Boston City Council: District 9

Candidates

Brandon Bowser †
Mark Ciommo †*
Alexander Golonka

†Will proceed to the municipal elections on Nov. 7
*incumbent

Sections

About the Candidates
Policy Proposals
Yes/No Questions

About the Candidates

Do you personally walk to destinations in your community? If yes, how often do you do so?

Brandon Bowser	Mark Ciommo
Yes	Yes
I do not own a car, so walking, biking, and the MBTA are my primary modes of transportation. I walk in and around my neighborhood everyday	I walk to various events around Allston-Brighton.

Do you personally travel by/ use public transit to get around? If yes, which trains and buses do you routinely use?

Brandon Bowser	Mark Ciommo
Yes	Yes
I typically use public transportation between 3–5 times a week.	I periodically use the commuter rail, especially the Framingham Line from Boston Landing

Do you personally bike in your community or commute by bike to other communities? If no, would you be willing to give it a try periodically, e.g. once or twice per month?

Brandon Bowser	Mark Ciommo
Yes	No
My bike is my primary mode of transportation. I find the bicycle allows me the opportunity to get to wherever I am going the quickest. I am a year round biker, and use it to get to work. Luckily, I have lived within a mile and a half of the schools I have taught at.	Although I do not currently use a bike regularly, I would be interested in trying it. With the recent installation of new Hubway stations across Allston-Brighton, I have been looking for opportunities to test out the bikes.

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Policy Proposals

How will you work to establish funding for the infrastructure changes needed to slow traffic on your community’s streets, and improve crosswalks and intersections to make them safer for people who are walking and using mobility assistive devices?

Brandon Bowser	Mark Ciommo
I think that the neighborhood of Allston-Brighton needs to do more to make sure that the streets are calmer. I feel the number of cars parked on the streets obscures the pedestrians trying to cross. We need to improve the infrastructure around our community. One way that we can conduct these studies with no cost to the City is to have developers conduct traffic impact studies whenever they propose a building with 6+ units.	The City of Boston needs to get creative about funding these important projects, and I have worked to find ways to form partnerships with the various stakeholders across the city that would benefit from improved infrastructure. Working with our universities, as I have done with Harvard University, Boston University, and Boston College, to find areas that we can collaborate to invest in roads that their students and faculty rely on. I am also in favor of working with Boston Transportation Department to find ways to derive new revenue streams that can be used to fund the needed improvements to Boston’s streets and sidewalks.

Brandon Bowser

Mark Ciommo

I think that the neighborhood of Allston-Brighton needs to do more to make sure that the streets are calmer. I feel the number of cars parked on the streets obscures the pedestrians trying to cross. We need to improve the infrastructure around our community. One way that we can conduct these studies with no cost to the City is to have developers conduct traffic impact studies whenever they propose a building with 6+ units.

The City of Boston needs to get creative about funding these important projects, and I have worked to find ways to form partnerships with the various stakeholders across the city that would benefit from improved infrastructure. Working with our universities, as I have done with Harvard University, Boston University, and Boston College, to find areas that we can collaborate to invest in roads that their students and faculty rely on. I am also in favor of working with Boston Transportation Department to find ways to derive new revenue streams that can be used to fund the needed improvements to Boston’s streets and sidewalks.

How will you improve the reach, frequency, and quality of public transit in your city/town?

Brandon Bowser	Mark Ciommo
I think that the City of Boston needs to seriously address the future of Public Transit. We need to make sure that we improve service and reliability while keeping the T out of the hands of private owners. We need to be looking at how to make the T equitable across the city, that is wait times for buses, and travel times. We need to be working to make the T cheaper or discounted for members of our community that struggle with paying for the latest rounds of fare increases.	I was a strong advocate for the Boston Landing commuter rail stop and continue to pressure our state officials wherever possible to improve rail and bus transit. I am member of the North/South Rail Link working group and support efforts to connect the city by rail. The MBTA’s lack of publicly available data on ridership needs to be addressed, and I encourage our state officials to work to make more data on bus and train use available so routes can be adjusted to fit the changing needs of the city.

Brandon Bowser

Mark Ciommo

I think that the City of Boston needs to seriously address the future of Public Transit. We need to make sure that we improve service and reliability while keeping the T out of the hands of private owners. We need to be looking at how to make the T equitable across the city, that is wait times for buses, and travel times. We need to be working to make the T cheaper or discounted for members of our community that struggle with paying for the latest rounds of fare increases.

I was a strong advocate for the Boston Landing commuter rail stop and continue to pressure our state officials wherever possible to improve rail and bus transit. I am member of the North/South Rail Link working group and support efforts to connect the city by rail. The MBTA’s lack of publicly available data on ridership needs to be addressed, and I encourage our state officials to work to make more data on bus and train use available so routes can be adjusted to fit the changing needs of the city.

How will you ensure fast-tracked implementation of a city-/town-wide network of off-street paths and protected bike lanes* on major thoroughfares and connecting streets that are comfortable for people of all ages and abilities?

Brandon Bowser	Mark Ciommo
When talking with people in my community, I always say that “No one should feel unsafe or that they are going to die just for riding a bike in the street.” I think that Protected bike lanes, or off-street paths are great solutions to making people feel safer. I think that the bike paths in Cambridge do a great job at making safer traffic. I am fortunate to live in Allston-Brighton, where we have a good amount of bike lanes. I will support any legislation in the Boston City Council that support the funding of bike infrastructure.	As Chair of the Committee on Ways and Means, I have worked to ensure there has been funding available to begin the construction of protected bike paths across the city, and I intend to work closely with the Mayor and state officials to continue to oversee an construction of off-street and protected bike lanes.

Brandon Bowser

Mark Ciommo

When talking with people in my community, I always say that “No one should feel unsafe or that they are going to die just for riding a bike in the street.” I think that Protected bike lanes, or off-street paths are great solutions to making people feel safer. I think that the bike paths in Cambridge do a great job at making safer traffic. I am fortunate to live in Allston-Brighton, where we have a good amount of bike lanes. I will support any legislation in the Boston City Council that support the funding of bike infrastructure.

As Chair of the Committee on Ways and Means, I have worked to ensure there has been funding available to begin the construction of protected bike paths across the city, and I intend to work closely with the Mayor and state officials to continue to oversee an construction of off-street and protected bike lanes.

How will you increase access to biking in every neighborhood equally? What do you see as the major obstacles to encouraging ridership, and how will you address them?

Brandon Bowser	Mark Ciommo
I will have an open door to biking advocacy groups who are already doing great work in the community. I would love to help these organizations to actualize their long-term plans. This is particularly true of groups like Commonwheels who do work with young people and students.	I think the Hubway program has been successful in increasing accessibility to biking in neighborhoods across the city. Increasing the number of stations, especially in neighborhoods under-served by public transportation, is a priority that continues to be addressed. The major obstacle to encouraging ridership is the concern regarding safety on bikes in the City of Boston; this is an issue that I will continue to work on, and have been supportive of improving through targeted investment in bike safety infrastructure.

Brandon Bowser

Mark Ciommo

I will have an open door to biking advocacy groups who are already doing great work in the community. I would love to help these organizations to actualize their long-term plans. This is particularly true of groups like Commonwheels who do work with young people and students.

I think the Hubway program has been successful in increasing accessibility to biking in neighborhoods across the city. Increasing the number of stations, especially in neighborhoods under-served by public transportation, is a priority that continues to be addressed. The major obstacle to encouraging ridership is the concern regarding safety on bikes in the City of Boston; this is an issue that I will continue to work on, and have been supportive of improving through targeted investment in bike safety infrastructure.

How will you increase funding for biking infrastructure?

Brandon Bowser	Mark Ciommo
I will work to get funding for biking infrastructure into the yearly budget for the City of Boston. I would also team up with local biking non-profits to help them in their grant writing process. I will also work to petition universities and developers to encourage them to build infrastructure to improve the communities that they are in.	As the Chair of the Committee on Ways and Means, I understand the difficult decisions that need to be made regarding how to appropriate funds in the City’s annual budget. To increase funding for bike specific infrastructure, I am supportive of working with Transportation Department to generate new revenue that can be dedicated to improvements to bike infrastructure across the city.

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Yes/No Questions

Do you support the adoption of Vision Zero and funding for its rapid implementation? Vision Zero is an approach which aims to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2030 and has been adopted by several communities, including Boston and Cambridge.

Brandon Bowser	Mark Ciommo
Yes	Yes

Do you support lowering design speeds through traffic calming measures on downtown and neighborhood streets as a means of enhancing the safety of people walking, using mobility assistive devices, biking, and driving? This may involve the expansion and enhancement of programs like Neighborhood Slow Streets (Boston) and Neighborways (Somerville).

Brandon Bowser	Mark Ciommo
Yes	Yes
In districts of our city which have higher foot traffic we need to do everything to make it safer. We need to get away from the mode of thinking about traffic as car-centric and embrace a safer-streets approach. This should happen for multiple streets in neighborhoods, not just one specific street. I think that the Neighborhood Slow Streets model put forth by the City of Boston is a great model.

One key strategy that has been proven to effectively reduce speeding, improve safety, and remove racial bias in traffic enforcement in other states and countries is automated enforcement (i.e. speed cameras and red light cameras). Do you support state legislation that authorizes the use of automated enforcement in Massachusetts, per the July 2017 recommendation of the National Transportation Safety Board?

Brandon Bowser	Mark Ciommo
Yes	Yes
	I would look to consult with BPD on how to best utilize this technology in the City of Boston.

Do you support redesigning space on the street in order to improve safety for people biking by creating protected bike lanes?

Brandon Bowser

Mark Ciommo

Yes

We need to work to make streets more inclusive for non-vehicular traffic. I completely support the redesigning how streets are designed to improve safety. I believe that the conversation around traffic needs to be centered around the concept of respect. Buses need to respect cars, cars need to respect bikes, bikes need to respect cars and pedestrians. We all need to realize that we are all sharing the same road, and keep everyones safety in mind.

Do you support the increased use of curb extensions to improve safety and visibility at intersections, even if it requires the removal of one to two parking spaces?

Brandon Bowser	Mark Ciommo
Yes	Yes
I think that the sides of streets need to have more use than simply parking cars. I would be fine losing some parking spaces if that meant we could have community benefits like bike racks, benches, or tables for restaurants.

Do you support implementation of all of the Better Bike Corridors and other bike projects in the Go Boston 2030 Plan, and commit to making sure all short-term projects are planned and implemented within three years, and long-term projects are implemented by or before 2030?

Brandon Bowser	Mark Ciommo
Yes	Yes
I think that the timeline of the Go Boston plan might be a bit unrealistic. Having said that, I would do everything in my power to make sure that they move forward, and remain on the table.

Will you address age-friendly walking in your community — an issue raised by many seniors as critical to their ability to “age in community”? If yes, how?

Brandon Bowser

Mark Ciommo

Yes

I have had this conversation with a number of seniors, and I believe that we need to do better making sure that these community members feel comfortable walking in and around our neighborhood. I think that we should be making sure that any new development that comes into our neighborhoods take the concerns of our seniors seriously. They need to be designing infrastructure that allows safe and easy crossing of streets.

I constantly work with Public Works to address issues related to damaged sidewalks, and have worked closely with DPW to improve response time to reports of damaged sidewalks that impact senior mobility.

Boston has many traffic signals that do not work well for pedestrians. Will you work to make signal timing safer, easier, and more convenient for people walking and using mobility assistive devices at all paces?

Brandon Bowser	Mark Ciommo
Yes	Yes
I find that when I am crossing street, I often feel rushed. I cannot imagine how stressful it must be for people with physical differences. Being a teacher, I am always concerned for how my students get to school. I often see my students running across the street with very limited time to spare. We need to install more responsive crossing buttons to insure safety of all pedestrians.

Do you support the restriction of on-street parking during rush hour on major thoroughfares in order to provide lanes for the exclusive use of buses?

Brandon Bowser	Mark Ciommo
Yes	Yes
We need to do everything in our power to make transportation more efficient for non car traffic. I believe we need more dedicated bus lanes across the city, and rolling it out during rush hour is a great start.

Do you support the creation of a staff position within the Transportation Department solely devoted to managing transit in the City of Boston?

Brandon Bowser	Mark Ciommo
Yes	Yes

Do you support exploring new ways of raising revenue to provide the City of Boston with more tools to improve conditions for people walking, using mobility assistive devices, and biking (e.g. congestion pricing)? If yes, please give examples that interest you.

Brandon Bowser	Mark Ciommo
Yes	Yes
I think that we need to incentivize people to take methods of alternative transportation. Charging more for parking during certain hours is a great start! I also like the idea of discounting public transportation during times with higher demand. We need to also increase the reliability of the T to encourage ridership.	Fees can be raised through changes to the parking program in different parts of Boston.

Do you support charging an annual fee for residential parking permits?

Brandon Bowser	Mark Ciommo
No	Yes
I think that this annual fee would be a burden on individuals and families who are already struggling to make ends meet in Boston. The price of housing and living in the city is already high enough, I don’t feel that it makes sense to implement a fee for working class families.	I do think that some permits should remain free, but in cases where residents own multiple cars that are taking up residential spaces, a reasonable fee may be appropriate.

Do you support the rollout of dynamic parking meter pricing (i.e. increasing meter rates during periods of increased demand) in business districts to free up on-street parking and reduce cars “cruising”� for open spaces?

Brandon Bowser	Mark Ciommo
Yes	Yes
I like the idea of this being rolled out Downtown and in neighborhoods like Back Bay and Beacon Hill. I feel that this might be a burden on many members of our community if it were rolled out across the city in Main Streets districts.	The dynamic pricing model also could help to address needed funding for sidewalk and bike infrastructure improvements.

Will you help the community of Charlestown work with the City to develop a consensus design for Rutherford Ave and Sullivan Square that balances the community’s desire for walkability, connectivity, open space and resiliency with vehicular traffic?

Brandon Bowser

Mark Ciommo

Yes

Having biked in Sullivan Square and along Rutherford Ave. I know full well how dangerous this area is! I will first help the community by listening to their concerns and proposed solutions. I think that this intersection needs to be addressed as the public safety risk that it is. I feel that this intersection has the potential of being an example of how seriously the City of Boston takes implementing bike and pedestrian infrastructure into a densely used corridor.

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Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition