Letter: Mike Bloomberg, An Active Voice for Pittsfield

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To the Editor:

Those of us who understand the history of Pittsfield know that we're a far cry from our heyday. We're clawing back, but we need the help of our next state representative, Mike Bloomberg.

Tricia Farley-Bouvier has generally voted the way I would on most topics. I've spoken with her many times, she's a wonderful person, and I think she would be well suited as a state rep if the times were better ... But she has taken a passive role in Boston – others generate ideas, bring bills to a vote, and if somebody else in the state wrote something that benefits Pittsfield, Pittsfield benefits. Even the letters supporting her note the "quiet way” she has supported Pittsfield. She is treading water and we're ebbing and flowing with the tide.

No more passive voice. No more treading water. No more "quiet way." We need an active voice in Boston.

Pittsfield has an income problem and we've maxed out our property tax revenue. I bought a house two years ago (the second time I've bought a home in Pittsfield) and the property tax increased $150 a month immediately after I closed. If I had sent that $150 as an extra principal payment, I'd have saved $38,000 in interest and paid off my house six years sooner – but I got a tax increase.

We don't need clever ways to add taxes to existing citizens and businesses (like the proposed mileage tax and discussions on taxing non-profits the incumbent has been supporting). Pittsfield needs to increase revenue by growing the tax base.

Mike Bloomberg has a background and education in urban economics – he's studied cities, how their economies work, how they grow and collapse. He understands how the energy costs in Massachusetts hurt us in our competition for businesses with neighboring New York state. He knows that to address crime we must address the poverty that breeds it. And he knows how to give something for our educated sons and daughters to return to after college.

He understands the national models for revitalization like Asheville, N.C., and how to bring that model here. A strong, walkable city core full of local businesses with a sense of place, a sense of Pittsfield.

We need positive language, we need new energy, we need action. We need Mike Bloomberg. On Sept. 8, I'll be voting Mike Bloomberg for state rep. I hope you will, too.

Evan Hickok
Pittsfield, MA

 

 


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MassDOT Project Will Affect Traffic Near BMC

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Prepare for traffic impacts around Berkshire Medical Center through May for a state Department of Transportation project to improve situations and intersections on North Street and First Street.

Because of this, traffic will be reduced to one lane of travel on First Street (U.S. Route 7) and North Street between Burbank Street and Abbott Street from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday through at least May 6.

BMC and Medical Arts Complex parking areas remain open and detours may be in place at certain times. The city will provide additional updates on changes to traffic patterns in the area as construction progresses.

The project has been a few years in the making, with a public hearing dating back to 2021. It aims to increase safety for all modes of transportation and improve intersection operation.

It consists of intersection widening and signalization improvements at First and Tyler streets, the conversion of North Street between Tyler and Stoddard Avenue to serve one-way southbound traffic only, intersection improvements at Charles Street and North Street, intersection improvements at Springside Avenue and North Street, and the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of First Street, North Street, Stoddard Avenue, and the Berkshire Medical Center entrance.

Work also includes the construction of 5-foot bike lanes and 5-foot sidewalks with ADA-compliant curb ramps.  

Last year, the City Council approved multiple orders for the state project: five orders of takings for intersection and signal improvements at First Street and North Street. 

The total amount identified for permanent and temporary takings is $397,200, with $200,000 allocated by the council and the additional monies coming from carryover Chapter 90 funding. The state Transportation Improvement Plan is paying for the project and the city is responsible for 20 percent of the design cost and rights-of-way takings.

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