Highlights
Coast the City Community Bike Ride
Saturday, May 18, 9:00 AM
Joan Lorentz Park, outside Main Library, 449 Broadway

This approximately 13-mile ride will explore the historical coast and waterways of Cambridge and areas of the city that are vulnerable to future flooding due to climate change. We will begin gathering outside the Cambridge Public Library Main Branch at 9:00 a.m. and depart promptly at 9:30 a.m. The ride will be escorted by the Cambridge Police Department's Bike Patrol and take about two hours, including a midway break at the Fresh Pond Reservation featuring a brief talk by Jim Wilcox, Director of Engineering Services for the Cambridge Department of Public Works. The ride will end back at the Cambridge Public Library with light food donated by  Bon Me . There will also be a raffle for special prizes from WardMaps LLC , Broadway Bicycle School , and more at the end of the ride! You must be present to win.

The ride will go at a relaxed pace, but we ask that young children ride tandem with an adult (trailers, bike seats, tag-alongs, etc.). For a community bike ride where young children can ride alone, we encourage you to check out the bike parade as part of  Fresh Pond Day on June 15 .

Bike mechanics from  Urban Adventours  will be on hand before the ride to make quick safety checks. The mechanics will be making minor adjustments, like tire pressure, and emergency repairs only. Please make sure your bike is in reasonable working order ahead of the ride. If you are interested in learning more about how to repair your own bike, we are holding a  FixIt Clinic DIY Bike Workshop  outside the library immediately following the ride!

The ride will be cancelled in the event of heavy rain. For weather updates, check cambridgema.gov/bikerides or sign up for the  bike ride email list . More information .
Deadline Tomorrow! Members Sought for Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Transit Advisory Committees

The City of Cambridge has extended the date to apply to the Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Transit Advisory Committees until  Friday, May 17, 2019 . Applications are sought for a diverse group of dedicated individuals who are representatives of people who live and/or work in Cambridge. Members are expected to attend monthly meetings, review materials, and engage in projects outside of regular meetings. Appointments are made by the City Manager and are for two years of service.

Interested individuals may apply through the online portal at cambridgema.gov/apply . When applying, first select the committee or committee you want to apply for, and then select the “Apply Now” button at the top of the page to open the application. During the application process you can provide your statement of interest and relevant personal background. You have the option to attach a resume, but a resume is not required. You may obtain paper applications at the City Manager's Office at Cambridge City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Avenue. Once your application is submitted, you will receive a confirmation email. If you do not receive a confirmation by e-mail, please contact the City Manager's Office at 617-349-4300 or  citymanager@cambridgema.gov .

If you applied prior to the deadline extension and would like to confirm that we received your application, please email  tjoyce@cambridgema.gov  or call the City Manager’s office at 617-349-4300. For all other questions about the application process, please contact the City Manager's Office at 617/349-4300 or  citymanager@cambridgema.gov .

Take the Public Feedback Survey for the South Mass Ave Corridor Safety Improvements Project

The City of Cambridge invites you to take the  online public feedback survey  for the  South Mass Ave Corridor Safety Improvements Project . Your input will be valuable in our evaluation of the project. If you would like a paper copy of the survey, please contact Bill Deignan at  wdeignan@cambridgema.gov  or 617-349-4632. Deadline Monday, May 27.

You are also invited to share feedback about your experiences traveling on Massachusetts Avenue using  the Wikimapping tool . For more information about the South Mass Ave Corridor Safety Improvements Project, visit the project webpage here .
Meetings (Click the meeting titles for details)
Thursday, May 16, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Monday, May 20, 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Thursday, May 23, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Thursday, May 23, 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Tuesday, May 28, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Tuesday, May 28, 6:30 PM

Tuesday, June 4, 6:30 PM

Wednesday, June 5, 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Wednesday, June 5, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Saturday, June 8, 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Tuesday, June 11, 6:00 PM

Wednesday, June 13, 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Wednesday, June 12, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Thursday, June 13, 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Events
Celebrate National Bike to Work Day
Friday, May 17, 7:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Boston City Hall Plaza, 1 City Hall Square, Boston

Bike to Boston City Hall Plaza for a free breakfast and bike expo in celebration of National Bike to Work Day. Registration is free and encouraged to get a numbers estimate. By registering, you can take home a limited-edition t-shirt for free. You can choose to join one of 13 convoys riding to City Hall from around the region. More information .
Art in Transportation Workshop
Friday, May 17, 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM
State Transportation Building, 10 Park Plaza, Boston

Join MAPC and Transportation for America for a free workshop exploring the nuts and bolts of integrating art into transportation projects. The workshop will focus on how art can enhance rail corridors, trails, and streets.

The workshop will explore practical approaches to integrating art into transportation networks in ways that respond to your community’s challenges and opportunities. Guidance on securing funding, finding artists, and working with artists and local communities will be presented. Learn from exemplary projects from greater Boston and from across the country, learn the right questions to ask as you set out to create a project that draws from your local assets and context, and leave with a draft plan of action for incorporating art into your transportation project! Breakfast and lunch will be provided. More information .
*NEW* StoryWalk Cambridge
Friday, May 17, 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Donnelly Field, between Cambridge, Willow, and Berkshire Streets

The Agenda for Children, the Center for Families, the Cambridge Public Library and MathTalk invites families to come and join us for a math and reading adventure at Donnelly Field. Walk along the field to read all of the pages in the children's books "Turtle Splash" and "Over in the Forest." Parents and kids can enjoy free pizza, books, math activities, arts and crafts, along with entertainment by Knucklebones.

For families with children 2 to 8 years old. For more information about StoryWalk, contact Becky Smick at 617-665-3827. Event held weather permitting. View the StoryWalk Flyer.
Family Biking Kick-Start
Sunday, May 19, 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Corporal Burns Park, Corner of Memorial Drive and Flagg Street

Family-friendly biking fun!
  • Help friends of all ages: lend-borrow, ask-answer, teach-learn
  • Skills practice in Corporal Burns Park's basketball and roller hockey courts
  • Try out an Islabike from the City of Cambridge's youth bike fleet: 20"-, 24"-, 26"-wheeled bikes with frames 12-15", will generally fit riders 4-6 ft tall.
  • Safety checks with 2 certified bike trainers from MassBike
  • Buy and sell gear with members of Boston Area Family (& Cargo) Bike google group and Boston Craigslist
  • Drinking water truck from MWRA

*NEW* Harvard Square Mayfair
Sunday, May 19, 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Harvard Square

MayFair is the official party to kick off Spring and this year will celebrate the 60th anniversary of Passim , featuring a group of stellar performers who represent some of the best in folk, Americana and roots music today. More information .
Inman Eats and Crafts
Sunday, May 19, 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Cambridge Street, between Spring Street and Prospect Street

Inman Eats & Crafts is a celebration of everything Inman Square. It’s a street fair featuring our eclectic retailers, fabulous makers, our casual eats, and culinary treats. Inman Eats & Crafts hopes to deliver a full Inman Square experience to new visitors and residents alike. Learn more and buy tickets .
DPW Road Show
Monday, May 20, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM ( Rain date: May 21 )
Sennott Park, Corner of Broadway and Norfolk Street

The DPW Road Show is a chance for kids to get close to and learn about the working vehicles that collect trash, plow snow, do construction, clean drains, and prune trees. The Road Show is open to all but is primarily geared towards children ages 2-6. Given the large crowds expected, caretakers bringing groups of more than 6 children are asked to call ahead to reserve a 30-minute time slot. 
For information and reservations, please contact Sherry McGregor at DPW: (617) 349-4874 or email  smcgregor@cambridgema.gov .
*NEW* Bike Bash
Wednesday, May 22, 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Flat Top Johnny's, 1 Kendall Square,

The Bike Bash is the event wrap up party celebrating the conclusion of the MassCommute Bicycle Challenge , and the opportunity to acknowledge and award winning teams and all of the wonderful riders.  Velofix  will be onsite for bike checkups, and there will be free bike valet. More information .
*NEW* Cambridge Arts River Festival
Saturday, June 1, 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Central Square along Massachusetts Avenue

The Cambridge Arts River Festival celebrates its 40th anniversary by bringing the river to the Central Square Cultural District. The festival will fill the neighborhood with four stages of music plus dance, theater, immersive art experiences, and vendors selling crafts, international foods and craft brews. Admission is free. More information .
*NEW* Fresh Pond Day
Saturday, June 15, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Sullivan Water Treatment Facility, 250 Fresh Pond Parkway

Fresh Pond Reservation is truly Cambridge's green gem - an urban wild that protects Fresh Pond, Cambridge's in-city drinking water reservoir. Fresh Pond Day is the Cambridge Water Department's annual tribute to this unique Reservation that is a vital natural resource, an invaluable sanctuary for wildlife, and a beloved recreational escape in the City. So...let's give Fresh Pond the celebration, jubilation and love it deserves; join in the festivities! Live wildlife presentations, live music, facepainting, truck climb-aboards, tours and more will abound, and - it's free and open to all! More information .
Bicycle Workshops

The City of Cambridge is proud to offer bicycle education workshops throughout the year, free to those who work or live in Cambridge. All classes are lecture-style workshops unless otherwise noted. To register for classes, please email  jlawrence@cambridgema.gov  or call 617/349-4671. All classes are paid for by the City of Cambridge and every participant receives one free helmet each year. See below for current class schedule. To learn more about the classes, click  here . To join the mailing list and be updated about future workshops, click  here .

Family Bike Night
  • Thursday, May 16, 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM, Collins Branch Library, 64 Aberdeen Avenue
Fixit Clinic DIY Bike Workshop
  • Saturday, May 18, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM, Joan Lorentz Park, 449 Broadway
Urban Cycling Basics
  • Wednesday, June 5, 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM, City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway
Announcements and Actions
*NEW* City of Cambridge Releases Envision Cambridge Citywide Plan

The City of Cambridge has released the Envision Cambridge citywide plan, the culmination of a three-year planning and public engagement process. The plan articulates the core values identified by the Cambridge community: livability, diversity and equity, economic opportunity, sustainability and resilience, community health and well-being, and learning, and creates a vision for the future of the city. The Envision Cambridge plan recommends 55 strategies and 183 new, expanded or modified actions that span a range of focus areas and offer a roadmap to a sustainable, inclusive, and connected Cambridge. More information .
Volunteer for the 2019 Participatory Budgeting Outreach Team

Cambridge's sixth Participatory Budgeting (PB) process is about to begin. PB will collect ideas in June and July about how YOU would spend $1 million on one-time capital projects to improve the community.

The City of Cambridge is seeking volunteers to serve on the PB Outreach Team for the upcoming 2019 PB cycle. Volunteers will help ensure that the next PB process, which will run from June – December 2019, engages as many community members as possible. Cambridge residents interested in serving on the PB Cambridge Outreach Team can apply online at pb.cambridgema.gov or by contacting Matt Nelson in the Budget Office at pb@cambridgema.gov or 617-349-4270. The deadline to apply is May 17, 2019 .
Cambridge Arts Council Launching Climate Change Exhibition

Local artists explore the state of climate change today in “Untold Possibilities at the Last Minute,” an exhibition on view at Cambridge Arts’ Gallery 344 from May 20 to Oct. 4, 2019. An opening reception will be held in the gallery at 344 Broadway, Cambridge, on Thursday, May 23, from 6 to 8 p.m., featuring music and poetry at 6:30 p.m. plus tastings of foods for our warmer future.
 
“Untold Possibilities at the Last Minute” also includes the following activities:
 
Matthew Battles and Keith Hartwig offer “FUTUREFOOD,” a series of three free food and drink tastings on May 11, May 25 and June 15 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Cambridge Public Library. Sample kvass, Japanese knotweed sorbet, honey toffee and honey waters to get a taste of how climate change will change our food system and what we might eat.
 
Beginning May 18, Keith Hartwig will create a 6-foot-tall cube of ice harvested from a Maine pond in February on the plaza outside Cambridge’s City Hall Annex. His “COLD CHAIN” speaks about the transition of refrigeration from natural ice to mechanical freezers, and how our society’s reliance on such greenhouse-gas-producing machines is melting away our winters.

Draft MPO Transportation Improvement Program Available for Public Review and Comment

At the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) meeting on April 25, 2019 , the board voted to release a draft of its federal fiscal years (FFYs) 2020–24 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for a 21-day public review period. The MPO will accept comments from members of the public through May 21, 2019 .

Submit written comments via this online comment form or mail to Matt Genova, TIP Manager, Boston Region MPO, Suite 2150, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116 or email to  mgenova@ctps.org . More information .
TIP Amendment Three Available for Public Review until May 28

Amendment Three includes changes to both highway and transit funding in federal fiscal years (FFYs) 2019-23. The changes to highway funding affect projects funded with the MPO’s Regional Target funds as well as projects funded with statewide funds. For a summary of the changes to highway funding proposed as part of Amendment Three, refer to the simplified Amendment Three highway table . The changes to transit projects reflect adjustments in funding to MBTA programming since the endorsement of Amendment Two. For a summary of the changes to transit funding proposed as part of Amendment Three, refer to the simplified Amendment Three transit tables

Other changes include incorporating the MPO’s full set of federally required performance targets so that they are reflected for any Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration reviews. For more information on how these performance targets relate to the FFYs 2019-23 TIP, refer to the Performance Addendum memo .
MassDOT Capital Investment Plan

MassDOT is pleased to announce the schedule for its annual Capital Investment Program (CIP) public meetings . This is the public’s opportunity to provide comments that will help guide capital investments in transportation between 2020 and 2024. The draft plan will be presented to the MassDOT Board and the MBTA’s Fiscal Management & Control Board (FMCB) on May 20. Twelve public meetings presenting the draft plan and seeking public comment will take place across the Commonwealth from May 21 through June 6. Your assistance in providing public comment and getting the word out about these meetings is greatly appreciated. The May 21 meeting at 10 Park Plaza will be simulcast and recorded for future viewing on the CIP web page www.mass.gov/cip . Also, if you cannot make a meeting public comments will be accepted via email until 5pm on June 7 at masscip@state.ma.us. Thank you for your assistance and we look forward to your feedback! More information .
Take the Cambridge Health Survey

Help the City of Cambridge learn more about the health concerns, needs, and strengths of our community by taking the 2019  Cambridge Health Survey , which is available in multiple languages. Your input is anonymous and will be used to help us understand the health needs and concerns of the city as we work to make Cambridge a Healthy City for All. 

In 2019, the Health Department will conduct its second comprehensive assessment of the city to better understand and prioritize the health needs of the community. Results from the 2019 Cambridge Community Health Assessment will shape future programs and policies through a new Community Health Improvement Plan, the City’s five-year health agenda.

For more information, visit  CambridgeMA.gov/CambridgeHealthSurvey .
Participate in the Inman Square Loyalty Program

The Inman Square Loyalty Program is designed to encourage Cambridge residents, employees, and visitors to continue supporting local businesses in the Inman Square business district during the  Inman Square Intersection Improvements Project  construction period. Those who participate in the Inman Square Loyalty Program will be entered in a monthly raffle.

To participate in the Inman Square Loyalty Program:
  • Pick up an Inman Square Loyalty Card at participating Inman Square businesses.
  • Make 6 (six) purchases at participating businesses each month and get your Loyalty Card stamped after each transaction.
  • Return your completed Loyalty Card to drop boxes located throughout Inman Square.

The Community Development Department will select two winners at the end of each month through a raffle drawing. Winners will receive a $50.00 gift certificate to an Inman Square business of their choice. Customers are limited to submitting one completed Loyalty Card per month. More information .
Current Board Vacancies

The City is currently looking to fill the following  board vacancies . Applications to serve on these committees can be submitted to City Manager Louis A. DePasquale using the City’s online application system at  cambridgema.gov/apply . A cover letter and resume or applicable experience can be submitted during the online application process. Paper applications are available in the City Manager’s Office at Cambridge City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Avenue.
News
*NEW* Cyclists Break Far Fewer Road Rules Than Motorists, Finds New Video Study

A new study from the Danish Road Directorate shows that less than 5% of cyclists break traffic laws while riding yet 66% of motorists do so when driving. The  Danish Cycling Embassy , a privately-funded NGO, puts this down to visibility: law breaking by cyclists is “easy to notice for everyone” but transgressions by motorists, such as speeding, are harder to spot. Read more .
About the Active Transportation Report
This weekly e- newsletter provides information about upcoming meetings, events, news, and actions related to walking, bicycling, and an active lifestyle, as well as items of general interest for transportation in Cambridge.

If you were forwarded this newsletter, and would like to be on the mailing list to receive it weekly, please subscribe here . For more information on transportation in Cambridge, please visit https://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/Transportation.

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