Many of us love JP so much, we imagine living our lives here. We imagine growing old here and becoming more dependent on others to clear sidewalks, so that we can take public transportation and live independently. Businesses and residents along Centre Street can make sure that the walks are fully shoveled so that a wheelchair can pass through, and the sidewalks are salted in the morning, rather than later in the day. Handicapped ramps need to be fully shoveled at each end of our sidewalks. The MBTA can keep key JP bus stops on the 39 bus route instead of eliminating them, such as:
- The inbound bus stop across the street from the Harvest Co-op. (The MBTA proposes eliminating this stop in favor of having us walk to the Monument with our groceries—thereby limiting what we can reasonably buy and carry, which will impact the co-op.)
- The outbound bus stop at Centre and Myrtle Street by the post office. (The MBTA proposes eliminating this stop in favor of a stop further away from town at Pond Street, thereby forcing seniors to walk longer to get into town—not to mention all the parking spaces that would be lost to the neighborhood.)
- The outbound bus stop on Huntington closest to the Museum of Fine Arts. (This stop would be eliminated by the MBTA, in favor of a stop further away from the museum.)
And, for those of us who are not elders yet, but who are trying to use public transportation and leave our cars at home, moving our bus stops further away from our grocery stores and cultural centers so the bus can save two minutes impacts the ability of people of all ages to enjoy total mobility and independence without the use of a car, and have a good quality of life, as we grow older in the community we love.
Jeri Levitt
Jamaica Plain