Next meeting is Thursday, March 28 at 6:30 pm!

Transit, walking and biking are among
the issues we will discuss at the meeting

Hey there neighbors!

We hope you can join us at the next Planet Southie meeting. South Boston Grows will be on hand to give away free seedlings and talk about how you can get FREE TREES!

Thursday, March 28^th  6:30 - 7:30 pm

The Distillery Building
516 East Second Street, South Boston

As always, all are welcome and 
encouraged to attend!

Learn what we tree huggers are up to in this month's newsletter.





Please mark your calendars: Planet Southie meets the fourth Thursday of every month.

See you there!

Planet Southie Transportation Group Update

Planet Southie member Fred Gordon shared the following update about First Street bus service, shuttles, vans and more:

The Planet Southie Transit Action Team is working on transportation issues in South Boston. We started with the problem of bus transportation in the First Street area, but we’d like to gather together recommendations for transportation changes for the whole of South Boston.

First Street Bus Service: East First Street from Pappas Drive to Summer Street is between two bus routes. One of them—the No. 9—runs down Broadway and is a three block walk.  The other—the No. 7—runs along Summer and is about a half mile walk down E. First or along Pappas Drive. But the No. 7 bus could easily run down E. First. It now runs along Summer Street, and from E.

Announcing the South Boston Shuttle

Dennis Conway, a Planet Southie Transit Action Team member, shared the following update:

The South Boston Shuttle will be launched on Monday March 4th.  Service will be staged in three phases:

1. Dinner time restaurant shuttle to various South Boston restaurants (no charge to residents). Restaurants will be under contract to the shuttle service.
2. Free Senior Shuttle from 10-4 daily to South Boston business.
3. East-West First St., residential shuttle to South Station to start by mid-April.

Full details will be in the South Boston Today Newspaper next week!

Learn what else the transit team is up to here. 

Clarification: The Southie Shuttle is not organized by Planet Southie. Some of our transit team members were involved in starting it. For info, please visit www.southieshuttle.com or email Dennis Conway.

What is your "Walkscore"?

The following story was posted by Jessica Buhler, Planet Southie's Walk Action Team leader.

Neighborhoods with great "walkability" are better for your health, the environment, and the economy. I recently discovered a website, Walkscore.com, where you can type in a street address or walking route to find out how a particular area scores in regards to access to shops, parks, and transit (indicators of good walkability). 

Cars block sidewalk on East 4th Street

My address in South Boston scored an 80 (out of 100), primarily because the site noted that most errands can be accomplished on foot.  The site allows you to agree or disagree with their score and add in pictures and descriptions of items that may improve the score of the area.

Block length and number of intersections are considered when determining the score. However, whether or not there are safe and accessible sidewalks and crosswalks, if the weather is conducive for walking, and crime levels are not factored into the score.

Including that information would make the score more accurate. For instance, my area is very close to a grocery store and pharmacy (great for walkability). However, because the stores have huge parking lots with no buffers, the cars often park onto the sidewalk and become high car traffic areas that make it less safe and enjoyable for walkers.

Check out your score on walkscore.com and let us know if you agree or disagree.

For more reading, check out an article about planner, architect and author Jeff Speck's book "Walkable City" and his 10-step approach to create walkable urban areas. 

Learn more about better walking, biking, transit and more at the next Planet Southie meeting:

Thursday, February 28^th  6:30 - 7:30 pm

The Distillery Building
516 East Second Street, South Boston

(All are welcome and encouraged to attend)

Next meeting: Thursday, November 15 and thank you!

Please mark you calendars to come together again to work on walk/bike/bus solutions on 
Thursday, November 15 from 6:30 - 7:30 pm 
at the Distillery Building, 516 E 2nd Street.

Last night's meeting was a smash! Over 25 people participated and worked together to create concrete action steps to improve bike, walking and bus/MBTA access and safety!

A longer meeting summary and next steps will be posted in the next few days, we just wanted to be sure to post the next meeting and say a big THANK YOU to all who participated!

Stay tuned!

The Bike team was one of the three Action Teams that met last night.

Planet Southie in the News

Please check out this article about Planet Southie and our goals for the future.

Are you interested in a local green issue that is not currently a major focus of Planet Southie? Consider coordinating a Planet Southie Action Team to mobilize support for that issue. Come to our monthly meeting and share your ideas! Some ideas for new Action Teams: Energy efficiency, toxics, public transportation, biking, walking, asthma prevention, climate change, environmental justice, safe Rx disposal, neighborhood clean-ups and more. Action Teams can be short or long-term. You don't have to be an expert!

Opportunities to Help Southie Trees

Hello South Boston Green Advocates –

The City has notified us of three public hearings taking place regarding development in South Boston.  These hearings are great places to voice support for keeping any existing trees and requesting expanded green space.  If you or someone you know can make it to the hearings and would like to be a voice for our trees, please do so and forward this message along.  The details of the hearings are at the end of this message along with places to send letters or emails.

The locations of the developments are below:

·         395 W. Broadway
·         49/51 Melcher ST.
·         319 A ST.

After scouting on Google Maps/street view, this appears to be the situation:

·         395 W. Broadway has 4 street trees out front, a few more in back (these may be weed trees), and another across Silver St behind the building.
·         49/51 Melcher St looks like it has 2 small trees out front.
·         319 A St. has a few trees between it and the parking lot to the south (these look like weed trees grown next to the fence).

It goes without saying that the street trees should be preserved.  If the weed trees are grown into fences, they will likely be removed, but we can ask that they be replaced with more suitable species.  Hearing details are below.

Thank you everyone for speaking for our silent, leafy neighbors.

Mike Kissinger
Southie Trees co-coordinator

Hearing on 395 W. Broadway

Tuesday 1/4 6pm 
Lithuanian Club

368 W.Broadway

The developer wants 3 story addition-mixed use  parking for 20 vehicle under the building accessed from Silver St.

Contact
Jay Rourke
BRA
One City Hall Sq. 9th Fl.
Boston, MA 02201
617-918-4317

Jay.Rourke.bra@CityofBoston.gov
(Fax 617-742-7738)



Hearing on 49/51/Melcher St.

1/10 6pm
Bargmann Hendrie:
Archetype Inc.

300 A Street
(conference room 1st Fl.
Apts. and Artists lots 
Contact
: same address as above
617-918-4238

kristin.kara.BRA@cityofboston.gov

Fax 617-742-7783

Hearing on 319 A St.

1/19 9 am
 
Rm. 900 City Hall

petition and plans can be viewed at Office of Zoning Commisson
Rm. 953C
 M-F 9AM-5PM

December 6 Tree Action Team (Southie Trees) Meeting Agenda

Below is an outline for the Tree Action Team (Southie Trees) meeting tonight. It will be held at:

Seapoint Restaurant
367 East 8th Street
Monday, December 6th, at 6:30 PM


Everyone is welcome!

The agenda is jam-packed  - there is much to discuss and many decisions to be made.  We’d like to stick to an hour if possible, but recognize we may run over that.  Please be ready for a streamlined meeting with optional time afterwards for extended discussions.

Southie Trees Dec 6 Meeting Agenda

    * Greeting and Check-in (10 mins)
          o Welcome newcomers and check in
    * Strategic Planning
          o Tree Map - What we have and what we will need  (10 mins)
          o Neighborhood Associations – How can we best partner with them?  (10 mins)
    * Materials (10 mins)
          o Documents - GBG flyers, etc.  What other docs would be helpful?
          o Tree Sources
                + Arbor Day (Bare Root, Pine Trees in a tube, etc)
                + Others?
    * Boston Tree Party Presentation (10 mins)
    * Timeline for next year (10 mins)

o   Kickoff party

This Week's Friday Update: Opportunities to Plug In to a Greener South Boston

This Week's Friday Update: Opportunities to Plug In to a Greener South Boston.

The next Planet Southie Monthly Meeting is Monday, December 27 from 6:30-7:30 pm. Location: South Boston Branch Library, 646 East Broadway. Everyone is welcome at Planet Southie!

Monday, December 6 is the next Planet Southie Tree Action Team (Southie Trees) Meeting 6:30 pm at Seapoint Restaurant, 367 East 8th Street. All are welcome!

Are you interested in a local green issue that is not currently a major focus of Planet Southie? Consider coordinating a Planet Southie Action Team to mobilize support for that issue. Come to our monthly meeting and share your ideas! Some ideas for new Action Teams: Energy efficiency, public transportation, biking, walking, asthma prevention, climate change, environmental justice, safe Rx disposal, neighborhood clean-ups and more. Action Teams can be short or long-term. You don't have to be an expert!

Wishing you and your families a wonderful holiday season!

Planet Southie Tree Action Team Update

11/9/10 Planet Southie Tree Action Team meeting: Tree Team co-coordinators Julie Gehring and Mike Kissenger will be holding an open steering meeting for the Tree Team.

What: Planet Southie Tree Action Team Steering Meeting
Where: Farragut House, 149 P Street, South Boston, MA
When: November 9, 7:30 PM
Why: To start a discussion and make initial plans for the Tree Action Team

Mike will be taking notes and will be sending them out for anyone who can’t make it. We’ll try to answer the following questions:

• When is a good time to meet? (Monthly on Thursday evenings is currently the leading time slot)
• What are good initial goals for adding trees in South Boston?
• What obstacles will we need to overcome? 
• Who else can we reach out to in the community?

If you cannot make it, but would like to contribute to the discussion, please send an email to Mike (mike.kissinger@techboston.com) and we will be sure to raise your ideas at the meeting.


In this update (posted on 11/4/10):

1. Welcome

2. Strategic discussion and initial suggestions

3. Connecting and expanding the group

1. Welcome!

Welcome to our first update. First, I'd thank you for your interest. This team is the branch of Planet Southie rooted in helping Southie recover its tree cover. We definitely have our work cut out for us. South Boston is currently ranked 14th out of Boston's 16 neighborhoods in terms of tree canopy (if you were looking down from an airplane, you would see fewer leaves in Southie). The upside to this situation is that we also have more potential to increase our tree cover than any other neighborhood!

The tree gap impacts the community in a real way. Trees reduce air pollution and asthma rates. They keep streets and homes cool in the summer. Studies show big trees reduce crime and tree-lined streets discourage speeding. On top of all that, a mature tree can increase the value of a home by thousands of dollars!

I'd also like to thank Julie Gehring who has stepped up to co-coordinate. Julie and I will be meeting next Tuesday evening to discuss possibilities for the group. Once a time and location has been decided, we'll let everyone know.

2. Strategic Discussion

I'd like to invite you to join the discussion. To seed the conversation, here are a few questions:

• How can we best get trees in the earth and keep them there?
• What are some points of resistance we may run into?
• Who else would be interested in seeing our plan bear fruit?

Below are some suggestions based on prior conversations. Please feel welcome to add your thoughts and make suggestions!

Stakeholders to connect with:

• Landlords
• Developers
• Homeowners
• Community groups
• Organizations/businesses
• Local, State, Federal Government

Recognize and confront challenges:

• Leaf raking is a pain, especially for the elderly - maybe evergreens are a better option
• Trees can get too big for small yards - small ornamental or dwarf fruit trees might be ideal here
• Some people just don't want them

3. Connecting and expanding the group

If you or your friends or neighbors want to get involved, please have contact planetsouthie@gmail.com to be added to the Tree Action Team email list.

We are also looking for a monthly meeting time and location that will work for the group. If you would like to attend, please email mike.kissinger@techboston.com with times in the evening that would work for you.

Thank you, Southie Trees!

Mike Kissinger

Tree Action Team Co-Coordinator

10 Ways to Plug Into a Greener South Boston

Wondering how to help build a greener cleaner South Boston? Opportunities abound in this week's Friday Update.

Important Planet Southie news item: Heads up! We are forming a Planet Southie Tree Action Team. Please email us at planetsouthie@gmail.com to learn more. Many thanks to Mike Kissinger for leading this focused effort to protect our trees and to increase South Boston's tree cover (at 9% tree cover, South Boston has fewer trees than any other neighborhood in the City of Boston). Stay tuned for further details about tree information sessions, meetings and other opportunities to learn more and get involved.

What is an Action Team? Action Teams are dynamic work groups; composed of dedicated folks who roll up their sleeves to get things done in between our monthly general meetings. Interest has been expressed in organizing additional Planet Southie Action Teams on other topics, including asthma and climate change. If you are interested in one of these, or in another environmental focus, please let us know. The quantity, scope and impact of Action Teams are limited only by our community's passion, time, energy and creativity.

Next Planet Southie Meeting is Monday, October 25 from 6:30-7:30 pm. Location: Tech Networks of Boston, 1 Wadleigh Place in South Boston, right behind the Andrew Square T stop.