WORCESTER—After a two-week recess, the Worcester City Council returned Tuesday to confront a long-dormant commission on homelessness, a backlog of street tree maintenance and growing concerns about reckless e-bike riding on city streets.
The discussions highlighted questions about the city’s ability to follow through on existing policies, from filling seats on a homelessness commission authorized two decades ago to replacing dead street trees and addressing dangerous behavior in traffic.
Council seeks answers on long-vacant homelessness commission
Councilor Robert Bilotta called for an update on Worcester’s Commission on Homelessness, which was first approved in 2006 but has yet to have members appointed to its nine seats. He said residents and business owners raised concerns about homelessness at a recent Shrewsbury Street neighborhood meeting, including questions about when the commission would begin operating.
“What’s the status here on the commission on homelessness?” Bilotta asked. “Is this going to be rolled out? Are people going to be appointed?”
Councilor Gary Rosen said he has spoken with residents who are interested in serving and have experience with homelessness-related issues.
“They seem to be pretty capable people and they’d love to serve on such a commission,” Rosen said. “They want to do it out of the goodness of their heart. They care about the people who are homeless in the city. They care about the residents, and business owners of the city.”
Vice Chairman Khrystian King also expressed frustration over the lack of appointments, saying the commission could provide another avenue for addressing a persistent challenge.
“Failure to fill this particular commission is a significant gap in the work that we’re doing,” King said. “I have been contacted by close to double digits of folks who believe they are in queue. We need to use all of the tools in the toolbox.”
Rosen requested that City Manager Eric Batista include an update on the commission with a homelessness report expected at the council’s Nov. 17 meeting.
Street tree replacement policy under review
Councilors also requested a review of Worcester’s street tree replacement policy, including whether the city should move from a system based on requests to one that automatically replaces dead or removed trees.
The proposal would also give abutting property owners an opportunity to opt out of replacement plantings.
Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Commissioner Robert C. Antonelli said 64 trees are currently slated for removal, with work expected to begin within two weeks and be completed over the next six months. The city is also accelerating its tree-trimming schedule, with work planned throughout the winter.
Bilotta raised concerns about tree roots that have lifted sidewalks, sometimes creating substantial obstacles for pedestrians.
“There are some trees that are really raising sidewalks, more than a few inches…where the center point is almost coming to the peak of a roof,” Bilotta said, asking whether the city could make exceptions to its policy against removing otherwise healthy trees because of sidewalk damage.
“We do not remove trees for that purpose,” Antonelli said. “What we have been doing is working closely with our Department of Public Works in looking at functionality where we can ramp over those locations. By ramping over, we can solve a good portion of the problem on that, and then once the tree does die or needs to be removed. We work with Public Works to drive that ground down and repair the sidewalk.”
Councilor Tony Economou asked about requests from homeowners to remove trees at their own expense. Antonelli said such requests are uncommon and typically involve driveway construction or work needed to accommodate utilities.
Reckless e-bike riding sparks debate over police technology
A proposal to address dangerous riding by groups of bicyclists and e-bike operators prompted a broader debate over public safety, police surveillance and the risks of pursuing riders.
Councilor Morris Bergman requested a review of best practices for responding to riders who perform stunts, weave through traffic or deliberately approach oncoming vehicles. He showed councilors a television news clip from Los Angeles depicting groups of motorcyclists and e-bike riders performing stunts in a busy intersection. He pointed to the use of police drones to monitor riders as a possible approach Worcester should examine.
“This is a public safety hazard for everyone involved,” Bergman said. “There is technology available to address this.”
King agreed that reckless riding presents a serious problem but questioned whether drones or automated license plate reader cameras, commonly known as Flock cameras, would be appropriate tools.
He expressed concern that young riders who realize they are being monitored could panic and behave even more dangerously while trying to escape.
“In our middle schools, in our high schools, there’s a number of young people who are getting to and from schools on their e-bikes, on their electric scooters, etc.” he said. “Some of them are very responsible. Some maybe have to be less responsible. But, some riders can be distracted from their already reckless behavior, and perhaps begin to panic. It’s not a law enforcement vehicle tracking them, but it is a law enforcement device tracking them from above.”
King held the item under privilege to allow more time to examine the potential consequences of using drone technology.
Councilor Kate Toomey noted that the issue is not new. She said she filed a similar request in April 2021 seeking a review of previous enforcement strategies, and that councilors requested another report on e-bike safety in September. Toomey asked that the earlier reports be included in the latest review.
“No one’s trying to hurt any young people who are out there doing that,” Toomey said. “We’re really more concerned about their safety.”
Rosen described reckless riding as a widespread problem, citing his own observations at Lincoln Square, where traffic converges from several directions.
“We’ve all seen it,” Rosen said. “I’ve seen it at Lincoln Square, where the traffic, especially during rush hour, has cars coming from four or five different directions, lights everywhere, and at night it’s even tougher. It gets dark now earlier…They’re driving against the lights. The light turns green and you’re going through, and in a second, you’re cut off by not one, not two, but a whole bunch of these young people, or older people, or whoever might be on these bicycles. To me, there’s no excuses. This is dangerous.”
King asked Batista to explain the Worcester Police Department’s policy on pursuits.
“We do not chase individuals, as a city, because it can pose a threat. As individuals may want to flee, they can hurt not only pedestrians, but also other vehicles,” Batista said. “There could be a potential where the individual could also be hurt, especially if they are on an e-bike or an e-scooter, they don’t have the protection of a vehicle.”
The discussion grew contentious when Bergman said he had written himself a note earlier in the meeting predicting that King would oppose the proposal because it involved drones.
King objected to what he described as “continuous assailing” by Bergman.
Mayor Joseph Petty agreed that the remark was out of order and directed Bergman to continue without referring to individual councilors.
The exchange continued briefly before Petty ended the discussion. The proposal remains unresolved and could return to the council at a later meeting.
