On March 17th, the Air Pollution Control Commission (APCC) hosted a public hearing where they reviewed permits and discussed issues related to the regulation of air quality and noise issues in Boston’s downtown neighborhoods. The panel consisted of Richard Davey, Julien Farland, Sarah Lee and Kat Eshel. The first item on the agenda was an application for a parking freeze permit, the use of which helps reduce air pollution and emissions discharged by cars by capping the number of off-street parking spaces in a given area. The application for a parking freeze permit was granted for a mixed-use space under development by The Druker Company Ltd and the discussion revealed many important aspects of parking garage needs due to increased bike spaces for visitors, employee showers, and electric vehicle charging stations in order to pass the latest mandates from the Boston Transportation Department (BTD).
An estimated 56% of residents in Boston own a bicycle, and the bikes provide a clean and active option for commuters and travellers across the city. The commission adopted the 2020 Bike Parking Guidelines and these guidelines aim to ensure the provision of adequate, secure, and convenient bike parking for residents, workers, students, and visitors in the City of Boston. By adopting these guidelines, the Commission is supporting bike ridership growth, and one result of increasing bike usage is decreasing vehicle usage, thereby resulting in cleaner air for everyone, including Chinatown.
During the hearing, one of the attendees asked whether the commission has any plans for additional protected bike lanes. One of the speakers, Richard Davey, commissioner of APCC, said, “Boston transportation department last year accelerated our Connect Downtown, likely network, and it was obviously in direct response to COVID. It was something that was already in the works and planned, but was accelerated due to the public health crisis, we do intend to continue to build out that network and make it more permanent infrastructure. Therefore, there will be better bike lanes created, as we move forward.”
Connect Downtown was another initiative that went on hiatus during the pandemic but was restarted during fall 2020, when the city began to create permanent separated bike lanes on streets in the downtown area, making it easier for pedestrians and bikers to navigate. According to the Transportation Department, the project is meant to center “people — residents, commuters, and tourists — in a redesign of iconic streets in our downtown neighborhoods.”
Another initiative meant to make Boston greener and cleaner is the bike share program. Meg Mainzer-Cohen, the President and Executive Director of the Back Bay Association, spoke passionately about both the success and failure of the bike share program, citing how her organization had long collaborated with the city, experimenting with putting islands at the Four Seasons Hotel and providing ample bike stations, which she felt were underused. She argued that a recent $25,000 donation should not be used to create yet another bike rental station in the Back Bay but rather, should be given to another neighborhood, due to the lack of existing curb space. She called the Back Bay “one of the greatest multi-modal neighborhoods in the city of Boston.”
Angela, a high school senior from The Woodward School for Girls in Quincy, Massachusetts made a statement at the hearing. She lives in Chinatown and recalls walking with her friends by a local volleyball court when she realized that it felt as if she were breathing in chemicals. She did more research and said findings from Tufts Medical Center showed that air quality was worse in Chinatown. “Chinese American residents are being disproportionately disadvantaged,” she argued, “from the history of Boston’s redlining, putting their health at risk, instead of being a top priority.” She finished “We must act now and act boldly… Air pollution cannot be ignored longer. As we need to protect not just your generations, but my generation and future generations, future life.”
The Boston Air Pollution Control Commission (apcc@boston.gov or via Twitter @BostonEnviro) works to maintain healthy air quality and noise levels in the City.
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