March Update: Vernon Connected Events and Vision Zero

Hello Worcester Strong Towners! Our next general meeting is this Saturday, March 7th, from 4pm-5:30pm. This meeting will be held in person at Technocopia at 44 Portland Street (please use the furthest door to the left and the intercom – you’ll need to scroll to Technocopia on the touchscreen to call up). We will be discussing Worcester’s Now | Next Plan together and in small groups. In addition, if you are able, we think it would be great if those attending would consider bringing a food item for the community fridge located just outside the Printers’ Building on Portland Street! You can find information about the “Woo Fridges” here.

Post-Meeting Social: After the meeting, we’ll be continuing the conversation (casually!) at the Cocktail Garden and Kitchen, at 64 Franklin Street. Everyone is welcome to join!

Bus Benches: Our next bus bench meeting will be March 9th at 5:30 PM at Technocopia, focused on brainstorming the initiative going forward.

February Recap: Thank you to everyone for attending our February meeting. Although we had to switch to Discord because of the snow, we had a great conversation. Nathan Lewis presented on the Vernon Connected initiative (more on that below!), and we figured we would spend some time talking about the things in Worcester that we love!

New Website: Also… VISIT OUR NEW WEBSITE! You can find it at strongtownsworcester.org!

Action Items

City Council: If you’re curious about what Worcester’s City Council (or any of its other public commissions) is doing, you can view upcoming agendas and all of its other files here (just look for City Council under “Meeting Title” on the left). City Council meets most Tuesdays during the year at 6:30 PM, and you can watch in person or online.

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.

  • You can learn more about Vernon Connected here. There is also a new Vernon Connected survey, located at that link.
  • If you’ve ever encountered an issue with the transportation network in this area, you can add a marker to this interactive map to bring the project team’s attention to it.
  • There are several Vernon Connected events in March: a coffee chat at the Worcester Senior Center (128 Providence St) on “How I-290 Reshaped a Neighborhood” (March 4, 10:30 AM–12 PM); a keynote from Jeff Speck, author of Walkable City, titled “Walking Through the Past, Present, and Future” at the BrickBox Theater at the Jean McDonough Arts Center (20 Franklin St) on Thursday, March 19, 6–8 PM (registration required — you can do so here); and “Remembering and Imagining a Vernon Connected,” an exhibition and workshop at Girls Inc. of Worcester (125 Providence St) on March 25, 6–8 PM.

Vision Zero: The Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission (CMRPC) is developing a Regional Vision Zero Action Plan (Regional Safe Streets for All), covering all of central and southern Worcester County. CMRPC is looking for feedback in the development of the plan.

  • There is a short survey here to help CMRPC identify and prioritize projects across the region meant to eliminate fatalities on the region’s roadways.
  • There is also a concern mapper (here) where you can specifically identify areas on the map where you have mobility concerns (like a dangerous intersection, or areas where biking is dodgy, for example).
  • There is a public meeting being held via Zoom on March 17th at 5:30 PM, covering Berlin, Boylston, Northborough, Shrewsbury, Westborough, and Worcester. You can register for that meeting here.

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! If you’re capable, and live near a bus stop, we’d love to see some community help shoveling them out. If you do, post a picture in our discord, or tag us on social media, so that we can share.

A few weeks ago, Worcester’s Department of Transportation and Mobility (DTM) held a public session to present a redesign of the Newton Square roundabout and the half-mile of Highland Street in front of Doherty High School. There are currently two proposed redesigns of Highland Street. We highly recommend calling (508-929-1300, ext 49500) or emailing DTM and politely advocating for Alternative 1: the Separated Bike Lane. We still have a chance for our voices to be heard in the continued construction of a Worcester bike network!

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

What are we watching? What are we reading?

Check out this newsletter about road “lane-feet” in Albuquerque – and let’s think about how that might translate to Worcester.

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.