Ought to Boston proceed to scale back its dependence on vehicles? Mayor Michelle Wu says sure, whereas her most important opponent within the mayoral race Josh Kraft says no.
How their potential mayoral administration for the following four-year time period would method transportation within the metropolis supplied one the starkest contrasts, and punchiest exchanges, between Wu and Kraft of their first head-to-head matchup in a mayoral discussion board that was held Thursday night time.
The query pitched by moderator Saraya Wintersmith of GBH Information was whether or not lowering the town’s dependence on vehicles could be a precedence for his or her administration.
“No,” Kraft mentioned. “I believe there’s loads of of us on this metropolis, I hear from them each day, they want their automobile. … I believe creating completely different pathways for transportation is nice, whether or not it’s bikes, vehicles, bettering the MBTA within the metropolis.
“When I look at transportation though, I think the first thing we’ve got to do is go to the basics. We need to fix the roads, fix the sidewalks, fix the potholes in the roads, the curbs, so people that walk can walk, people that drive can drive, people that ride bikes can ride bikes,” he added.
Wu, in distinction, mentioned emphatically that her administration would proceed to remain the course on attempting to get folks commuting to and from Boston out of their vehicles.
“Yes, absolutely,” Wu mentioned. “Reducing dependence on cars has been the official policy of the city of Boston since Mayor Menino 15-plus years ago said the car is no longer king. We need everyone to have more options to get around safely, affordably, conveniently, and I’m really proud of the progress we’ve made.”
Wu mentioned the town has been working with the MBTA on its efforts to take away gradual zones and stand up to hurry on upkeep and observe fixes that have been flagged by the feds just a few years in the past, and has labored to make its “roadways safe for everyone.”
The mayor’s roadway reconfigurations, notably bike lanes, have come beneath fireplace from elements of the general public, and have change into a key speaking level for Kraft, who has vowed to pause bike lane development.
Wu just lately ordered a 30-day overview of the town’s avenue modifications, together with the effectiveness of the bike lanes. She has acknowledged previously a number of months that the town moved too quick on avenue modifications, a few of which have been known as “heavy-handed” by a Wu administration official who was tapped to guide the overview.
The mayor mentioned on the day’s discussion board, nonetheless, that Kraft lacks a concrete plan on transportation. Wu cited an interview he gave to Politico Massachusetts final week, when he was requested whether or not he had a plan for addressing the town’s site visitors congestion, constantly ranked among the many worst within the nation, past pausing the development of motorcycle lanes.
“No, I really haven’t,” Kraft instructed Politico. “I think we’ve been more focused on bike lanes.”
Wu deadpanned, “That’s not a plan. That’s not even the concept of a plan.”
Kraft responded by referencing as a substitute the remarks he gave earlier within the discussion board, about fixing roads and sidewalks. He mentioned he was “for bike lanes,” however mentioned the town wants a “pause” to “understand where we can put them with thoughtful feedback.”
Wu and Kraft additionally tangled over the town’s funds and Mass and Cass, the longtime epicenter of the area’s opioid epidemic. For the latter, Kraft mentioned he gave the town’s response to the Methadone Mile scenario an ‘F,’ whereas Wu gave her administration’s grade an “incomplete.”
Boston’s AAA bond ranking was reaffirmed for a twelfth straight yr this week by two international scores companies, however the previous yr’s native monetary conversations have been dominated by a decline in industrial actual property values that contributed to a double-digit common spike in property taxes for householders this previous January.
Metropolis price range conversations over the previous two months have additionally been targeted on the Trump administration’s threats to strip federal funding from Boston, a few of which Wu says the town is already difficult in courtroom.
The 4 candidates participating within the mayoral discussion board — which additionally included group activist and former metropolis worker Domingos DaRosa, and Alex Alex, a 24-year-old Dorchester resident who immigrated illegally to the U.S. as a toddler — have been requested what alternatives they noticed for the town to lift income, and the way their potential administration would put together for a discount in federal funding.
Whereas two different candidates spoke on the matter, the fireworks have been once more seen solely between Wu and Kraft, who’re broadly seen as participating in a two-horse race.
Chatting with the $300 million in federal funds that she says are in danger in Boston within the subsequent fiscal yr, Wu mentioned, “We are preparing for the unplannable while at the same time not jumping into buying into the fact that we need to slash and cut” from the price range.
“It’s not just billionaires at the federal level who have said we need to cut everything in the name of efficiency,” Wu mentioned. “There are people on this stage right now who have said, let’s take a 2% cut across the board to city services — that, when you tell the truth, translates into firing police officers, teachers, etc., mass layoffs. We need to protect city services more than ever.”
Kraft, a son of the billionaire New England Patriots proprietor Robert Kraft and longtime philanthropist, shot again.
“When I talk about savings in the budget, when there was a $4.6 billion budget and the city administration said there wasn’t a penny to be cut from it, I just find that hard to believe,” Kraft mentioned. “I also think it’s disrespectful to so many citizens in Boston that are making hard fiscal decisions that impact their families every day.”
Wu hit again, saying, “It’s easy to stand on the sidelines when you’re new to the city, new to any city policy-making to just say, cut, cut, cut, and not have to say where we put forward what a 1% cut would look like for the city of Boston.”
The mayor’s dig reverberated unexpectedly on the finish of the discussion board, hosted by Democratic ward committees, when candidates have been requested a throwaway query about what ward they dwell in.
Kraft, who just lately moved to Boston, having bought a North Finish apartment in October 2023 for $2.5 million, after having lived in Chestnut Hill, was stumped.
“I’m embarrassed to say I don’t know,” he mentioned.
