City to Add 400 Solar Compactors to Increase Recycling (But None Slated for Jamaica Plain Yet)

The city will install 400 new solar powered trash compactors to promote recycling, but they won't be in residential areas — at least not yet.

Next month, the city will install 400 new solar powered compactors to promote recycling in Boston. But chances are they won’t be anywhere near JP. Yet. The Big Belly compactors will go in "high traffic areas" such as Downtown Crossing and Fenway, but they won’t line residents’ streets – at least not at first. It's also likely they'll be kept out of public parks due to the advertisements on the cans, which is part of a bartering agreement that allows the city to have the barrels for free. "How do we expand this into the neighborhoods?" At-Large City Councilor Felix Arroyo asked during a public hearing on Tuesday.  "I think everybody knows where the Big Bellies will end up." Arroyo is a JP resident.   A big step toward city-wide single …

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Corporate Sponsorships for MBTA Stops? [POLL]

Would it bother you if Forest Hills were renamed, for revenue's sake?

Officials from the MBTA presented a plan Tuesday to begin selling naming rights for 11 stops in its subway network, and they hope to eventually put the names of all their stops out to bid, according to the Boston Globe. The proposal would allow for the winning bidder to add its name to the beginning of the title of historical stops, it would be included on maps and signs and called out by conductors. For instance, "Dunkin' Donuts Back Bay Station, doors open on the left." If the MBTA goes through with the plans, Boston would join Chicago as the only city with a major subway system to sell the naming rights to all its stops, according to the Globe. The first batch of stops the T is looking to put out to bid includes: Downtown Crossing, …

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Andrea Cherez

11:04 am on Monday, July 2, 2012

Yet.   more ›

Coming Soon to a Cityscape Near You: More Digital Billboards [POLL]

The state is revising its rules on billboards, paving the way for more electronic ones. The MBTA hopes to convert 18 of its billboards to the electronic format.

If you like the digital billboards in place in a few spots around Boston, you'll love new regulations being mulled that would pave the way for more of them. The state is revising the regulations that govern all types of billboards -- both the traditional kinds as well as the flashy electronic ones. Observers say digital billboards are the way the outdoor advertising industry is going. Of course, how you feel about billboards depends on who you are — and where the billboard happens to be. A wide range of opinions was on display Tuesday at a public hearing as ad execs, nonprofit marketers and a handful of concerned citizens held forth. The hearing was in front of the Department of Transportation officials responsible for regulating outdoor …

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City Council in Brief

Ads on City Sites?

Councilor Consalvo called it an 'outside-the-box' way to increase revenue without raising taxes or fees.

Businesses should have advertising space on city websites as a way to boost revenue, said City Councilor Robert Consalvo during Wednesday's regular meeting. "We're [allowing advertising] already," he said. "This would expand it." The city permits ads on Boston's buses and trains, and the state is on board with programs like Adopt-a-Highway, which works with corporate sponsorships. In 10 to 15 years, it will become the norm as more of our lives move online, he said, and pointed to other major cities, such as Chicago, that have started to embrace the idea already. "It's not like we're reinventing the wheel," he said. "This is being done in other cities." The city manages seven websites, which saw a total of more than 15 million visitors last…

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Boston Launches Publicity Campaign to Encourage Anonymous Crime Tips

Starting Wednesday, the mayor and police commissioner are partnering with advertising giant Hill Holiday, the MBTA and AT&T to get more tips from the community about crime.

National advertising firm Hill Holiday designed a new public safety campaign set to launch on Wednesday to encourage Boston residents to offer tips about crimes.  The new campaign continues Boston's efforts to inform tipsters that they will remain anonymous and safe with slogans like, “Your tips help us identify criminals, but WE’LL NEVER IDENTIFY YOU” followed by text that reads “Fight crime 100% anonymously. Text ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463) or Call 1-800-494-TIPS.”  (Those text numbers and phone number are currently operable for tips.) The anonymous ‘Text a Tip’ program was initially launched in 2007. “Since 2007, the Crime Stoppers Unit has received close to 4,000 tips as a result of this campaign," said Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis …

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William Brokhof

9:47 am on Monday, July 18, 2011

That's great. All they have to do now is show up when you send a tip. That's the rub.   more ›