Neighborhood Meeting

This meeting which was held at 70 St Botolph St on Wednesday October 23 2024.

Introduction
Joan thanked 70 St Botolph for donating the room. She thanked the elected officials and public servants who gave of their time and their commitment to work on neighborhood issues: Attending the meeting were Deputy Chief of Streets Julia Cambell and Transportation Planner Daniel Milbrandt, Liaison Maccon Bonner from the ONS, Assistant Commissioner Environmental Services John Ulrich and Boston Police D4

W Newton/St Botolph Intersection - Pedestrian and Traffic Safety
Deputy Chief of Streets Julia Campbell and Transportation Planner Daniel Milbrandt took questions and listened to concerns about traffic, pedestrian safety and future plans for the main intersection of the neighborhood.
A follow-up meeting will be scheduled in the spring to present plans and solutions. There continues to be utility work on Huntington, but by spring that should be concluded and plans to repave West Newton and update the crosswalks is already planned - it is hoped is that there will be plans to included improvements to the intersection before the re-paving happens. Joan promised to keep neighbors informed via the website and newsletter.

Dealing with Rodent Problems
The ever-present issue of rats is an ongoing problem and John Ulrich, Assistant Commissioner of Environmental Services for the City of Boston, talked about the importance of education and enforcement about how to reduce the rat population and steps that can be taken to make a difference:

Neighbors were urged to read up on best trash practices and sign up for a free composting bin from the city. When the regular trash is not smelling with food waste, it doesn’t attract the rats!
Rat informational meetings with neighbors was encouraged. The SBNA will help residents coordinate. Neighbors along West Newton and St Botolph who share the alley off of Follen St. already have one planned and SBNA and John Ulrich’s team have been invited to talk about specific needs.

General Safety in the Neighborhood
The police listened to oncoming concerns about activity on the corridor- specifically drug use, camping out and other complaints about a specific location. D-4 continues to work with state officials to monitor the corridor and show up when there is a problem, but neighbors were urged to  remain attentive. SBNA are working on a follow-up meeting and will keep you posted. In the meantime, neighbors were urged to please call 911 if you see suspicious or blatantly illegal behavior - and call 311 if you come across needles, drug items, or if there is a cleanup needed. Please remember how important it is to make those calls and reports - the BPD needs to know how often this is happening and need data to track incidents - it helps us all in the future when we document the present.