phantom tollbooths in Davis Sq. ...

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

apropos of nothing and not a serious proposal but I was thinking about sales taxes last night, the discussion of tolls on 93 south and something to do with all the border violence going on in the world these days. Suddenly I had this image of tollbooths/checkpoints on the roads entering Davis Sq. Weird but interesting to speculate on.

The growth in popularity of the sq. has brought higher rents and housing prices, higher prices in stores and bars and general gentrification. The city of Somerville and the property owners benefit but the residents don't. Would be interesting to have a toll that went to offset the costs of gentrification to people who actually live here.

Comments

Re: Barnes & Noble

[komos.livejournal.com]

Huh. I suppose that's what I get for taking the side streets in. ;P

I think, though, that "out of date" and "pretty dowdy" describe a problem that may be general to the area. There have been some attempts to modernize, but it's been with mixed results. Since I'm down here every day, I'd like to be able to say that it's a great shining example of successful urban development, but the pessimist in me thinks that it will be years of increasingly mixed results that may hinge on the success or failure of luxury housing being put up.

Re: Barnes & Noble

[turil.livejournal.com]

Mixed use is definitely necessary for that area. The other problem is the lack of a grocery store. Maybe the Barnes and Noble could be turned into a Trader Joes...