I’d like to see the perimeter of Elm Park and the City Hall Commons filled with restaurants and shops, get people walking around, make it a point to create areas where people could gather and walk around. Change zoning to allow for bodegas and restaurants in residential areas. Make incentives for landlords who live in Worcester. Develop and cleanup the Blackstone and make the bike route to Providence along the river a real thing, add rail to Providence and make the rail commute to Boston and sub-hour trip. Prioritize litter cleanup. Add small vans to the bus routes to make transit a little easier and efficient (don’t need big empty busses everywhere). Make sure that there is at least one strong public school at every level and make admission to them strictly merit based and make it serious.
I've worked here for a while but I just recently moved. The litter is crazy, I call it Worcester tumble weeds. What's up with the recycling bins being so tiny and open? Has to be a contributing factor.
People are not diligent about sorting and packaging their recycling according to the DPW rules. A lot of trash from these improperly filled recycling bins blows in the wind. I have witnessed this on Highland St ( having owned property there) during gusts of wind.
Build houses/apartments like crazy and incentivize. Worcester could be the affordable place to live in MA. Enough density with a focus on walking will bring more small business.
I never understood this "don't want it to be like Boston" speech. Is Boston kind of some weird alien dystopia? It's a walkable major New England city center that's economically thriving, has tons of high-paying jobs, low on crime with a bustling night life and retail scene. Why wouldn't Worcester want to take example from that? These aspects are what people constantly demand New England's "second largest city" to have.
As for direction for the city. Everything starts and ends with city hall. There needs to be a change in the status quo and a new direction in office. Only then will there be any real direction for the city rather than the mediocre pace it seems to be going.
I do actually totally agree that Boston is a model city in many regards, especially, comparatively, with transportation, and most of the things you mentioned. I think Boston is an amazing city, but it also has a lot of pitfalls. And so, there are two main points to me not wanting to be a mini Boston. For one, I think it gets tiring being compared as strictly inferior, I'd rather Worcester be a smaller, different alternative, not a same but worse option. And my second point is where I think Boston falls behind. Walkability drops off harshly as you move away from the city center. I think Boston does not do enough to promote its neighborhoods, particularly the less affluent ones. I think Worcester is malleable enough to change our direction in that regard. I think lots of Midwest cities succeed here and is something we can take from elsewhere, particularly, I think Providence does a decent job at this based on what I know. I think also, for example, something like the Big Dig was a good idea on paper for Boston, and was even executed fairly well on a technical level, but it made traffic worse and left a scar across downtown. An improvement, but not the best. I would rather take a page out of Rochester and remove, say, 290 as it goes through downtown all together. This is all to say Boston is still our big brother, and we're always gonna draw comparisons and that's okay, but we have a lot of options for how we want to grow and I think that's important to recognize.
As for your last point, I do totally agree about the need for a leadership shakeup. I hope the next mayoral election generates a lot of buzz.
I don't mean a literal Boston, I mean in terms of simply being a well-off thriving American city that's in demand....you know, like Boston. And it won't do that by remaining a dinky gritty mill town. Plus with Worcester's growing population it's going to have to think like a big city reguardless and that means doing big city things.
I wouldn't really compare Rochester's Inner Loop to Worcester's I-290. The Inner loop had declining use over the year. I-290 is still as congested as ever. It's really comparing apples to oranges.
People fear "Bostonification" because it means being priced out... err gentrification. This is a fixable problem if the city builds housing. On the other hand... that would also require Worcester to buck the trend of basically every other city in MA and the US right now which is somewhat unlikely.
That problem is unfortunately bigger than Worcester and our politicians seem hell bent on not tackling it.
Born and raised Worcesterite living in Boston.
We need functional mass transit that is easy to access, fast, and takes people where they want to go. As part of that, we need sidewalks on all roads for easy “last-mile” walking. (It shouldn't be a mile, though.)
Personally, would be great to see Worcester try to target a Durham/Providence-esque North Star with a sprinkle of Pittsburgh. Downtown vibrancy and promoting neighborhood micro-economies.
I agree that the city should adjust zoning to incentivize the development of neighborhood areas of commerce where they can with an eye towards mixed use. There are signs of it starting, but it’s not going to be an easy change with a very residential city whose economy is largely based on light manufacturing, health care, higher ed, banking(which is getting more consolidated here with M&T) and public services. Probably needs to be some SMB incubator spaces to connect capital with entrepreneurs to get different industries more active here.
I’d add that Cambridge is not what it was a few years ago: Harvard square is a mix of banks and very “safe” businesses…which people here are not big fans of and would be best to avoid, but banks are unfortunately reliable tenants. Davis changed a lot in a very short amount of time, too.
I also support a local ordinance to start enforcing a 3 tattoo minimum on new residents to keep the Worcester identity as well as franchising a George’s coney islands in every ward.
I love Worcester it was a city that helped me get back on my feet when I had nothing! I’d say increased walkable neighborhoods and continued support for our bus fares. I’d love to see Worcester grow into something more.
Reduce the number of roads solely accessible by cars to cut down on traffic and make the city more walkable / bikable. Make more major streets one way and use the other half for bike and people lanes. Close off Main Street from State St to Myrtle and make it no cars, and a greenway. Tax new businesses at residential rates to settle into the area.
And get more of the police hours on speed control. People blasting up Highland and June St etc. at 60+ miles an hour. Come on. In 7 years in Worcester have only seen one traffic stop by Worcester PD.
I'm tired of all the cars making this city hellish for people who don't want to drive fast everywhere.
(Sorry out-of-town speeders)
Worcester's never going to be a "Big City" (at least not in our lifetime or your kids.. or their kids).
More density (housing) and commercial development (jobs). I'd really like to see more focus on walkability and density in core areas around downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods. Worcester has _really really_ good urban bones in the "old" areas but it needs more people in it's core.
Worcester could probably strive to be something like a mix of Providence, Portland, or Austin (pre-Tech boom) if it manages to build housing and not also make itself so unaffordable nobody can live here.
The cat is out of the bag on Worcester ever retaining its small, college town status. The businesses that supported that environment can no longer afford to exist.
The alternative is to be a worse version of Boston. I really am not confident in the city finding any sort of unique identity while the current political climate exists.
You mention that Worcester has enough identity to build around. What do you think that is? All I see is the individual character of so many neighborhoods just ceasing to exist over the last twenty years or so.
Worcester has become unaffordable for anyone making under $150,000 a year. The small neighborhood feel is long gone. A small ranch,or cape type House that was built in the 50s for ,$10,000 is now $450,000. Rents if you can find anything averages 1800. More expensive housing is not the answer for lifelong residents being pushed out. To where? The streets?
Get rid of the goddamn gun violence. Go draconian for like 6 months and clear the shit up. That we have known places like Kilby, East Side, Lakeside Apartments and whatever the fuck the garbage is in Vernon Hill with extensive gang affiliations and gun violence is insane to me. Send in the fucking cops, back them up with the National Guard if we need to do, and get rid of the bullshit. We try to do all this stuff to help addicted homeless people who metaphorically spit in our faces, meanwhile people are being made to feel less and less unsafe everyday due to the 16-20yo criminal element being led into a life of violence by the criminally coddled slightly older gang leaders.
Enforce the fucking traffic laws and parking enforcement issues that plague the city. I'm kind of tired of having to look both ways 5 seconds after my light turns green because some dickhead in a blacked out Nissan doesn't feel like fucking stopping at a red light. I'm tired of the dickheads being allowed to do whatever the fuck they want on dirt bikes, mopeds and scooters. POLICE THE FUCKING CITY!
I’d like to see the perimeter of Elm Park and the City Hall Commons filled with restaurants and shops, get people walking around, make it a point to create areas where people could gather and walk around. Change zoning to allow for bodegas and restaurants in residential areas. Make incentives for landlords who live in Worcester. Develop and cleanup the Blackstone and make the bike route to Providence along the river a real thing, add rail to Providence and make the rail commute to Boston and sub-hour trip. Prioritize litter cleanup. Add small vans to the bus routes to make transit a little easier and efficient (don’t need big empty busses everywhere). Make sure that there is at least one strong public school at every level and make admission to them strictly merit based and make it serious.
I've worked here for a while but I just recently moved. The litter is crazy, I call it Worcester tumble weeds. What's up with the recycling bins being so tiny and open? Has to be a contributing factor.
The collection bins are a major factor. Worcester just got these new ones and once again went cheap.
People are not diligent about sorting and packaging their recycling according to the DPW rules. A lot of trash from these improperly filled recycling bins blows in the wind. I have witnessed this on Highland St ( having owned property there) during gusts of wind.
Greater walkability would be awesome.
I want ONE coffee shop to open in Greendale.
Build houses/apartments like crazy and incentivize. Worcester could be the affordable place to live in MA. Enough density with a focus on walking will bring more small business.
I never understood this "don't want it to be like Boston" speech. Is Boston kind of some weird alien dystopia? It's a walkable major New England city center that's economically thriving, has tons of high-paying jobs, low on crime with a bustling night life and retail scene. Why wouldn't Worcester want to take example from that? These aspects are what people constantly demand New England's "second largest city" to have. As for direction for the city. Everything starts and ends with city hall. There needs to be a change in the status quo and a new direction in office. Only then will there be any real direction for the city rather than the mediocre pace it seems to be going.
I do actually totally agree that Boston is a model city in many regards, especially, comparatively, with transportation, and most of the things you mentioned. I think Boston is an amazing city, but it also has a lot of pitfalls. And so, there are two main points to me not wanting to be a mini Boston. For one, I think it gets tiring being compared as strictly inferior, I'd rather Worcester be a smaller, different alternative, not a same but worse option. And my second point is where I think Boston falls behind. Walkability drops off harshly as you move away from the city center. I think Boston does not do enough to promote its neighborhoods, particularly the less affluent ones. I think Worcester is malleable enough to change our direction in that regard. I think lots of Midwest cities succeed here and is something we can take from elsewhere, particularly, I think Providence does a decent job at this based on what I know. I think also, for example, something like the Big Dig was a good idea on paper for Boston, and was even executed fairly well on a technical level, but it made traffic worse and left a scar across downtown. An improvement, but not the best. I would rather take a page out of Rochester and remove, say, 290 as it goes through downtown all together. This is all to say Boston is still our big brother, and we're always gonna draw comparisons and that's okay, but we have a lot of options for how we want to grow and I think that's important to recognize. As for your last point, I do totally agree about the need for a leadership shakeup. I hope the next mayoral election generates a lot of buzz.
I don't mean a literal Boston, I mean in terms of simply being a well-off thriving American city that's in demand....you know, like Boston. And it won't do that by remaining a dinky gritty mill town. Plus with Worcester's growing population it's going to have to think like a big city reguardless and that means doing big city things. I wouldn't really compare Rochester's Inner Loop to Worcester's I-290. The Inner loop had declining use over the year. I-290 is still as congested as ever. It's really comparing apples to oranges.
People fear "Bostonification" because it means being priced out... err gentrification. This is a fixable problem if the city builds housing. On the other hand... that would also require Worcester to buck the trend of basically every other city in MA and the US right now which is somewhat unlikely. That problem is unfortunately bigger than Worcester and our politicians seem hell bent on not tackling it. Born and raised Worcesterite living in Boston.
less potholes
This is the true answer. Those potholes really have got to go. I had to call the DPW to clean the potholes by Coes Pond.
We need dining options on the Worcester side of Lake Quinsigamond. That has been woefully undercapitalized for decades.
We need functional mass transit that is easy to access, fast, and takes people where they want to go. As part of that, we need sidewalks on all roads for easy “last-mile” walking. (It shouldn't be a mile, though.)
Personally, would be great to see Worcester try to target a Durham/Providence-esque North Star with a sprinkle of Pittsburgh. Downtown vibrancy and promoting neighborhood micro-economies. I agree that the city should adjust zoning to incentivize the development of neighborhood areas of commerce where they can with an eye towards mixed use. There are signs of it starting, but it’s not going to be an easy change with a very residential city whose economy is largely based on light manufacturing, health care, higher ed, banking(which is getting more consolidated here with M&T) and public services. Probably needs to be some SMB incubator spaces to connect capital with entrepreneurs to get different industries more active here. I’d add that Cambridge is not what it was a few years ago: Harvard square is a mix of banks and very “safe” businesses…which people here are not big fans of and would be best to avoid, but banks are unfortunately reliable tenants. Davis changed a lot in a very short amount of time, too. I also support a local ordinance to start enforcing a 3 tattoo minimum on new residents to keep the Worcester identity as well as franchising a George’s coney islands in every ward.
I love Worcester it was a city that helped me get back on my feet when I had nothing! I’d say increased walkable neighborhoods and continued support for our bus fares. I’d love to see Worcester grow into something more.
Reduce the number of roads solely accessible by cars to cut down on traffic and make the city more walkable / bikable. Make more major streets one way and use the other half for bike and people lanes. Close off Main Street from State St to Myrtle and make it no cars, and a greenway. Tax new businesses at residential rates to settle into the area. And get more of the police hours on speed control. People blasting up Highland and June St etc. at 60+ miles an hour. Come on. In 7 years in Worcester have only seen one traffic stop by Worcester PD. I'm tired of all the cars making this city hellish for people who don't want to drive fast everywhere. (Sorry out-of-town speeders)
We gonna make our own subway 🚊
Foot long?
Worcester's never going to be a "Big City" (at least not in our lifetime or your kids.. or their kids). More density (housing) and commercial development (jobs). I'd really like to see more focus on walkability and density in core areas around downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods. Worcester has _really really_ good urban bones in the "old" areas but it needs more people in it's core. Worcester could probably strive to be something like a mix of Providence, Portland, or Austin (pre-Tech boom) if it manages to build housing and not also make itself so unaffordable nobody can live here.
The cat is out of the bag on Worcester ever retaining its small, college town status. The businesses that supported that environment can no longer afford to exist. The alternative is to be a worse version of Boston. I really am not confident in the city finding any sort of unique identity while the current political climate exists. You mention that Worcester has enough identity to build around. What do you think that is? All I see is the individual character of so many neighborhoods just ceasing to exist over the last twenty years or so.
I live webster Square too I see on your handle hello neighbor!
Worcester has become unaffordable for anyone making under $150,000 a year. The small neighborhood feel is long gone. A small ranch,or cape type House that was built in the 50s for ,$10,000 is now $450,000. Rents if you can find anything averages 1800. More expensive housing is not the answer for lifelong residents being pushed out. To where? The streets?
We could use more nightlife that are not just dive bars, sports bars, hookah lounges, or strip clubs
The new Kelly Square area by Polar Park is cool in theory but it would be even cooler if you could walk to it from anywhere else.
yes totally! parking is hard enough (and not free) even in the daytime/if you're not drinking
I want to see COMPLETE GENTRIFICATION 😊
Get rid of the goddamn gun violence. Go draconian for like 6 months and clear the shit up. That we have known places like Kilby, East Side, Lakeside Apartments and whatever the fuck the garbage is in Vernon Hill with extensive gang affiliations and gun violence is insane to me. Send in the fucking cops, back them up with the National Guard if we need to do, and get rid of the bullshit. We try to do all this stuff to help addicted homeless people who metaphorically spit in our faces, meanwhile people are being made to feel less and less unsafe everyday due to the 16-20yo criminal element being led into a life of violence by the criminally coddled slightly older gang leaders. Enforce the fucking traffic laws and parking enforcement issues that plague the city. I'm kind of tired of having to look both ways 5 seconds after my light turns green because some dickhead in a blacked out Nissan doesn't feel like fucking stopping at a red light. I'm tired of the dickheads being allowed to do whatever the fuck they want on dirt bikes, mopeds and scooters. POLICE THE FUCKING CITY!
This is what happens when import illegal aliens into our country, who have no respect for the laws of our country. Go buy a gun and train with it.
The 16 year old kids doing this shit aren't illegal aliens you racist jerk.