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© 2021 The Somerville Times. All rights reserved.
By Joseph A. Curtatone
(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)
Taking a closer look at notable city data—and interesting numbers.
16 percent reduction in motor vehicle crashes: Last year we saw a 16 percent reduction in total motor vehicle crashes – with none of them resulting in fatalities – in Somerville. The year also represented a five-year low in motor vehicle crashes involving bicycles and a seven-year low in motor vehicle crashes involving pedestrians.
It’s encouraging to see crashes trending in the right direction across the city, but we also know that there are still areas of concern and additional steps we must take to drive down rates of accidents even further. For example, 46 percent of the motor vehicle crashes involving pedestrians in 2017 occurred when the pedestrian was in the crosswalk. With spring around the corner (hopefully!), we’ll have even more people out walking and biking so it’s important that we bolster our education efforts and continue to increase awareness of the dangers of distracted driving, biking, and walking. Stay tuned throughout the coming weeks for more information and tips on how you can safely share the road.
10 percent increase in turnout for Council on Aging programming: Although we’re just about to wrap up the Quarter 2 of Fiscal Year 2018, we’ve already seen a 10 percent increase in turnout for Council on Aging programming compared to all four quarters of Fiscal Year 2017. And the Council on Aging shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. In fact, they’re adding 16 new programs in 2018, including health and wellness initiatives like therapy dog visits, cooking classes, and swimming and water aerobics; social services like a mental health series, mindfulness group, and housing fair; and social events like picnic in the park and arts and crafts groups.
The Council on Aging aims to support the estimated 10,987 Somerville residents ages 60 and older and help make our city a great place to grow older. If you or an older adult you know are interested in services offered by the Council on Aging, visit www.somervillema.gov/departments/health-and-human-services/council-aging or contact the Director of the Council on Aging, Cindy Hickey, by calling 617-625-6600 ext. 2300 or emailing chickey@somervillema.gov.
12 percent increase in Home Energy Assessments: Led by the City’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development and designed to aid efforts in the National Grid Community Initiative grant program, the Somerville Energy Efficiency Now! (SEEN) campaign prioritizes sustainability and encourages residents to complete no-cost Mass Save Home Energy Assessments and home energy upgrades.
In 2016, Somerville residents completed over 500 no-cost Mass Save Home Energy Assessments and more than 500 home energy upgrades, exceeding the program goals and earning the City $36,000 in grant funding and a reusable water bottle refilling station in Davis Square’s Statue Park.
Last year saw a 50 percent increase in inquiry calls, a 12 percent increase in home energy assessments and upgrades, a 24 percent increase BTUs saved, and finally a whopping 741 percent increase in dollars saved. Additionally, the City earned about $27,500 in grant funding for future energy program outreach and projects, for a combined total of about $62,000 in funding between 2016 and 2017.
For more information on the SEEN initiative, visit www.somervillema.gov/seen.
11 licensed dogs named Jake: Of the 1,380 dogs currently licensed in Somerville, the name Jake has come out on top as the most popular pooch name in the city with 11 of the licensed dogs answering to it. However, there’s some close competition. Sadie came in at the number two spot with 10 licensed dogs under the name, while there are 9 dogs named Lola and Lucy and 8 dogs named Bella and Tucker.
As a reminder, the City does require the pet owners license their dogs. More information and the form can be found at www.somervillema.gov/departments/animal-control.
Data-based decision making is at the core of how the City of Somerville develops policy and sets priorities. Every day we check the latest 311 stats, and throughout the week we meet for in-depth review of departmental data and city trends. The monthly Data Download column shares some of the data we’ve been reviewing recently, as well as interesting updates. To see more Somerville Data, visit the online Somerville Data Farm at www.somervillema.gov/datafarm.
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$3,984,719: economic damage to residents of Somerville resulting from calling needless parking bans throughout the winter.
Perhaps if you invited your neighbors to park in your driveway the number would be less…
IN theory that would work but in the real world the driveways on our street on our street mostly hold only 2 cars and most of the houses have 4 cars. So that equation does not work. Also in order to accommodate more parking we had to give up our yard and have it hot topped. And since some houses were sold here within the last year we now have more cars, not less. People buy the houses have no idea on what they are in store for. Street cleaning is overkill here. There is one person left here with a yard here and they are considering also paving their lawn. That’s the reality of it. We also have new construction going on near us where they will most certainly have less parking than they will need like most projects here. And if you have visitors they can’t visit on snow emergencies. And let’s not forget that people like my wife who go and care for the elderly helping them to bathe and dress and feed them can’t get there as there is no parking and because some of these people really need the help has had her car towed so for the low $10 an hour paid to help them it costs her to go there. Even just the ticket. The since many of these streets are only plowed in the middle anyway which is not a problem on my street is just lack of common sense.
The current policy of unlimited parking permits needs to go. Limit it 1 car per 12′ of frontage per unit.
But Old Taxpayer, didn’t you hear? Nobody drives cars anymore. Just go to any Planning Board hearing where they’re rubberstamping another condo building with no parking. They’ll tell you – nobody drives cars anymore. They’re all riding bicycles or have sold their gas-guzzling monsters in anticipation of taking the Green Line everywhere in a few short years. So you must be mistaken about your neighbors having cars or needing parking . .
Thank you CAP. I just haven’t been able to find a bike I can use my cane and crutches on. The other problem with them canceling the way they do is that being that early they force many businesses to lose money. Restaurants lose a lot of money in this city when they call and emergency so early and many of us non able bodied don’t dare to leave as we know we won’t have a place to comeback to. If I go to a school I will have to get a taxi to bring me home and then back again. A responsible way would be when it starts snowing. After all they are basing things on predictions. We need a little common sense here.
So CAP, if you build a building without parking, then it should be stipulated that the residents can NOT receive a permit. I’m not sure how that is managed today, but it would be foolish to do otherwise.
this said the goal of the snow emergency is to make sure that roads can be cleared to ensure emergency vehicles can get down the street. The last thing you want to see is someone dying or multiple homes lost in a fire because an fire truck couldn’t navigate the roads. I’m not sorry if this inconveniences someone. If you are unable to cook at home there are plenty of delivery services that can bring you food from your favorite restaurant and you can eat it in the convenience of your home.