July Update: A Look Back at Our Walk Audit, and the Worcester Bike Party

Hello Worcester Strong Towners! Our next general meeting is Saturday, July 11th, at 4 PM. Meet at Technocopia, at 44 Portland St. This meeting, we’ll be casually chatting about the city, upcoming opportunities, and Strong Towns in general.

June Recap: Thank you to everyone for attending our June meeting. We conducted a walk audit of Southbridge Street and Francis McGrath Boulevard – and found that the whole area really needs a lot of work to be truly walkable. One participant noted that the area was “Loud, Hot, and Dangerous,” while others noted the contrast between the Common with the rest of the walk. There were few benches along the route. Heavy traffic made it difficult to cross anywhere; and where there were crosswalks, many struggled with sight lines around corners, giving cars very little time to stop. Another note was that the area is full of vacant lots. In other words, the streets we walked are hostile to pedestrians and other vulnerable road users, serving cars and people zipping through – and little else. While the Coney Island block and the Common were pleasant, the rest of our route was rough. There’s a lot of work to be done, and this is most certainly not the only area in Worcester like this.

Action Items

City Council: Worcester’s City Council is not meeting July 7th or July 14th. You can view the upcoming agendas and all of its other files here (just look for City Council under “Meeting Title” on the left).

Also of note: on June 16, the City Council passed the City’s first $1 billion budget. They made no changes to the budget the City Manager provided – don’t forget, the Council can only reduce, not increase or reallocate, line items in the budget. The Council has not, in any recent years, made any alterations to the budget. Education makes up more than 60% of the budget, and state aid earmarked for education is the City’s largest revenue source.

Worcester Bike Party: On the last Friday of July and August (July 31st and August 28th), Worcester Earn-a-Bike is hosting the Worcester Bike Party! Meet at the Worcester Common at 8 PM. All riders and bikes welcome.

Vernon Connected: This is a planning effort regarding the future of the Vernon Street Bridge and the surrounding neighborhoods. These are neighborhoods that were separated by I-290 decades ago, and this is an opportunity to reconnect them.

Regional Pedestrian Plan: The Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission (CMRPC) is beginning work on updating its Regional Pedestrian Plan. Take its survey to make your voice heard on your walking experience in Central Massachusetts!

WRTA Bus Tracker: If you didn’t know, the Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA) released an updated bus tracker online. Use it here.

Call to Action! We’re putting out feelers for any Strong Towns members who would be open to going to City boards and commissions meetings – especially those most related to Strong Towns interests (such as the Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Appeals). Let’s get that conversation started on our Discord!

Ongoing Efforts

Social Media

We have an Instagram, a Discord, a Facebook group, a Facebook page, and a Bluesky. We’d love to see you there and hear your thoughts! If you have any pictures or other Worcester-specific content you’d like us to post, please share!

Thank you for your continued interest! We look forward to bringing you more in the future.