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Cambridge City Council Candidates
Forum!!
Environment and Energy Issues: Platforms
for 2004
Hear
Candidate Perspectives and Commitments on Issues:
Energy Efficiency, Conservation and Management; Master
Planning for Land Use and Development; Water, Wetlands and Flood Plains; Tree
Protection, Maintenance and Irrigation; Parks, Gardens, and Soil Fertility;
Traffic, Pedestrian, Bicycle and Mass Transit Systems; Air, Light, and Noise
Pollution and Monitoring; Urban Heat Island; Community Preservation Act;
Recycling/Reuse; Sustainability
Sponsored by (as of Sept.
10):
Cambridge Climate Action, Cambridge Greenspace Alliance, Friends of Alewife
Reservation, Charles River Conservancy, Cambridge Tree Project, Cambridgegreen,
Association of Cambridge Neighborhoods, Coalition for Alewife, Zipcar, Sierra
Club
For more information call Karen Carmean at 617-547-1413 or email carmean2@yahoo.com. To see latest
questions and background: www.cambridgegreen.org
Environmental Issues: short answer yes and no with exceptions noted. Please answer so we can compare candidates.
1. Do you support the LEED silver standard for new
buildings?
- Do you support tax incentives for private developers to use LEED silver standards for building and restoration?
- Would you support master planning, zoning, incentives and requirements by the City to make shopping, laundry, schools, parks, recreation and libraries and essential services within a ten-minute walk of residents?
- Would you support life-cycle costing in planning so that the cost of use, harm, waste, and renewal is included in costing for decisions, for example leaf removal?
- Would you support conservation by-laws to restrict building in one-hundred year flood plains?
- Should Cambridge hire an Energy Manager?
- Do you support requiring contractors to submit their plans before paving?
- Would you support a ban on building in parks and open space?
9.
Do you support
the current proposed tree ordinance to protect trees?
10. Would you support protection of legacy trees of more
than 30 inches diameter at breast height on private and public property? Would
you support protection of trees on lot lines, where most of our city’s trees
live?
11. Do you support incentives
to enforce the current noise ordinance? Noise level restrictions on lawn &
landscaping equipment like leaf blowers?
- Do you support more aggressive enforcement of the state’s 5-minute anti-idling statute, especially for buses, trucks and heavy construction vehicles and posting the anti-idling law near schools and major intersections?
- Do you support approval of shuttles in Cambridge?
- Do you support requiring all City funded or partially-funded vehicles use no diesel, or have 2007 standards and requiring all the existing diesel vehicles to use low sulfur or bio-diesel fuel and requiring all City non-emergency vehicles have 27 mpg?
- Do you favor discounts/rebates for T-passes to all residents and do you favor mandatory T-pass purchase for each parking permit?
- Do you support shuttle service for elders, youth and all citizens between neighborhood centers and to the new Main Library?
- Do you support elimination of the one parking place per unit requirement if the building is within a mile or half-mile to a T stop?
- Do you support tax incentives to use compact fluorescents and LEDs, bicycles, sustainable energy sources, maintenance of large trees, reuse of older buildings, gardens and open space and other wise environmental strategies?
- Do you support taxing vehicles by weight so that SUVs and vehicles would have to cover the life cycle cost including reparation of air quality and increased risk of danger to their passengers and those they hit?
These questions will be asked at
forum and include background information. At
the Forum each candidate will have the first two minutes to summarize their
vision and platform. Then they will be asked specific questions by panelists.
A.
VISION:
Environmentalists in Cambridge are looking for a City Council with vision and leadership to enhance and protect the best in Cambridge. Please summarize your environmental and energy platform.
Issues
of concern to environmentalists include:
o
Energy
Efficiency, Conservation and Management,
o
Air, Noise and
Light Pollution, and Monitoring;
o
Master Planning
for Land Use and Development;
o
Water, Wetlands
and Flood Plains;
o
Tree
Protection, Maintenance and Irrigation;
o
Parks, Gardens,
and Soil Fertility;
o
Traffic,
Pedestrian, Bicycle and Mass Transit Systems;
o
Urban Heat
Island Concerns,
o
Neighborhood
Preservation with essential services nearby
o
Recycling/Reuse;
o
Sustainable
Systems
B. ENERGY EFFICIENT BUILDING PROGRAM:
Questions:
Would you support an Energy Manager to measure and
ensure energy efficiency? Which four items from the Climate Action Plan should
we implement immediately? What can we do locally to make all City buildings a
model for energy efficiency and to encourage the adoption of LEED standards for
all other buildings in the City? Do you support the LEED silver standard for
new buildings?
What can be done to improve energy efficiency of
HVAC systems? Would you support
measures to inspect and maintain HVAC systems and to encourage building
renovations so that their systems run efficiently and their structures are
better insulated and less wasteful?
Sierra Club 9. “Green Buildings (LEED): To what compliance level should the city comply for all city municipal construction (e.g. libraries, schools)? Should the city require LEED compliance for any building constructed under special permits where applicable (when granted by the planning board).”
Background:
The
City of Cambridge has made a commitment to respond to the problem of global
climate change. Activities include the following:
The
City
Council passed a resolution committing to join Cities for Climate
Protection and develop local action plan. This file is in PDF format and
requires use of the free Adobe Acrobat viewer.
The
City joined the Cities
for Climate Protection Campaign (a project of ICLEI, the International Council for Local
Environmental Initiatives).The City Manager has appointed a Climate
Protection Advisory Committee to assist with the City with implementation of
the Climate Protection Plan.The Climate Protection Task Force issued a Climate Protection
Plan plan to reduce Cambridge’s contribution of the greenhouse gas emissions.
The plan is available online.
http://www.cambridgema.gov/~CDD/envirotrans/enviroplan/climate/index.html
Highly effective goals for new and renovated
buildings have been developed by the the US Green Building Council a nationally
acclaimed consensus-rating program for energy efficient green buildings. It is called the LEED Rating System:
Leadership for Energy and Environment in Design. 57 Inman St and the anticipated new public
library are promised to achieve LEED Silver rating. Now USGBC is developing a
rating system for renewing old buildings. http://www.usgbc.org/LEED/index.asp
Also, statewide, we require emissions testing for motor vehicles. But our buildings’ heating and cooling emissions are much greater. Energy commissioners have saved other communities significant monies. Students in middle schools have successfully measured and made suggestions for cost saving energy measures in schools and public buildings. “Energy savings can reach 30 percent or more when interactive effects of building and system components such as lighting, heating and cooling are considered. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, energy savings of this level in commercial buildings would reduce energy bills by $75 million annually.” http://www.sierraclub.org/globalwarming
- MASTER AND REGIONAL PLANNING:
Questions:
How can you insure that master planning in Cambridge will include energy analysis, and air and noise quality? How can you work for regional planning?
How would you encourage the City to make essential services (grocery, dry cleaning & tailoring, hair cutting, medical, restaurant, clothing, and other small commercial businesses, schools, parks, recreation and libraries within a ten-minute walk of residents? How will you insure that the City Manager and Planning Board work toward this goal?
What will you do to end the practice of last minute changes by the Planning Board and the City Council of carefully crafted plans developed by extensive work by citizens, institutional, business and government representatives? How do we insure thoughtful review? Would you support downzoning along Mass. Ave and in the Agassiz district? Do you support the Riverside neighborhood’s downzoning plan?
Background:
Recent emergencies caused by power outage and extreme temperatures in other communities have shown the need to provide regional emergency air-conditioning or heating, and backup power locations in libraries, schools or senior centers. Increasing numbers of elderly citizens in Cambridge need to be a short walk to a sunny spot in the winter or a shady spot in the summer. Children need to be a short walk to a playground. Co-location of essential neighborhood services could mean a more cost-effective, and energy efficient plan, one that would keep us from having to close neighborhood schools, libraries, senior and youth centers in times of financial or energy crisis.
Many neighborhood grocery stores and laundries have been closed, so that it is necessary to have a car to get milk or do laundry. How can we zone and plan for essential services to be a short walk to all?
On several major occasions lengthy citizen, business and institutional participation in the planning process has been negated at the last moment by backroom deals in the City Council, which discourages future participation.
D. ENERGY:
Question:
What steps would you take to reduce fossil fuel
consumption in Cambridge?
Sierra Club 4. “ Diesel: Should the city ban the purchase of all diesel equipment, unless the equipment is (a.) unavailable in non-diesel and/or (b.) the equipment comes with filters that remove the diesel particulate in compliance with the "2007 Standards"? Should we require that all existing diesel equipment be retrofitted to accept low sulfur fuel?”
Which programs do you promise to support to:
a) Promote alternative and renewable energy sources;
b) Promote municipal and private conservation and efficiency with energy efficient compact fluorescents, appliances, HVAC systems;
c) Improve building renovations and new construction;
d) Promote greening & reducing use of our cars, trucks and buses;
e) Form a citywide energy-buying coop, (or “aggregate” as the Cape did) to pressure the utilities to go green with wind, solar or other renewable power. [While we recognize the importance of increasing pedestrians and bicyclers, please focus on areas which have the most impact for Cambridge.]
f) Given CO2 emissions from buildings are such a significant cause of global warming in Cambridge, what can we do locally about emissions? How do we insure regular maintenance, inspection and selection of efficient equipment? How could we encourage renovations to be energy efficient?
g) And finally, have you done a personal energy audit, and do you own a vehicle, and if so, what is its type and MPG in traffic.
Background:
The burning of fossil
fuels contributes to climate change. It
also causes surface ozone and particulates, pollutants that damage lung tissue,
especially harming children and the elderly who live in Cambridge. “The choice of vehicle you
drive has a greater effect on the environment than any other choice you make as
a consumer.” [Union of Concerned Scientists] “Federal law permits SUV’s to
waste 33% (on average!) more gas than passenger cars. Only 5% of drivers actually
need 4 wheel drive. Driving a 13 mpg SUV rather than an average 22mp new car
for one year could waste more energy than if you…left your refrigerator door
open for 6 years, or left your color television turned on for 28 years, or left
your bathroom light burning for 30 years. 65% of all carbon monoxide emitted
into the atmosphere come from road vehicles. Carbon Monoxide contributes to
Global warming by removing hydroxyl radigal from the air allowing build up of
methane(a powerful greenhouse gas). The US has 5% of the world population, yet
we use 25% of the world’s oil, 351,000,000 gallons per day. If SUVs average
fuel efficiency increased by 3 mpg daily US oil consumption would drop by
49,000,000 gallons! Gallons per day that the proposed drilling of Alaska’s
Artic National Wildlife Refuge is projected to yield: 42,000,000.” From suvticket@yahoo.com. See also www.sierraclub.org/globalwarming/suvreport/
“Nearly 600 of the nation’s power plants have been “grandfathered” from new emissions standards, exempting them from emissions caps for smog- and acid-rain-forming pollutants (NOX and SOX). Bringing all plants up to current standards would dramatically reduce air pollution. Additionally, there are no standards to limit the release of global warming pollution or mercury into the environment. Power plants are responsible for 36 percent of U.S. CO2 emissions and 32 percent of all mercury emissions. Nationwide cuts in both of these pollutants are necessary to protect public health and the environment.” This mercury has polluted all over lakes and streams in Massachusetts so that they are NOT fishable. http://www.sierraclub.org/globalwarming
E. ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT:
Question:
How can we buffer the City from energy insecurity in
the future?
Should Cambridge hire an Energy Manager, and what
role, duties, should this official have? How reduce City/School use of diesel
and gasoline?
How can we look at Life Cycle Costs of decisions
made in the City as they affect our air, water, land, and environment? How can
we consider the real costs of our decisions about infrastructure development,
instead of just the short-term expense?
How can we insure that we think of the effect of
decisions on the quality of life for everyone, young and old, rich and poor, in
the neighborhood?
How do we insure citizens know environmental laws so they can be upheld?
If elected, how would you educate and motivate the citizenry to protect the climate, increase sustainability, and reduce energy use?
Which strategies should be used to strengthen our environmental policies: regulations and fines, public expenditures, recognition and awards?
Background:
Increasingly, many cities, companies and
institutions including Boston, New York, DuPont, and MIT are hiring energy
managers. These officials are
responsible for reducing energy costs, analyzing trade-offs, measuring savings,
and looking at the long term and life cycle costs and benefits of energy
related decisions and policies.
F. URBAN HEAT ISLAND AND STORM WATER MANAGEMENT:
Question:
If elected, would you endorse a program to keep
water where it falls, to whiten surfaces, green roofs with grass and plants,
remove and reduce impermeable surfaces on the ground? What policies and
strategies would you support?
Would you support conservation by-laws to restrict building in one-hundred year flood plains? Given the expected increase in heavy precipitation events with climate change, and recent flooding as in North Cambridge, Agassiz and the ADL parking lot & Antrim Street, what would you do to better protect wetlands and flood plains better to contain overflow?
Cambridge is building huge water storage tanks underground to avoid flooding while meanwhile cutting down many old trees which provide natural storage for water as well as cooling the air and other benefits. Sometimes trees are cut down simply to enable the tanks to go in more easily. Agassiz neighborhood had this happen and now it is proposed on Joan Lorentz Park in Mid Cambridge. Would you support a policy which looks at the life cycle cost of storm water tanks versus trees before making these decisions?
Background:
Cambridge suffers from increased summer temperatures, called the “urban heat island effect” due to loss of tree cover, large expanses and masses of asphalt roads, parking lots, bricks, concrete and roofing. This imposes higher air conditioning costs, increased ground level ozone, heat stress, respiratory illness and lessened quality of life. It would only get worse with global warming. Also, climate change may increase heavy rainfall in the Northeast, and strain our sewers and flood our roads and basements. Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta have strategies to keep water where it falls (berms), to whiten surfaces, to green their roofs, and to remove and reduce impermeable surfaces. Trees provide significant storage of water, clean water, and reduce temperatures. A recent study by the U.S. Forest Service showed that a 28-foot-tall tree intercepted 58.1 gallons or 68% of a 0.5 inch rain event that fell within it’s crown area. Following a rain event and the initial interception, wind and increasing temperature cause transpiration in the tree to increase, moving water from the ground through the roots and up to the leaves where much is evaporated back to the atmosphere. This process removes water from the saturated ground, further reducing the transfer to streams or stormwater control systems. Infiltration of water into the ground during a storm is important not only for reducing the amount of water entering stormwater systems, but also for recharging deep aquifers that most people depend on for drinking water. Trees aid this process by the canopy slowing the impact of water on the ground, dropped leaves and limbs reducing flow across the ground, and roots increasing soil porosity. Infiltration occurs at much higher rates in areas with trees and greenspace than in areas with impervious surfaces such as buildings, roads, and parking lots. By utilizing trees in strategic locations, flow from impervious surfaces can be managed. Buffer zones for streams have been shown to be one of the most effective methods of reducing water pollution and sedimentation to streams.
G. INCREASING TREE COVER BENEFITS:
Questions:
Do you support the current proposed tree ordinance
to protect trees?
How can we protect our largest and oldest trees?
Would you support protection of legacy trees of more than 30 inches diameter at
breast height?
How can we protect trees on the lot lines, which
have benefits for many neighbors?
What can be done to increase tree planting and
longevity?
Do you support increasing the staff of the City
Arborist's office to improve the management of privately maintained trees as
well as the public forests and street trees?
Background:
Trees are a major asset to air quality, cooling the
City, saving energy, reducing CO2, removing toxins and particulates that damage
people. Large trees remove 60-70 times
more pollution than small trees. Properly watered trees change sunlight into
stored energy instead of heat; they bring water up from the soil through
transpiration and cool through evaporation, reducing temperature about ten
degrees and saving up to 35% in cooling costs for adjacent homes, and up to 15%
in heating costs if properly planted. Tiny water meters can provide trees with the
exact amount of water they need and can last for a couple of decades. Most
trees are on private property, and many of these are on lot lines shared by
neighbors. For many years, citizen groups and the City have been working on a
tree ordinance which is currently ready for the City Council to pass; will you
help it pass this year?
- NOISE POLLUTION:
Question:
Do you support the enforcement of the current noise ordinance? How can we protect and improve quality of life: reduce noise levels below the 50 decibels allowable, from traffic, air conditioning, mechanicals on top of buildings, radios, boom boxes, cell phones?
Do you support training residents to monitor noise and providing officers with noise monitoring equipment to provide a warning of noise infractions?
Do you support noise-level restrictions on lawn and landscaping equipment including leaf blowers?
Do you support monitoring night truck traffic noise and fining trucks which violate the law?
Background:
World Health Organization has established standards to protect people from harmful noises. Cambridge has a noise ordinance which has some good standards, but the proliferation of leaf blowers, whole house air conditioners, boom boxes and car sound systems, large building air conditioners etc. have recently increased the number of violations of the standards. Mass. Dept. of En. Protection adopted a Noise Control Regulations 310 CMR 7.10 under M.G.L.Ch 111 section 142B and 142D which states “Any police department, fire department, board of health officials, or building inspector or his designee…..is hereby authorized by the Department to enforce, as provided in M.G.L. Ch. 111 sect. 142B any regulations in which specific reference to 310 CMR 7.52 is cited.” The Noise Regulation state in full: 310 CMR7.10 Noise (1) No person owning, leasing or controlling a source of sound shall willfully, negligently or through failure to provide necessary equipment, service, or maintenance or to take necessary precautions cause, suffer, allow or permit unnecessary emissions from said source of sound that may cause noise.” Noise is “sound of sufficient intensity and/or duration as to (a) cause a nuisance; (b) be injurious, or be on the basis of current information, potentially injurious to human or animal life, to vegetation, or to property; or (c) unreasonably interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life and property or the conduct of business. Inexpensive noise monitors costing $30-50 can provide a check of offenders which could be then proven by calibrated monitors.
- AIR AND LIGHT POLLUTION:
Question
Should we monitor our own air quality on a regular basis? Should we locate and monitor areas and sources of greater risk and harm for example at heavy traffic intersections, kids' play areas, and construction sites? Should we spot-check vehicle emissions?
Do you support more aggressive enforcement of the state’s 5-minute anti-idling statute, especially for buses, trucks and heavy construction vehicles? Do you support posting the anti-idling law near schools?
What can the Council do to encourage dark sky protection, reduction of excessive outdoor lighting with its waste of energy, nuisance and light pollution?
Background:
Poor air quality is an avoidable heath risk. It causes asthma, bronchitis, and cardiovascular disease. Acute and chronic air pollution causes increased morbidity and mortality, especially for children and the elderly. Middlesex County has an air pollution rate 500-1000 or more times what is specified in the Clean Air Act. See “Dangers of Diesel” MASSPIRG , Oct. 2002.
Commercial buses are the equivalent of 240 cars, school busses about 130 cars; so how can we work together to stop idling? School children and, to a lesser extent, the surrounding neighbors of schools where busses idle, are subject to these effects. The EPA considers idling vehicles especially diesel of the highest importance to combat air pollution in Massachusetts. See report on Rolling Smokestacks by Union of Concerned Scientists.
- WATER POLLUTION:
Question:
“Do you support the utilization of the Alewife Reservation for Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) storage? If so, please explain why these natural resources should be utilized in a fashion that allows raw sewage to flow into local streams. If not, please explain how you would expect the city to meet EPA standards or, conversely, why you think the city should not have to meet those standards.”
Sierra Club 7. Background: “Cleaning up Alewife Brook: The City is under EPA order to improve the
water quality of all rivers in its jurisdiction to "fishable/swimable". The city has eliminated the vast majority of its CSO, except in the Alewife Brook watershed. Rather than comply with EPA standards, the city has instead sought a variance to exempt them from this requirement in this area. Raw sewage is expected to flow into Alewife Brook approximately 7 times per year, or be stored in unlined open sewers.
- OPEN SPACE:
Questions:
Sierra Club 6. Parks and Open Space: There are many different funding techniques that a city can use to raise money for parks and open space, such as bonding, real estate transfer taxes and user fees. In what ways would you support the acquisition and preservation of open space? Would you support raising the additional funds for land acquisition? If so, what amount and by what funding mechanism (i.e., bonding, taxation, contributions)?
How do you balance active and passive open space needs? How can we increase both so all kids can throw balls, play soccer, and all adults and the elderly can quietly sit and enjoy sun and shade? What do you advocate for Russell Field? Where would you site skateboarding and how to insure for injuries?
What do we do about brown fields like WR Grace and other polluted lands?
Would you support a ban on building in parks and open space, and around reservoirs?
Do you support requiring contractors to submit their plans before paving?
How can we insure that monies collected by the Community Preservation Act are used to protect open space, affordable housing and historic preservation? What is your position on allocating the revenues? Currently 10% is for open space and historical preservation and 80% for affordable housing and a committee is convened to decide it. How would you balance the use of the money between open space, affordable housing and preservation? What should be the most just way to balance these needs? Would it vary by neighborhood?
Where would you site skateboarding and how would you insure against injuries?
Background:
For decades schools and public and even private buildings have been built in parks and open space, for example: Longfellow School, Harrington School, Neville Manor, the new Main Library
- OPEN
SPACE: Alewife and
Question:
What additional resources will you as Councilors propose to make Alewife and the Charles River area and community gardens a valuable environmental learning area for residents, students, and visitors?
Northwest Cambridge is the area now most targeted for development, Open space enhancement (Fresh Pond), and Alewife Reservation master planning and wildlife preservation. How would you see the area best planned and preserved to be of maximum benefit to those who live in that part of our city, and its regional neighbors, abutting the border areas? There is a plan to chop down the only forest of the silver maple species in the Boston area. A small part of it is in Cambridge. What should we as an environmentally conscious community do to prevent this? How can we get behind the new Master Plan of the Department of Conservation and Recreation for the 115 acre wildlife refuge Alewife Reservation and make sure the money is found and it is implemented for our youth who can reach it on the Red line? Why have wetland book, Alewife Master Plan, and Conservation By-Laws not been released? The Charles River Parklands is one of the most valuable scenic and recreational resources, adding to the value of real estate, and to the residents and companies who benefit from it. Yet the parks suffer from neglect. The success of North Point is linked to the new parks being built. How can developers who gain from the parks, give back to it? Does the City have an obligation to ensure that its waterfront is not left behind and that state owned parks also receive funding? The Cambridge River Festival and the Sunday closing of Memorial Drive celebrate and preserve the beauty of the river. What can Cambridge do to encourage a more park like atmosphere here? Are there any traffic calming initiatives that you would propose? Every week the Charles River Conservancy brings volunteers to the parks along the Charles to keep them looking beautiful. How can Cambridge encourage its residents and businesses to become active stewards of the Charles River Parklands? Would you support a city-wide parks day, where people can come together to care for our parks? How do you envision Cambridge engaging its citizens and corporate citizens in the revitalization of Cambridge’s green spaces?
Background:
Alewife Reservation has multiple improvement plans on the drawing boards for changes which will enhance open space for public access from the Alewife T stop, improve the water quality by the sewer separation project of the City and MWRA, a master plan now in concept phase by the MDC and nearly 11 acres of wetland proposed for restoration at the AD Little site.
Many Cambridge environmentalists are distressed that grandfathering and recent City Council decisions have led to development, expansions in recognized flood plains and wetlands. Floodwaters are often contaminated and of course cause considerable damage and cost to citizens and the City.
- RECYCLING, REDUCE AND REUSE IMPROVEMENTS:
Questions:
Do you support restrictions on use of leaf blowers to electric machines only used for a short time in the fall, rather than all year use of noisy and dirty machines?
How shall Cambridge improve its recycling rate, and its reuse and reduce programs?
What specific ideas do you have?
How can we improve the recycling center to better accommodate hazardous waste collection of paints, solvents, cadmium batteries etc?
Sierra Club 3. “Recycling: City purchasing policies that promote the use of materials characterized as "environmentally friendly" not only serve as models for individuals and businesses, they also help to create markets for these materials. Examples include purchasing products with a high recycled content; supplies and materials containing non-toxic ingredients; sustainably harvested wood products and wood alternatives; power from sources that promote investment in fossil fuel alternatives; converting automobile fleets from fossil fuels to cleaner burning fuels; retrofitting government buildings with high efficiency water and energy systems. In what ways will you work to have Cambridge apply its economic purchasing power to reduce pollution and resource use?” Background: Many cities forbid use of leaf blowers 500 feet from residences and restrict use to a short time in the fall.
- TRANSPORTATION: REDUCE TRAFFIC CONGESTION & POLLUTION:
Questions:
What is already being done, and what would you advocate doing further, to reduce traffic on streets, to encourage pedestrian and bicycling activity, and reduce congestion and vehicular pollution?
Do you favor discounts/rebates for T-passes to all residents?
Mandatory T-pass purchase for each parking permit?
Do you support shuttle service for elders, youth and all citizens between neighborhood centers and to the new Main Library?
Sierra Club 2. “Excessive traffic and "F" rated intersections (where cars are required to queue for 2 or more light cycles) are becoming the norm throughout the city. These are creating pollution "hotspots" where concentrations of carbon monoxide and diesel particulate exceed acceptable standards. What steps would you take to mitigate or alleviate this and other traffic problems?” Sierra Club 1. “Air quality: The City of Cambridge, in exchange for being released from the EPA Parking Freeze, is under orders to improve our air quality by implementing a "Vehicle Trip Reduction Program (VTRP, sec 10.17)". To date, this program has been largely ignored. What steps would you take to enforce the provisions of the VTRP?”
Do you support partnering with suburbs for effective shuttle service into Cambridge/Boston limits on additional traffic from development near congested intersections?
Elimination of the one parking place per unit requirement if the building is close to public transit?
Sierra Club 8. “Transportation: The City of Cambridge has historically rejected applications for shared airport-shuttle vans to serve residential addresses, although these both save money, offer the environmental advantages of car-pooling, and would decrease traffic. Do you support allowing these types of shuttles, as well as other private shuttles?”
How do Councilors explain the low rate of cars yielding to pedestrians in traffic crossing and at right on red corners? What impact does this have on alternative transportation? How would you encourage strict traffic enforcement to make people feel safe to bike and walk?
Sierra Club 5. “Municipal passenger vehicle purchases: Should the city require that all municipally-funded departments and agencies purchase passenger vehicles that meet the current Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) * standards? Should this restriction be extended to allow only the purchase of Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV)?”
Background: 1.The Environmental and Transportation Planning Division of the Community Development Department is responsible for improving the city's quality of life, by working to protect and improve the city's environment and natural resources and by planning improvements to the city's transportation system. For general information or questions about the division contact Rosalie Anders at 617-349-4604 / randers@cambridgema.gov The division works to achieve these objectives in the following ways:
· Managing the design of the transportation system to improve travel for all transportation modes, particularly high occupancy and non-motorized modes;
· Promoting walking, bicycling, ridesharing, and public transit;
· Implementing the city's Vehicle Trip Reduction Ordinance and Parking and Transportation Demand Management Ordinance to reduce congestion and improve air quality;
· Planning transportation infrastructure projects;
· Reviewing development proposals to ensure that natural resources are protected and that mitigation strategies are implemented;
· Promoting energy efficiency, reduced use of toxic products, and other environmentally sound practices;
· Preventing childhood lead poisoning; and
· Answering general questions about environmental issues.
2. Updated CAFÉ* standards could save 3 million barrels of oil each day when fully implemented, and new standards would cut CO2 pollution by 600 million tons. Raising CAFE standards is the biggest single step the United States can take to curb global warming pollution.” www.sierraclub.org/globalwarming
- Pesticide Use
Do you support integrated pest management? Campaigns
to drain still water?
Do you support spraying against West Nile Virus?
Why not improve street sweeping by scheduling it just after the trash is picked up and using new environmentally friendly cleaning machines?
Would you support the more frequent trash pick up and inspection of trash storage?
Background:
At least two Cantabrigians claim to have been harmed
by spraying for West Nile Virus, yet we know of no human being in Cambridge
harmed by the West Nile virus. Some claim the most effective way to control for
West Nile virus is to eliminate still water. The City does not use pesticides
on park lands. Hospitals successfully use boric acid and other non-toxic
methods to control pests. The schools have been encouraged to avoid pesticides.
Street sweepers in coastal California are now equipped to vacuum up pesticides, fertilizers, animal droppings, automotive by-products, and other bad things that have made it to the street but not yet to the storm drain. Many are advocating sweeping streets more frequently to improve the health of the town and the ocean. Area 4 and mid-Cambridge residents report problems with rodents.
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