Category Archives: Community Issues

Where have all the barrels gone?

Posted on April 2, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Mr. Marchand explains…

You may have noticed that litter barrels are being removed from neighborhood business districts. Their removal is part of a spring “cleaning and consolidation” effort currently underway. Barrels are being taken to the Public Works department where they are power washed prior to being replaced. Broken receptacles will be discarded. Removing clusters of barrels all at once makes their cleaning and servicing more efficient. The goal is to reduce the overall number of litter barrels and to re-deploy them strategically to provide adequate coverage and to minimize staff time spent on servicing them. Over the years the number of barrels has grown to approximately 300. Some are underutilized and some are broken. A few have been used for the disposal of household and commercial trash. Based on DPW assessments of usage in various districts, we will identify best locations for replacement. We expect the total number to be reduced significantly and service times to be improved. We will also monitor them more closely as some have been being used for disposal of commercial and household trash. Interestingly, we have had a few businesses who have offered to maintain a barrel near their shop. While we got a jump on executing this program as soon as spring arrived, Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions regarding this effort.

Henri B. Marchand Assistant to the City Manager

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Posted in Community Issues, Downtown Lowell, Neighborhood Improvements

New Trolley Signals at Market and Dutton

Posted on March 24, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Thanks to Sam for being the first person I heard from that noticed these lights…and to TonyC at richardhowe.com for posting this video!

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Posted in Community Issues, Downtown Lowell, National Park Service, NPS, Traffic, Trollet

Spring Clean-Up

Posted on March 21, 2011 by | Leave a comment

The Lowell Downtown Neighborhood Association is planning a spring clean up for Saturday April 23, 9 AM to Noon – focusing on Mack Plaza, the Victorian Garden and Dutton St. The city will be street sweeping later (where there is no parking).

Keep Lowell Beautiful is providing brooms, shovels and rakes. They have some gloves. Please bring your bags for trash. We compost leave in the Victorian garden. KLB has some clear bags for recyclables.

If you want to borrow brooms and shovels for your area, let me know. KLB may be able to help. The City will pick up bags on Monday if they are accessible to a dump truck. Don’t over fill the bags they have to be throw up onto the truck which is about 6 feet up. Try composting the organic material and bag the trash.

Stephen Greene
greenesh@comcast.net

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Posted in Community Gardens, Community Issues, Downtown, Fundraiser; Keep Lowell Beautiful

A More User-Friendly License Commission

Posted on March 19, 2011 by | Leave a comment

The city manager has a new posting about enhancements to the notification process for Licensing Board which was a subject of discussion at our meeting with Chief Lavallee last week.

“Occasionally, not all surrounding neighbors hear about the owner’s intent, so the City is updating its resources to better connect to Lowell residents. The Commission holds two hearings per month, both of which are open to the public. An agenda for the meeting will go up on the City’s newly enhanced website 48 hours before the meeting and any items on that list will be addressed”.

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Posted in Bars, Community Issues, Downtown Lowell, License Commission

Expanding Voter Participation

Posted on March 9, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Cliff Krieger has a summary of the CC Rules subcommittee meeting that I attended last night with a group of people Greg Page had asked me join to discuss ways to increase voter participation and gather ideas, suggestions about how to insure all residents of Lowell are represented by our city council.
http://right-side-of-lowell.blogspot.com/2011/03/expanding-voter-participation.html

The city council voted to create a Charter Committee made up of representatives from each of the nine active neighborhood groups. Each neighborhood representative will hold meetings within their neighborhoods to discuss how the city can encourage more voter participation as well as looking at options to encourage more people to consider summing for city council. Things as simple as physical boundaries to getting to the polls or as Councilor Mercier mentioned, possibly change the times or days of the week we hold elections. The point is to gather a variety of suggestions from the general public.

Thanks to Greg for giving me an opportunity to work on something I feel is important to all of us. Secondly the group requested that the city council appoint one representative and one alternate from each neighborhood group. Since I feel that LDNA needs a voice other than mine…I know you will all be competing for a place on this committee. It is not a huge commitment likely one meeting per month for the next 12 months. For the sake of efficiency I would like to suggest that we dedicate a portion of each LDNA meeting to the subject.

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Posted in City Council, Community Issues, Downtown, Elections, Neighborhood Organizations

Posted on February 25, 2011 by | Leave a comment

LDNA MEETING MONDAY FEBRUARY 28, 7PM
AT ALL ARTS GALLERY, 22 SHATTUCK ST.

Agenda
Election of officers.
Remainder of meeting is open discussion.
Refreshments will be served

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Posted in Community Issues, Downtown Lowell, Neighborhood Organizations

Lowell Women’s Week

Posted on February 19, 2011 by | Leave a comment

For sixteen years, Lowell Women’s Week has celebrated women–from the women who have come before us to the women of today.

Find the fulll schedule of events at http://www.lowellwomensweek.org/index.html

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Posted in Arts, Community Issues, Events, Lowell

Jackson Street Construction

Posted on February 11, 2011 by | Leave a comment

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Posted in Community Issues, commuting, Downtown, Downtown Lowell, JAM, JAMBRA, Traffic

Missing Caffe’ Paradiso

Posted on February 10, 2011 by | Leave a comment

While watching this particular segment of the Newshour tonight it prompted some thoughts which I will share, but these are only mine and not a collective thought of LDNA: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/02/in-wake-of-tucson-shootings-program-tries-to-minimize-schizophrenias-impact.html

Watch the segment and although I have zero expertise in this area it sounded so practical and logical to me and brought me back to thoughts I commented on Greg’s blog; http://anewenglanderinlowell.blogspot.com/2011/01/286-for-105000-id-like-it.html

regarding finding a way in a stripped down budget and economy to increase the number of police officers in the city. For anyone who attended our January meeting you’ll know that asst. to CM Mr. Marchand very practically reminded me that if the city increase taxes there will be demands from every department for increased funding. I will maintain my position here; “how many kids have to die before public safety becomes our priority and everything else comes next”? According to Chief Lavallee with the current number of police officers (200, optimal number being 268) his department has become a reactive v. a proactive department. The city council has been working on goals and objectives and I would like to see finding a way to maintain our police department at the top of the list. I suspect the top of the list will be attracting new business and residents. If people do not feel safe here this might as well go to the bottom of the list.

So back to why I miss the Caffe’…for those who are new to the neighborhood you missed all those very late nights when we sat around until the wee hours of the morning discussing national/city/neighborhood issues. I miss officer (Yanni) Boutselis driving by when the caffe’ was closed and we would still be hanging around on the sidewalk talking (and sometimes singing or making up our own poems) saying, “you people really need to go home”.

Now that we are all scattered in various places around the neighborhood we rarely have an opportunity to have that collective conversation (Market St. Market on Sunday mornings is somewhat of a replacement). So as suggested by someone who will remain nameless…I would like to encourage people to attend our monthly LDNA meetings and to implement more no-agenda times for us to discuss whatever is on people’s minds. Of course this will take a commitment to going back to cookies & wine at meetings but I’m willing to find the time to make cookies to create a more communal atmosphere for everyone.

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Posted in Community Issues, Downtown Lowell, Guns, Lowell Police Department, Neighborhood Improvements, Neighborhood Organizations

Snow Emergency Parking Ban – Tuesday 9 AM

Posted on January 26, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Please be advised that a Snow Emergency Parking Ban has been declared on Tuesday at 9 AM.

There shall be no parking on the City Streets from 6:00 P.M. until such time that the ban is lifted. Motor Vehicles parking in violation of such ban (City Ordinance, sec. 19-89) are subject to towing under the authority of the Lowell Police Department and such towing will be at the owner’s expense (sec. 19-90). Motor Vehicles shall also receive a parking violation ticket.

FREE Parking for City residents who do not have access to “off-street” parking during “Snow Emergency – Parking Ban” available at George Ayotte Parking Facility, 11 Post Office Square, Lowell, MA 01852

More info…www.lowellma.gov

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Posted in Community Issues, Downtown, Downtown Lowell, Parking