Slater and Marjo had the chance to speak with Mayor Linda M. Tyer for the first time in the new year on Wednesday, and yes, we talked about North St. We also discussed the allocation plans for the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds, the homeless issue in Pittsfield, and city infrastructure.

So, collectively, we can't decide if the majority of the city is actually ok with the "new" layout of North St., or is it a case of a small group of citizens just having the loudest voice via social media. In any event, North St. is not changing back.

North St. Pittsfield
North St. Pittsfield
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Slater: For the people who remain steadfast in terms of their disdain for the North St. layout, is there any plan for change?

Tyer: No. Listen, I'm so glad you brought this up, though, because I think what's happening is that people think that we are just gonna do bike lanes on North St. There is an entire masterplan, a bike facilities masterplan, where we're gonna continue to create connections from North St. to Tyler St. to the rail trail and throughout other parts of our city. 

We have adopted a complete streets policy where we are going to make sure that our streets are designed in way for the safe passage of all kinds of transportation... pedestrians, bikes, cars, we're looking toward the future, we're reaching for the future, we're thinking about what does the next generation of young professionals desire in the city where they live. They wanna know that they have access to outdoor recreation, so you can take the bike path to the rail trail, you can take your bike to work, you can contribute to what we all care about which is efforts to address climate change.

I continue to be mystified about why a bike lane and a person on a bicycle in causing so much consternation. 

Mayor Tyer joins "Slater and Marjo In The Morning" once a month to discuss various topical talking points on Live 95.9.

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