News Briefs

WORKSHOP PLANNED ON SENIOR TAX PROGRAMS

The Mayor’s Office and Assessor’s Office will be hosting their second workshop at the Rossetti Cowan Senior Center on July 19 at 11 a.m. to help seniors apply for the new Senior Tax Exemption and the Senior Work-Off Abatement program.

 

Dockless Bike Sharing RETURNS WITH SUMMER

Lime Green, bright yellow, orange and dark green. These are not the colors of the upcoming fall fashion season, but they are the colors of the bicycles that are available to rent and ride in and around Revere.  The City of Revere joins many other cities in the United States in the latest trend in transportation- Dockless Bike Sharing.  As many as 200 bikes supplied by LIME and SPIN will begin to arrive in Revere in the coming weeks.

Mayor Brian Arrigo is enthusiastic about the bikes’ arrival. “We had an overall very successful bike-share program last year with Ofo,” the Mayor said.  “We learned a lot about the public’s use habits and also the public’s concerns.  We’ve implemented policies and procedures that are intended to address those concerns.”

Dockless bike sharing allows users to locate, unlock and rent the nearest bike using a mobile application on their smart phone.  When the user has ridden the bike to their destination, they can park the bike legally on a city sidewalk or against a bike rack. The self-locking mechanism on the rear wheel locks the bike until another rider rents it.  At the end of each day, the vendors of the shared bike companies collect the bikes and redistribute them to the most popular locations for riders to access the following day.  Mayor Arrigo noted that public feedback after last year’s Pilot program indicated that the affordability, flexibility and access to a bike without the responsibility of owning it were the primary reasons behind the bike share’s popularity.  “Residents of all ages used the bikes for convenient transportation and for physical activity,” the Mayor noted.

This year,  Revere joined with 16 surrounding communities participating in the Massachusetts Area Planning Council’s (MAPC) Regional Bike Share Program.  Riders will be able to travel into neighboring towns such as Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Chelsea, and Winthrop, which are also part of the MAPC.

Dockless shared bikes can be parked legally in Revere against a bike rack, public building, parking meter and along the sidewalk at the curb as long as it does not obstruct the public right of way, handicap ramps or driveways.   Shared bicycles should not be parked on private residential and commercial property.    LIME and SPIN Bike through their mobile applications will alert Revere users where they can park the bikes.   All vendors will be notified by Revere’s 311 department if a bike has been  reported as abandoned (parked and not used for more than 24 hours) or if a  bike is parked incorrectly.  Vendors have 24 hours from the initial notification from Revere’s 311 to pick up the bike or it will be taken and held by Revere’s DPW.

For more information about the dockless bike share program please contact Julie DeMauro, active living manager for Revere on the Move at 781-286-8174.  To report a bike that is abandoned or parked incorrectly please contact Revere’s 311 at Revere.org/311 or 781-286-8311.

 

First Phase of Rodent Control Program a Success

Over 560 property owners have responded to Phase One of the City’s intensified effort to control rodent infestation in the past three weeks.

“The four professional exterminators retained by the City have been provided with all the addresses, most have been addressed, and the remaining locations will be addressed in the near future,” said Mayor Brian Arrigo.  “But this is not the end of our effort.”

The Mayor announced the rodent control program at the end of June, and that he had allocated $150,000 in the FY 19 budget for rodent control.  The retention of professional extermination companies was a major component of the first phase of the program.  “We expect that this will at least be a start,” said the Mayor.  “Still, as I have repeated over and over, no rodent control program will have any long-term success unless everyone in the city helps out.  It is imperative that people are careful with storage and disposal of trash, and that they keep their property free of items or overgrown shrubs that can serve as shelters for rats.”

Meanwhile, the City’s Inspectional Services Department has stepped up enforcement for non-compliance with local ordinance that requires the use of rodent-resistant bags for disposal of trash. This will continue until the distribution throughout the city later this year of 60-gallon heavy-duty covered trash barrels.

“Rats proliferate when there is a food supply, and when residents use flimsy trash bags or use careless trash disposal, it’s like setting out a meal for a rat,”  Mayor Arrigo said.

The City’s exterminators cannot access private property without the owner’s permission.  In many cases, residents who have observed rat activity on their property have contacted the City, which has prompted the City’s response.  In other instances where the exterminators noticed evidence of rat activity, the City has written to the property owner seeking permission to access the property for treatment.

Rodents and overgrown and unsanitary conditions are by far the most frequent complaint logged at the Mayor’s 311 Constituent Services hotline, and these complaints tend to originate in areas where reported rat activity is high.