New Bike Plan, Fairies, Fall Shots, and More!
ARTICLES
BACKYARD COTTAGES NOW ALLOWED ‘BY RIGHT’
Council makes it easier to create accessory dwelling units
From the Cambridge Day
Rally promotes safer bike lanes, other solutions that protect riders across city lines and statewide
SHORTS
Presenting a New Bike Plan
Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, City staff, and the Traffic Commission will hold a special meeting to discuss new plans for protected bike lanes on Holland Street on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 5:30 p.m.
At this meeting, the mayor and City staff will present the new design to the Traffic Commission and answer questions. The Traffic Commission will discuss the plan and hear public comment. Written comments will also be accepted after the meeting. The commission will then reconvene for a vote in the coming weeks.
Last month, a 72-year-old Somerville resident was killed while biking in Teele Square. In response to the crash, the Mayor directed City staff to prepare an enhanced safety plan for Holland Street that includes protected bike lanes in both directions from Teele Square to Buena Vista Road. The new safety plan is proposed to be implemented this fall when Holland Street is repaved.
This new safety plan maintains parking on one side of Holland Street, but restricts parking on the other side in order to create protected bike lanes. Loading zones and accessible parking spaces will be increased.
The full designs are available and can be viewed on the project website.
Gather the Fairies
The Somerville Community Growing Center will host its annual Gathering of the Fairies on Saturday, Sept. 24, from 2-5 p.m. (rain date Sunday, Sept. 25) at the Growing Center, 22 Vinal Ave.
A garden celebration for young children, the gathering also offers fun volunteer opportunities for older children, teens, and adults. Activities include building a fairy house out of all-natural materials, creating one’s own fairy wand, hearing fairy stories, face painting, and searching the garden for signs of fairies. Everyone is invited to come dressed up as their favorite magical being.
New this year, the musical duo Receita de Samba will present a Portuguese/English bilingual performance of the fairytale, “Why the Sea Moans.” This Brazilian Cinderella story tells the story of a young girl and her unlikely friendship with the sea. Local dancers will perform as part of the fairytale from 3-4 p.m. on the lawn.
This event is free and open to all, but is geared toward children ages 1-8. Donations are encouraged to support the Growing Center and future Gatherings of Fairies. A limited supply of fairy garden building materials will be available at the event.
The Somerville Community Growing Center is a community garden and green space owned by the City of Somerville and run by the nonprofit volunteer group Friends of the Community Growing Center. There are no private plots; the entire space is shared by all. They offer dozens of free events onsite every year, including concerts, readings, performances, workshops, festivals, playgroups, and children’s events.
Get Your Shots
The City is offering flu shots and updated COVID-19 boosters at a series of vaccine clinics this fall. Vaccines are provided at no cost, regardless of health insurance or immigration status. Advance registration is required.
The flu vaccine is available to everyone 6 months and older. Updated COVID-19 boosters are now available and recommended for everyone age 12 and older, at least two months after their last dose. Both shots are strongly recommended to protect yourself and others from serious illness.
Flu vaccines and COVID-19 boosters are also available at many pharmacies and other locations. Note that some locations may charge a fee depending on your health insurance status. You can search for a location at www.vaccines.gov/find-vaccines, visit your local pharmacy, or consult your primary care provider for more information.
Photo credit: Somerville Book Sharing Community Book Swap at Seven Hills Park on September 18, 2022. Photo by Jason Pramas. Copyright 2022 Jason Pramas.
This article is syndicated by the Somerville Wire municipal news service of the Somerville News Garden project of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism.
All Somerville Wire articles may be republished by community news outlets free of charge with permission and by larger commercial news outlets for a fee. Republication requests and all other inquiries should be directed to somervillewire@binjonline.org. Somerville Wire articles are also syndicated by BINJ’s MassWire state news service at masswire.news.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SOMERVILLE WIRE EMAIL NEWSLETTER: https://eepurl.com/hpBYPv.
Check out all our social media here: https://linktr.ee/SomervilleWire.
Linda Pinkow is a reporter for the Somerville Wire. She is also a development consultant for the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism.
