Bike donation
program enters third season, celebrates 1,700 bikes
donated
Mayor
Menino today announced the start of the third consecutive year of Boston Bikes’
“Roll it Forward” program, an initiative that collects, repairs, and donates
bikes to those in need. Since its inception, the program has given more than
1,700 bicycles to Bostonians of all ages and is in need of new donations to
continue its work this year. Through “Roll it Forward,” bikes, accompanied by a
helmet and lock, are distributed in partnership with local community partners
such as health centers, homeless shelters, the housing authority, and other
non-profit and government agencies. Boston
Bikes is expanding its program as part of Mayor Menino’s Greenovate Boston
initiative, which aims to encourage sustainable behavior by Boston residents and
businesses to meet the Mayor’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals of 25
percent by 2020.
“Every
day we’re working to make Boston a greener and healthier city,” Mayor Menino
said. “Roll It Forward brings these benefits of cycling and more to those
who might not otherwise have access to a bike. I hope our residents will join
the effort and donate a bike to a fellow resident in need.”
Bicycles
can be donated at a number of greater Boston locations, including newly-added
Landry’s Bicycles in Natick, JRA Cycles in Medford, Dedham Bike, Seaside Cycles
in Manchester-by-the-Sea, and for Sudbury residents, the Sudbury Transfer
Station. Continuing drop off locations include Eastern Mountain Sports in
Newton, Hingham, Boston, and Cambridge, Belmont’s Wheelworks, Giant Cycling
World in Boston, and Back Bay Bicycles in Boston. L.L. Bean, with locations in
Burlington, Dedham, and Mansfield, will be hosting a bike drive from April
26-28, offering up to 30% off toward the purchase of a new bike, accessories,
apparel, and Thule racks. While donated bikes don’t need to be in perfect
condition, they should not have excessive rust or extreme damage. The program’s
mechanics will fix up each bike that comes in and ensure that it is in safe
riding condition for the next owner.
Those
who donate bikes are eligible to claim a thank you reward of either a bicycle
jersey/t-shirt or gift pack of Perfect Fuel Chocolate, a new Boston-based
performance chocolate company. Some of the drop off locations also offer
discounts toward the purchase of a new bike or bike parts. Anyone interested in
donating or hosting a bike drive should visit www.bostonbikes.org for more information.
About
Boston Bikes: Boston Bikes is part of Mayor
Menino’s vision for a vibrant and healthy city that benefits all its citizens.
It seeks to make Boston a world-class bicycling city by creating safe and
inviting conditions for all residents and visitors. Boston Bikes focuses on
improvements in all six universal bike planning areas: Engineering, Enforcement,
Education, Equity, Encouragement, and Evaluation.
About Greenovate
Boston
Greenovate
Boston is a collective movement and innovative solution to ensure a greener,
healthier and more prosperous future for the city by meeting Mayor Thomas M.
Menino’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020 and 80% by
2050. Propelled by creativity and drive, Greenovate Boston will encourage
continued sustainable growth within the city, making Boston the greenest in the
United States. Visit http://greenovateboston.org for
details.
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Mayor Menino Calls for Boston Shines
Volunteers
Registration on
par to break last year’s participation record, several new projects being
planned
Though it certainly doesn’t
feel like it, spring has arrived in Boston. In just more than three weeks, Mayor
Thomas M. Menino will kick off the 11th Annual Boston Shines Citywide
Neighborhood Clean Up and Community Service Volunteer Program. During the
weekend of April 26-27, thousands of volunteers across all Boston neighborhoods
will come together to volunteer in the City’s public spaces. Several new
projects are being planned for this year, and volunteers are needed in all areas
of the City.
“Boston Shines is a great way
for residents and local businesses to give back to their community,” Mayor
Menino said. “Our goal this year is to have more volunteers, repaint more
crosswalks, repair more signs, and plant more flowers than ever before to get
our City ready for the spring and summer.”
Organized by the Mayor’s
Office of Neighborhood Services, the Boston Shines 365 Program provides
individuals and neighborhood groups with tools and materials to clean parks,
recreational spaces and business districts in order to prepare Boston for the
spring and summer.
Last year’s landmark
10th Anniversary of Boston Shines saw a record-breaking 6,506
volunteers, comprising 329 groups, volunteering in 806 project sites citywide.
The Boston Transportation Department removed 19 abandoned cars, repainted 340
crosswalks, and repaired/replaced 361 signs. The Public Works Department removed
92 tons of debris from the various project sites. The Office of Neighborhood
Services was able to provide more than 800 flowers to groups across the
neighborhoods for planting. Major park cleanups were coordinated by the Parks
Department at the Boston Common, Franklin Park, Dorchester Park, and the East
Boston Greenway. The event involved a dozen City departments and partners from
many State agencies as well as several dozen private institutional
partners.
Planning for this year’s
program is well underway. Individuals and groups can register online at the
Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services website: http://www.cityofboston.gov/ons/bostonshines/2013.asp.
You can find out more information and ways to get involved by calling the Office
of Neighborhood Services at 617-635-3485, or the Mayor’s 24 Hour Hotline
(617-635-4500) on weekends and after-hours. This year, the City will ask
volunteer groups to submit their photos and stories via social media using
#BostonShines.
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Hubway Teams Up
with Boston Red Sox Foundation for “Opening Day”
Mayor Menino
announces program expansions for 2013
Joining together
two of the region’s early signs of spring, Hubway and the Boston Red Sox
Foundation have teamed up to commemorate the bike share system’s “Opening Day”
re-launch on Monday, April 8. 95 of the 112 Hubway stations will be in operation
Monday, with remaining stations opening by mid-April. Mayor Menino also
announced several updates to last year’s programming, including up to 15-20 new
stations in the City of Boston.
“There’s no
better way to celebrate Opening Day than with two great Boston institutions: the
Boston Red Sox and New Balance Hubway,” Mayor Menino said. “We’re looking
forward to building on last year’s success and bringing Hubway to more Boston
neighborhoods.”
Boston will look
to add up to 15-20 new New Balance Hubway stations in 2013, entering Jamaica
Plain for the first time and adding stations in Charlestown, Dorchester and
Roxbury.
Additionally:
-
The most
highly-utilized stations will be expanded with more bikes, including
Congress/Sleeper, Post Office Square, Beacon/Mass Ave, and Charles
Circle
-
Summer/Arch
station has moved one block to the corner of Franklin/Arch and has added 12 new
spaces to accommodate demand
-
TD
Garden/Legends Way station has moved to the sidewalk along Causeway St at Portal
Park and expanded by seven spaces
-
New station at
Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital’s Navy Yard facility
Monday’s rolling
relaunch celebration will feature Hubway team members circling Boston,
Cambridge, Somerville, and Brookline on a celebratory route. Hubway members that
greet the Hubway team along the route will receive a free Boston Red Sox t-shirt
and/or a free day pass for Hubway. And, one Hubway member will even get to go to
the Red Sox Opening Day home game.
2013 marks the
start of Hubway’s third season and comes after the highly successful 2012 season
in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville. The system’s users have logged
nearly 677,000 rides since its July 2011 launch, with more than 7,000 active
annual members and nearly 100,000 one- and three-day passes sold.
Some additional
statistics:
-
Total trips
676,165
-
Total miles
ridden 690,654
-
Total calories
burned 29,698,122
-
Total pounds of
carbon offset 462,738
The current
Hubway system is made up of 112 stations and 1,100 bicycles.
“The positive
impacts of bike share are varied and many,” said Scott Mullen of Alta Bicycle
Share, who is general manager of the Hubway. “There is the public health
component, the air quality piece, congestion mitigation, local economic impact,
reconnection of people to urban places. And if those weren’t enough, riding
Hubway is a ton of fun!”
Brookline
“Brookline looks
forward to its first full season as part of the regional Hubway bike share
system,” said Joe Viola, Assistant Director for Community Planning. “There
continues to be a lot of interest locally in Hubway, and we’re confident that
Brookline’s modest expansion will help to build on the success of last year by
making Hubway bicycles accessible to even more people. As more people embrace
the benefits of bicycling, we expect the regional bike share system will
continue to flourish.”
In addition to
stations in Coolidge Corner at Beacon/Centre St. and at the Brookline Village
MBTA Station, Hubway stations will be at the following locations:
-
Washington
Square will get an on street station located on Beacon St on the inbound side
(to be installed after the Boston Marathon)
-
A new on street
station located on Harvard St. near the intersection of Thorndike St. in JFK
Crossing will provide a critical link between Coolidge Corner and
Allston
Cambridge
-
New station at
the Radcliffe Quad, at Garden St/Shepard St
-
Planned station
for the Porter Square T lower plaza
-
DeWolfe and
Memorial Drive station to be relocated nearby due to
construction
-
Three additional
stations later this spring
“Cambridge is
very excited to get another season of Hubway underway,” says Cambridge Mayor
Henrietta Davis. “It has been great to witness the tremendous growth of bike
share and see people of all kinds using bikes for local shopping, getting to
work, or enjoying touring around as visitors. Hubway is an obvious way to
increase the sustainable, healthy transportation options in our city and
region.”
Somerville
The City of
Somerville is pleased to launch the 2013 season with new stations in the works
and with Hubway once again acting as a key compliment to its goals as an active
transportation community. “The expansion of Hubway into Somerville last year has
been a key piece of our efforts to make Somerville the most bikeable community
in the nation,” stated Mayor Joseph Curtatone. “We are excited to announce the
addition of three new stations in key neighborhoods, and look forward to seeing
the popular bikes throughout the City again this season.”
Somerville’s
Hubway news includes:
-
New station at
Highland Ave/Somerville Hospital
-
New station at
Teele Square/Elm St
-
New station
adjacent to Tufts at Packard Ave/Powderhouse Blvd
-
Ball Square
station moving to Bristol Rd at the intersection of
Broadway
“We
are thrilled to see the popular Hubway system reopening for the season with
expanded station locations in Boston, Cambridge, Somerville and Brookline,” said
Marc Draisen, executive director of MAPC. “As more stations are added, ridership
continues to grow."
For up to the
minute information on station installs, visit http://www.thehubway.com or download the
FREE SpotCycle app for smartphones. You can also monitor our Twitter feed -
@hubway - or our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/hubway. More info can
be found at www.thehubway.com
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Harvard study: BPS early education programs lead to long-term learning
gains and help close achievement gaps
BOSTON – A Harvard study by the
Society for Research in Child Development finds the academic gains achieved by
students in Boston Public Schools’ early childhood education programs are the
“largest found to date in evaluations of large-scale public prekindergarten
programs.” According to the study, academic gains were particularly strong for
Latino children, with African American students also showing significant,
sustained gains in reading skills that last throughout elementary
school.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino has led the expansion of the city’s
pre-kindergarten programs, which began with the opening of three early education
centers in 1998, to a total of 700 students served in 2005 and more than 2,300
students served every year today. Superintendent Carol R. Johnson and the Boston
School committee expect to continue the expansion this fall.
“Giving our
students a strong and early start has been one of my top priorities. We will
continue to expand these great programs,” said Mayor Menino. “This research
confirms that Boston leads the way nationally. We have always known our
pre-kindergarten teachers are the very best at what they do, and we are proud
that this Harvard study backs them up.”
BPS currently offers K1 seats in
85% of elementary schools, Early Learning Centers and K-8 schools. 17 of these
programs have earned national accreditation for early childhood programming from
the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
“We are
proud to offer and see results in our high quality early education programs. We
know that giving our children a good early start is the best investment we can
make in our city’s future. Our work to close achievement gaps begins the moment
a student sets foot in one of our classrooms. The earlier we can reach that
student, the better,” said Superintendent Johnson
The Harvard study
tracked the academic progress of approximately two thousand children who
enrolled in a BPS pre-kindergarten program. It found that the programs had a
clear positive impact. The study appears in the journal Child Development.
For more information, visit the Society for Research in Child Development
website, http://www.srcd.org.
The
Boston Public Schools, the birthplace of public education in the United
States,
serves nearly 57,000 pre-kindergarten through grade 12 students in
128 schools.
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Court St., Boston, Massachusetts 02108 | www.bostonpublicschools.org | Follow us on
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