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Somerville touts its commitment to a livable, safe and environmentally-friendly city, but consolidating schools works opposite these goals
Somerville touts its commitment to a livable, safe and environmentally-friendly city, but consolidating schools works opposite these goals
When we consolidate schools, we make families travel further. In addition to increasing the number of miles traveled, this change also causes mode shifts -- some people who were walking now have to take a car. With our roads already quite full at rush hour, increasing the number of cars substantially worsens traffic for everyone.
Keeping our neighborhood schools supports our city's goals of traffic safety and climate responsibility -- and avoids creating more traffic and parking problems.
20 Minute Walkshed (0.5 Miles) - 115 Sycamore St & 201 Willow Ave
Traffic at Sycamore St
Traffic at Sycamore St
Before WHCIS was closed, school-related traffic on Medford St and in the abutting neighborhood was already a real challenge. Doubling the size of the school and increasing its catchment area to further-away families will make this problem worse.
Over 50% of Brown students live within half a mile of the school, and most of those students walk to school. “Moving” 250 seats to Sycamore Street puts hundreds more cars on the road every morning and afternoon, in both these neighborhoods and those in between.
Somerville Vision Zero data shows that families rely on walkability.
Somerville Vision Zero data shows that families rely on walkability.
Vision Zero is Somerville's plan to eliminate traffic deaths and injuries from our transportation system. Read more here.
Why can't we simply bus our students to solve our transportatation and traffic problems? Long story short: it's expensive. Our neighbors in Cambridge spend 5% of their total school budget on it - $12 million per year. It's their third largest budget item, after teacher/staff salaries and benefits.
Less green space, serving more kids
Less green space, serving more kids
The proposed 925 student school at Sycamore Street is over twice the size of the previous Winter Hill Community Innovation School.
Comparing the current architects' plan options to the former WHCIS, the best large-school option in terms of green space (Option 4) preserves the existing green space, but expects that space to serve twice the number of students. Read more in the School Building Committee plans.
A 690 student school allows for a building with a smaller footprint and capacity to retain outdoor spaces for playgrounds, fields, and community use. Building the right building for this lot retains green space for the community.
Planning for change
Planning for change
If we intend to change traffic, environmental, and green space impact of this school, then we need our elected officials to deeply consider the impact of those changes before they commit to making them.
Some of the many questions that need consideration include...
What is the city’s plan for traffic and parking for a 925-student capacity school at Sycamore Street?
What is the city’s plan for traffic and parking for a 925-student capacity school at Sycamore Street?
Traffic and parking were already strained when the school was operational with 450 seats at this site. Now, more than double the number of staff will need to find parking in the immediate vicinity and more than double the number of families will be driving to the school, given the need to draw enrollment from farther, less walkable catchment areas.
Will the city provide a new catchment plan for the entire city, and if so, how will this affect the other schools in Somerville? Will the catchment reassignments provide a walkable school option for every child or will it leave more dead zones where walkability is not a realistic option?
Will the city provide a new catchment plan for the entire city, and if so, how will this affect the other schools in Somerville? Will the catchment reassignments provide a walkable school option for every child or will it leave more dead zones where walkability is not a realistic option?
The burden of transporting children to schools will fall on families when walkability is not an option with this centralized school model. Loss of walkability will cause more families to drive, putting more cars on the road, which is in direct contradiction to the city’s commitment to Vision Zero and Somerville’s climate goals.
What factors affecting affordability in Somerville were considered when prioritizing the 925 seat model?
What factors affecting affordability in Somerville were considered when prioritizing the 925 seat model?
A 690 student school can adequately host both the seats from the Winter Hill and Brown schools (4 classrooms per grade) if needed in the future if other sources of funding don't become available for a Brown school renovation/rebuild. What benefits does a 925 seat school provide that the smaller school model cannot, and are those benefits worth the cost of the larger building? This larger 925 seat school model requires a larger debt override vote, and given financial strains Somerville's residents are feeling elsewhere (utility bills, rent) the need for taxpayers to bear the cost burden of a larger debt override isn't an obvious tradeoff for any benefits the larger school model provides. Higher taxes lead to higher rents and higher costs of living when the city is already going through an affordability crisis.
There are additional costs to the 925 seat option when you factor in the reality that closing the Brown school requires some type of adaptive reuse of the space. The Brown school, like all public schools, is owned by the public currently and ought to be preserved for community ownership, to benefit the public. The city has provided no transparency for these adaptive reuse costs and the dollars that it would add to the price tag of the larger school model. Are any of the alternative uses for the Brown school site and facility significantly more cost effective than building the smaller 690 seat building and planning for a future renovation of the Brown school for continued operations as a school?
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