Greenspace Alliance's Cambridge City Council Candidate Forum
cosponsored by The Alewife Study Group
Tuesday, September 14, 7 PM,
Cambridge Senior Center.
The Greenspace Alliance requested 3 questions from the Alewife Study Group.
These are the questions we sent (headlines added):
Parking on a portion of the Alewife Reservation
The 115-acre Alewife Reservation is the last 'urban wild' in Cambridge
and one of only a few in the Commonwealth. It is home to many species of
animals, migratory birds and fish. The MDC has been renting out a portion of
the Alewife Reservation to the Arthur D. Little Company for use as a parking
lot for about ten cents per space per day. Is this an appropriate use of
state regulated park lands? What actions would you take to change this if
any? What else would you do to protect the wetland areas of Alewife?
Pollution of Alewife Brook by illicit sewage pipes
As you may know, the Alewife Brook is a part of the much larger Mystic
River Watershed which ultimately empties into Boston Harbor. A recent City
of Cambridge DPW report found numerous violations of the Clean Water Act
along the Alewife Brook including dozens of illicit sewage pipes. What would
you do to stop the pollution of Alewife Brook? Are you willing to stand up
to the business interests that might oppose you?
Conservation bylaw in Cambridge?
Most of Alewife is situated in a floodplain. The Alewife floodplain is
considered to be the most dangerous floodplain in the Mystic Valley
Watershed. Many cities and towns in Massachusetts have passed local
conservation bylaws to protect their floodplains. Would you support a a
conservation bylaw in Cambridge? What should its major components be?
Contact the Alewife Study Group, North Cambridge Massachusetts, by email at information@alewife.org