How Would You Spend $700,000 to Improve Cambridge?

Participatory Budgeting (PB) is back! If you are a Cambridge resident age 12 or older, YOU can vote from December 3-9, 2016 to help us determine how to spend $700,000 to improve the community. You do not have to be a U.S. citizen to participate in the PB vote.

PB is a democratic process through which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget. In June and July 2016, community members submitted 548 ideas about how to spend $700,000 of the City’s FY18 Capital Budget. From August to November, volunteer Budget Delegates worked in five committees to research and evaluate those ideas and develop final proposals for the ballot.

Thanks to our hardworking Budget Delegates, there are 20 exciting projects on the third PB ballot. Residents can vote for up to five of the following projects:

1. Universal Design: Playgrounds for Everyone! ($100,000)
2. Danehy Park: Fitness, Signs, Dog Park Lights & Scoreboards ($140,000)
3. Shade and Wet Weather Canopies for Playgrounds ($146,000)
4. Learn about Nature in the Port ($10,000)
5. Cambridge Street Art Trail ($25,000)
6. All-In-One Mobile Performance Stage & Art Space ($98,000)
7. Lighting Landmarks: CHLS Gate & Sumner Statue ($45,000)
8. Little Free Libraries for Children ($37,000)
9. Bicycle Desks for Cambridge Students ($113,000)
10. Wireless Speakers for Youth Centers ($25,000)
11. Upgrade the Moore Youth Center ($80,000)
12. Free Public WiFi in Columbia Park ($32,000)
13. Kinetic Energy Tiles ($50,000)
14. Solar-Powered Real-Time Bus Tracker Displays ($150,000)
15. Building a Strong and Safe Bike Community ($114,000)
16. Safer Crosswalks for Busy Roads ($104,000)
17. Solar Power Shines! ($260,000)
18. Hydration Stations in Four Locations! ($37,000)
19. Safe Naps for Cambridge Preschoolers! ($4,000)
20. (2-3) Level 2 Electric Vehicle Charging Stations ($30,000)

The PB Vote Kickoff will take place on Saturday, December 3, from 12-4 p.m. at the CambridgeSide Galleria Mall near the Food Court, where voters will have a chance to view project displays and talk with PB volunteers. Other voting locations include:

1. Cambridge Main Library (449 Broadway): Sun 12/4 1:30-4:30 pm
2. North Cambridge Senior Center (2050 Mass. Ave): Mon 12/5 12-2 pm
3. City Hall (795 Mass. Ave): Mon 12/5 4-8pm, Tues 12/6 and Thur 12/8 9am-1pm, Weds 12/7 1-5pm, and Fri 12/9 9am-12pm
4. Cambridge Health Alliance (119 Windsor St): Mon 12/5 5-8pm
5. O’Connell Library (48 Sixth St): Weds 12/7 10:45-12pm
6. CRLS (459 Broadway): Weds 12/7 11am-1:15pm (students only)
7. O’Neill Library (70 Rindge Ave): Weds 12/7 2:30-4pm
8. Central Square Library (45 Pearl St): Thur 12/8 10-11:30am
9. Citywide Senior Center (806 Mass. Ave): Thur 12/8 10am-1pm
10. Venture Café (1 Broadway, 5^th floor): Thurs 12/8 5-8pm
11. Collins Library (64 Aberdeen Ave): Fri 12/9 3-5pm

Paper ballots at voting events will be available in English, Amharic, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, and Spanish. For a full list of PB voting events, please visit pb.cambridgema.gov or contact the Budget Office at pb@cambridgema.gov or (617) 349-4270.

Residents can learn more about the projects and vote online at pb.cambridgema.gov. Online voting will be text message authenticated: voters will enter their cell phone number online and then will receive a code via text that must be entered online for one-time access to the ballot. If residents wish to vote online, but do not have a cell phone, they can email or call the City’s Budget Office to receive a code. The online ballot will be available in English and Spanish.

Past winning PB projects include 100 new street trees, a public toilet in Central Square, water bottle fill stations, painted bike lanes, bilingual books for kids, bicycle repair stations, and many others. What projects will win this time? You decide!

For more information, please visit pb.cambridgema.gov or contact Budget Office staff at pb@cambridgema.gov or 617- 349-4270. See you at the PB polls!