Scott KilcoyneEstimating total votes at ~27.5k (based on number of precincts reporting and current vote count), it looks like Sumbul has already hit the threshold to be elected
darren is Not Going Back@scooooooott Joan Pickett lying there in ninth us keeping me from sleep
Ari Ofsevit@scooooooott @bikepedantic I wonder how close it was for #9.
Christopher Schmidt@Ofsevit @scooooooott @bikepedantic it was absolutely not even close; like 600 votes. Thumbs up to the lefty crew for the fight, but there just isn’t room for two left lane candidates in Cambridge without a 25% increase in that electorate.
Utherp@crschmidt @Ofsevit @scooooooott @bikepedantic Apologies for my ignorance here but how bad is this gonna be for bike (and housing) supporters?
@utherp @crschmidt @Ofsevit @bikepedantic there are enough supporters for both (better for housing), that we shouldn't have policy whiplash and there might even be some real progress, but also probably need to be prepared for some real fights to keep it that way.
@utherp @crschmidt @Ofsevit @bikepedantic
The optimistic view is the CSO exists already, so bike supporters are just fighting for a form of status quo. Until it's complete, I think that's our main focus, but a weak majority might be enough.
Housing has a better council and has more new policies they are pushing for, so they need the better council to actually get things through the processes.
@scooooooott @utherp @Ofsevit @bikepedantic Yeah, I think this is right. Nolan was somewhat soft on her support in this election cycle, and there's no strong prediction of exactly how Wilson will govern on Council, but I would say this council is very unlikely to move forward with massive CSO expansion, but also unlikely to significantly reduce the CSO.
On the housing front, this is a great Council to have.
Danny Hidalgo@crschmidt @scooooooott @utherp @Ofsevit @bikepedantic Agree. While Quinton has been better of late, replacing him with Jivan is a significant upgrade on housing.
@dhidalgo @crschmidt @scooooooott @utherp @bikepedantic
Yeah Quinton was a ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ on housing.
Jivan replaces Alanna as good on housing / good on bikes.
Pickett replaces CARlone as bad/bad.
And Ayesha had basically no stated policies on her website and was endorsed by ABC and CCC so … lord knows. So we go from QZ (¯\_(ツ)_/¯ / good) to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ / ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
@Ofsevit @crschmidt @scooooooott @utherp @bikepedantic Ayesha more unknown true, but she said she would have voted for AHO expansion and had ABC affiliated folks as key campaign advisors. So I’m fairly confident that the CCC won’t be happy with her future housing votes.
@Ofsevit @crschmidt @scooooooott @utherp @bikepedantic But on bikes, yeah really hard to know how Ayesha will vote.
@Ofsevit @dhidalgo @scooooooott @utherp @bikepedantic At the end of the night, when all the votes were counted, I heard Suzanne Blier commenting on the outcome to another CCC member: what she said was "Well, at least we got Joan."
So I think that the CCC feel the same way I do: That Ayesha was not going to be someone who they were going to be happy with. (I think their endorsement was strategic for their slate, nothing else.)
@crschmidt @Ofsevit @dhidalgo @scooooooott @utherp Cambridge St PBLs will be the sacrificial lamb, no way two borderline folks like Wilson and Nolan support wholesale paid-parking removal. And Mass Ave 4 design will absolutely get watered down - PBLs might survive, but bus lanes?
Joan Liu@bikepedantic @crschmidt @Ofsevit @dhidalgo @scooooooott @utherp mbta did request mass ave to be bus transit priority, so hopefully the bus lanes stay/get completed
@inliuofjoan @crschmidt @Ofsevit @dhidalgo @scooooooott @utherp i will absolutely be advocating for them, but it's a tough sell when MBTA is cutting service everywhere. Most of the local community impact from Mass Ave 4 is going to be from changes necessitated from the bus lanes, not the PBLs, and I'm finding that the improvement to existing meh service isn't a compelling counterargument.
@inliuofjoan @crschmidt @Ofsevit @dhidalgo @scooooooott @utherp Big latent advocacy for better school bus performance though. If CPSD could/would speak up and bring some numbers on how bus lanes help reliability of school bus service, you'd see parents coming out of the woodwork.
@bikepedantic @inliuofjoan @Ofsevit @dhidalgo @scooooooott @utherp yeah, i know that "bus lanes are always empty" is kind of a 'Yes, that's the point', but the MBTA does not make it easy to advocate for them with current service along northern Mass Ave.
Maybe new management + the new success with hiring bus operators can turn around the trend a little bit.
@crschmidt @bikepedantic @Ofsevit @dhidalgo @scooooooott @utherp Cambridge can also do better to keep the bus lanes clear - it's pretty difficult for a bus operator to merge into a lane, so they will opt to stay in a regular travel lane if they think they'll have trouble merging later. it's bad for optics, but stressful for them if they don't do it.
@inliuofjoan @crschmidt @Ofsevit @dhidalgo @scooooooott @utherp tempted to post my gallery of 311 submittals for City Paint 8:30AM blockages
@bikepedantic @crschmidt @Ofsevit @dhidalgo @scooooooott @utherp if Mass Ave is wide-enough, center-running bus lanes are preferred - turns out cars don't block them as often.
@inliuofjoan Could, but it takes a lot more width at the intersections. would be a zero sum game between parking and PBLs, and intersections would be tough to even continue bike lanes on the approaches where there's a stop. @crschmidt @Ofsevit @dhidalgo @scooooooott @utherp
😀🚲@inliuofjoan @crschmidt @bikepedantic @Ofsevit @dhidalgo @scooooooott @utherp do they not have a legally binding yield sign and a camera on the back?
@enobacon @crschmidt @bikepedantic @Ofsevit @dhidalgo @scooooooott @utherp definitely a camera on the back, but not sure about a yield sign. We have front-facing cameras and a legal obligation not to park in bus stops and that hasn't stopped that behavior.
@inliuofjoan @crschmidt @bikepedantic @Ofsevit @dhidalgo @scooooooott @utherp you probably have a state law that protects drivers from being held accountable by anyone except police, need to legalize bus camera based ticketing.
@enobacon @inliuofjoan @crschmidt @bikepedantic @Ofsevit @dhidalgo @utherp there's a bill for automated enforcement in the statehouse, but I don't have high hopes it gets thru. It also doesn't include bus cameras. (supposedly the governor/T will be proposing that separately)
@streetsblogmass https://mass.streetsblog.org/2023/10/30/legislatures-latest-attempt-for-automated-traffic-enforcement-is-missing-the-bus
Legislature's Latest Attempt for Automated Traffic Enforcement Is Missing the Bus - Streetsblog Massachusetts
For the third year in a row, lawmakers are attempting to legalize automated traffic enforcement cameras that would slap speeding drivers and red-light runners with $25 fines. The latest attempt, House bill 3383, describes itself as a “pilot” program that would allow only 10 cities and towns across the Commonwealth to install cameras on school […]
DemonHusky@bikepedantic @crschmidt @Ofsevit @dhidalgo @scooooooott @utherp I wonder if bus lanes actually garner more support from them, especially Wilson, since it's not all about bikes then
@DemonHusky @crschmidt @Ofsevit @dhidalgo @scooooooott @utherp If i like bus lanes and not bikes, I have allies in tinkering with the CSO, and an MBTA that won't promise to run more buses... i'm asking why spend $50m to reconstruct, and just make existing parking peak-hour restricted, and do an Everett-style conversion of parking/bike lane to peak-period bus lane
jfsheehan@Ofsevit @dhidalgo @crschmidt @scooooooott @utherp @bikepedantic
I agree w/others on Wilson. I'm confident she'll be pro-Affordable housing, & I'm optimistic about some market rate stuff like ending exclusionary.
I think CCC endorsed her for strategy (thought she was a strong candidate & wanted to back a winner; wanted her transfers) & optics (their slate is very old and very white compared to others), not ideological alignment.
Good language in her victory status:
https://twitter.com/Vote_Ayesha/status/1722604627370123552
@jfsheehan @Ofsevit @dhidalgo @crschmidt @scooooooott @utherp
Hot take: You just shouldn't be called pro-housing in a city without being anti-more-cars, and vice versa. Each is necessary, one in isolation is unsustainable (More housing and more cars? No one can get anywhere. Stagnant housing with fewer cars? Enjoy your exclusive walled-garden playground). Ayesha Wilson (the former) and Patty Nolan (the latter) demonstrate the flaws in looking solely at silo'd pro-ABC and/or pro-CBS outcomes.
@bikepedantic @Ofsevit @dhidalgo @crschmidt @scooooooott @utherp
So in my personal one-on-one advocacy to friends and neighbors, I did always push for the 6 candidates endorsed by both ABC and CBS. And I canvassed at least once for each slate.
But in terms of the two orgs advocating effectively, I think a narrow focus is 100% the way to go. There's a lot of overlap between people who like both, for the very good reason you say! 1/2
@bikepedantic @Ofsevit @dhidalgo @crschmidt @scooooooott @utherp
And many people attracted to one end up getting into the other as well. But I never want to leave pro-housing votes on the table bc they have an issue with bike lanes, or leave pro-bike votes on the table bc they don't like tall buildings. I think that's the most effective way to maximize both orgs overlapping goals
@bikepedantic @Ofsevit @dhidalgo @crschmidt @scooooooott @utherp That said I'm not in ABC leadership so not speaking for the org, etc