November Update: Elections, Transit, and Housing
November Update: Elections, Transit, and Housing
Hello Worcester Strong Towners!
Next Meeting: Our next meeting is this Saturday, December 13th, from 4pm-5:30pm at Technocopia at 44 Portland Street (please use the furthest door to the left and the intercom). Our focus for this meeting will be working through and beginning to plan our priority campaigns for 2026.
Action Items
City Council Elections: City council elections are this fall! The general election is November 4th, so if you have not voted yet, you still have time!
Here is a website you can use to find your polling location; polls will be open from 7am to 8pm. If you don’t know who is running, here is a resource to help get you up to speed.
Candidate Questionnaire: The Worcester Urban Planning Partnership, of which Strong Towns Worcester is a member, has released a city council candidate questionnaire for the November election. We are getting the word out that housing, land use planning, transportation, and mobility are on the ballot this year! If you’re interested in how candidates responded, please take a look.
WRTA Survey: The Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA) currently has a survey open for a comprehensive service analysis project which will help shape bus service in Worcester and surrounding communities in the upcoming years. You can take the survey here!
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.
Transit Meeting: The Transit for Worcester Coalition will be hosting a community meeting on December 3 at 6 PM regarding establishing a bus rapid transit system in Worcester. Bus rapid transit enables faster busing through dedicated bus lanes and other infrastructure improvements. The meeting will be held at the Worcester Main Library, 3 Salem Street, and you can get more information and RSVP here: https://www.linkedin.com/events/movingworcesterforward7389095389276172288/
Leadership Roles: If you are interested in a Strong Towns Worcester leadership role of any kind over the next year, please contact strongtowns.worcester@gmail.com. This can be for the whole year or to be on call for events and initiatives.
Updates
The Strong Towns national organization has begun to release toolkits for a “Housing-Ready City.” These include “Six Policies that will Make Your Town Housing Ready” and “How Cities Can Grow an Ecosystem of Incremental Developers.” Take a look here!
Ongoing Efforts
- We continue to advocate for the Now|Next Plan, the Vision Zero Safety Action Plan, the Mobility Action Plan, and the Housing Production Plan.
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.