselves, he’s constantly correcting them, etc…and telling “us folks” how “we’re all in this together…we might lose some bus routes, but we have to sacrifice to prop up our neighbors in Chelsea?…We are not in this together Brad, you are in it for yourself! Brad is trying to make a name for himself by reconfiguring this city every which way…then he’ll ride off on his bicycle to another city, another job, a big promotion, and create his version of another euphoric bicycle etopia.
Brad Rawson
radical agenda will prove incompatible with the perhaps good intentions of the MBTA Bus Redesign Team and The MBTA Board of Directors. We are extending additional invitations, to be made public in this newspaper next week, to Mayor Koch so he and The MBTA Board of Directors can make the most well-informed decisions on behalf of all the bus riders and all the citizens of Somerville, MA.