ScipioA

Pretty much everything that has recently been built or is under construction is luxury housing. Sure, developers make a few units per building affordable, but they write those off as the cost of doing business. How can the city make it possible to build affordable housing in Boston? Not just inclusionary housing tokenism, but actually make it possible to build an entire building with rents the middle class can afford?

Good luck! The rumor is that BRA "lost" the document requiring that the top floor of the Hancock always be open as an observation deck...

Any updates on the Boston Harbor ferry grant? It was federal money to study, buy, and launch a Charlestown->Eastie->Seaport->Downtown ferry, but I haven't heard anything on it for a while.

This one's long, haha!

"Car light" is something I have been thinking about a lot lately, specifically how car rentals work for Boston residents. I don't own a car but I rent from Zipcar for heavy-lift errands about once a month, and either Hertz or Relay Rides for jaunts to far suburbs or nearby states about once a month. If I couldn't rent or it was more difficult to rent I would have brought my car to Boston when I moved here. Having car rentals available and convenient makes it easier for Boston residents to not have to own a car, but instead rent one for the few times that a car is actually the only mode for a trip.

BUT, there are two policies that irk me about being a Bostonian renting a car in Boston: 1) Paying a $10 fee for the convention center and like $5 in airport fees each and every time I rent a car. This makes one-day rentals very expensive in comparison to other cities, and feels unfair that I'm paying for things I'm not actually using. Boston residents could be made exempt from these fees, while still charging them to the conventioneers who actually benefit from them.

2) Not being able to park a rental in my neighborhood while I unload. Boston currently allows temporary residential parking permits, but you have to know the car's license plate go to city hall far in advance of the trip. A new class of transferable residential permits could be displayed no matter what car I've rented. Double parking or illegally parking in a residential spot is stressful, and I feel bitter that I'm doing the right thing by not owning a car in a very parking-stressed neighborhood but am still unable to use a parking space for a tiny fraction of a percent of the time I actually need one.

Any thoughts on making it easier for Boston residents to go car-free by making renting easier?

Understanding that you've lived and worked here your whole life, is there anything that you have only learned from the perspective of the mayor's office? What has been the most surprising thing you've learned about Boston?