Lowell

Walkability I often write about walkability. Making Lowell a more walkable city – and getting more people walking, biking, and using public transportation – would yield many benefits. Here are a few: Economic Development Last spring, GE (formerly known as General Electric) stunned many when it announced it was moving…

Preserving River Meadow Brook Greenway The Lowell City Council faces a dilemma this Tuesday night. A generous, longtime, Lowell-grown business, Gervais Auto Group, wishes to expand its operations on Industrial Ave. But the expansion plan threatens to block an important stretch of the long-planned River Meadow Brook Greenway that once…

Above: 211 Pawtucket Street, August 1978. The CMCA (Corporation of the Members of the Catholic Association) founded in 1878. Below: Staircase of 211 Pawtucket Street, November 22, 2011 Photos by Tony Sampas

Moment of silence for Walter Bayliss, who passed away on November 1, 2016. Report on fees city charges. Manager Murphy highlights fee for registering foreclosed properties. It has been $100 per year. Proposes raising it to $1000 per year to create added incentive on banks to quickly sell foreclosed properties.…

Election Observations I heard someone say that the worst thing about turning back the clocks last night was that it inserted one more hour between us and the end of this year’s election. As I post this, the polls close in just 62 hours, but who knows when we will…

Seacoast Mortar, 1862, was used at Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania and believed to be one of only twenty-six such Civil War era artillery still in existence. It is installed on the grounds between Lowell City Hall and the Pollard Memorial Library. Congressman John Jacob Rogers presented it to the City of…

(I was unable to watch the meeting live on Tuesday but just caught an archival showing on LTC’s website; here are my notes). Parking Report Councilor Samaras asks if City’s Parking Director will speak about the three strategies in the report: (1) additional garages; (2) parking resource management (using existing…

Yesterday was the 13th annual Lowell High School Distinguished Alumni Award Reception at the school’s Cyrus Irish Auditorium. The hundreds of family members, friends, public officials, and students who filled the hall for the ceremony were entertained by the Lowell High Band while Air Force Junior ROTC cadets served as…