Emerson College is out with a poll that shows if the election were today, Wu would win 43-29 over Kraft - with 24% of respondents undecided and 4% going for other candidates, including Wu-hating North End restaurant owner Jorge Mendoza.
Also:
Forty-one percent approve of the job Wu is doing in office, while 38% disapprove, 21% are neutral. Fifty-seven percent have a favorable view of the Mayor, while 35% have an unfavorable view of her. Twenty-seven percent have a favorable view of Kraft, while 24% have an unfavorable view of him; 36% are neutral and 13% have never heard of him.
The poll shows Wu is particularly strong among people under 30 and people over 70, that a bare majority of overall voters (but a larger majority of minority voters) approve of Boston's sanctuary-city status and that a majority supports work to replace White Stadium with a new facility that would also serve as a home for a women's pro soccer team.
Also, 48% of respondents said Boston has too many bike lanes. And most think the Celtics are the local time most likely to win Boston's next sports championship.
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Comments
The flip side of the bike lane equation
By ResidentRozzident
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 12:58pm
52% do not agree that there are too many bike lanes (35% say there are enough, 17% would like to see more). Seems to me that the bike lanes are more popular than coverage tends to suggest.
I think it's a rational issue to contend with...
By b from Ros
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 2:26pm
As someone who doesn't bike I can certainly "feel" what these people are saying.
But I also think it's a failure of marketing, because it serves as a traffic calming device for cars, which I really don't use in the city either.
Its a weak question but at good one that I think the bike users, or the traffic calming people, should take seriously.
Because the alternative is much worse...
That's a really fair point!
By ResidentRozzident
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 2:32pm
Unfortunately, as evidenced by the West Roxbury Centre Street discourse, all too often the true purpose of redesigns becomes about the bike lane, even though it's often installed to reallocate the space in service of the primary goal of reducing pedestrian fatalities. People love to thrash and scream about their perception that traffic is slower or parking spots are removed, but don't seem to have the same amount of energy or concern about their neighbors getting hit by motorists.
Centre Street
By Angry Dan
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 5:38pm
I'm voting for her again precisely because she showed up for the residents who wanted Centre Street fixed and stood up to a loud minority that Marty didn't have the guts to face.
I can now cross Centre street safely and the NIMBYs that used to bomb through my neighborhood would have a tough time reaching the killing speeds they used to enjoy. People are even bike commuting with their kids when they would have needed to drive before.
Bike Lanes not Problem
By Westie Walker
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 5:53pm
The old 4-lane Centre St. was unsafe for cars, bikes, and especially pedestrians. Getting rid of one lane in both directions and converting the newly-found space to a middle lane for left turns and two bike lanes has cut down congestion and has added safety for all forms of movement.
There is little controversy about the added middle lane. The newly-added middle lane is a necessary improvement and could only have been created by the deletion of the 2nd lanes (in each direction). There could not be a middle lane without the elimination of the lanes that were taken away. So if we want to blame anything for loss of the two travel lanes, the blame should fall on the new middle lane, not the bike lanes. However, I think most WR residents prefer the new middle lane with two travel lanes as opposed to the old four travel lane thoroughfare.
Some say that the bike lanes are unnecessary and take away needed parking space for customers. Some small number of Centre St. parking spaces have been eliminated, true. But the loss of parking could be remedied somewhat if all the shopkeepers parked their work vehicles on side streets near their businesses, not in front of their businesses.
And while we’re at it, we should eliminate some of the double parking by the food delivery services. Try going from the Holy Name Rotary to Redlands Rd anytime from 5-9 and you’ll see how disruptive the food caravan is.
Herein lies the problem
By Waquiot
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 10:44pm
The issue began with "how to calm Centre Street" but turned into "let's get bike lanes on Centre Street." As I recall, even questions about the design, or specifically concerns about losing parking spaces, were dismissed by what became bike lane advocates.
As a driver, I think going from 4 lanes to 3 was a great idea, but what they did with the light at Belgrade and Centre is maddening. Sitting there through the bike part of the cycle allows time to think about how little usage the bike lanes get. If drivers at least got a right turn after a full stop, all would be well.
Get rid of the damned cars
By necturus
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 2:48pm
If there were no cars in the city, there'd be no need for bike lanes.
The city is a big place.
By anon
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 3:24pm
The city is a big place. Which cars would you like removed?
Traditionally in Boston as
By Eastie resident
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 4:57pm
Traditionally in Boston as far as I can remember back in the 1970s there were plenty of guaranteed parking spaces on a typical Boston residential street, I use to see people place a beach chair in an empty parking space and catch some sun for a few hours . Today you have newly arrived immigrants, graduate students from suburbia occupying apartments and hogging up parking spaces , other Boston gritty neighborhoods like Eastie and Southie adopted the Back bay two hour parking limit to accommodate the Yuppy, once that started family members who live outside of Eastie who visit their elderly parents can only park for two hours that’s only if they can find a parking spot !
And who will pay for the roads?
By robo
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 5:36pm
Because 70% of road costs are paid by motorists. And guess how all those packages, emergency vehicles, and deliveries get to your residence.
Source?
By anon
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 6:45pm
<blockquote>Because 70% of road costs are paid by motorists. <blockquote></blockquote></blockquote>
Previous poll
By Bostoneer
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 4:09pm
A previous poll on this: “77 percent of Boston respondents supported building separated bike lanes even if some space for driving or parking was removed.” https://files.constantcontact.com/e6e14db6301/a2fd95a5-a8bc-4ea5-bea2-23...
Good- I hope her rank goes up after that Monster Tom Homan
By handmaid
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 1:00pm
Monster Tom Homan says he's gonna bring holy hell to Boston. What a freaking loser, he is talking big and saying nothing. Can't wait til Commissioner Cox and Mayor Wu just sit there and shake their heads "NOPE, we are not going to change a thing, Boston shall remain a sanctuary city.
Let us hope he looks like a big old white bully in front of the mayor and the commissioner.
Boston pays attention to DC. I think this will potentially help her in the city of Boston (who cares about the suburban whingers)
This administration is openly defying the law
By necturus
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 2:52pm
What's to stop them from showing up at City Hall tomorrow, bundling Wu into an unmarked van, and shipping her straight to Gitmo?
They might not do it, but their open contempt for the law indicates that they could. And if they do, no one will be able to stop them.
Wu to Gitmo?
By bostnkid
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 3:05pm
If this happens which one of those whackos on the city council takes the reins?
Ruthzeee Louijeune would become acting mayor
By adamg
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 11:42pm
Because the city charter says the city-council president becomes acting mayor if the mayor leaves office - just like Kim Janey became acting mayor when Walsh went to Washington (and before that when Menino became mayor when Flynn went to the Vatican).
They wouldn't bother
By ScottB
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 3:36pm
Because frankly she's not important enough. The current administration will be perfectly content with cutting off Federal funding to Boston through regulation and letting her deal with the political consequences which come along with the higher taxes to make up the difference.
We already know, based on the brouhaha over the temporary increase in commercial rates, how concerned the 5th floor at City Hall is over this year's residential tax bills.
Cut off funding to the Federal Government
By anon
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 6:47pm
What could they do if we just stop sending fed tax money? Red states need to know their place.
.
By mg
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 10:49pm
.
Source?
By b from Ros
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 10:37pm
https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/maine-governor-...
There is a lot to stop this
By SwirlyGrrl
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 9:53pm
For starters, people would hear about it and mob city hall. You know how many state and federal workers are in the area on a given day? How easy it would be to shut down the street grid around that area?
Don't let your submissive depression warp your sense of reality.
> gonna bring hell to Boston.
By anon
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 4:15pm
> gonna bring hell to Boston. What a dope. When Wu is sitting in front of the Fox soundbite factory that is this Congressional committee, she should just respond with tough-guy movie quotes. "Go ahead, make my day!" "I'm all out of bubblegum.", etc.
Ooo like the bubblegum line
By Plen-T-Pak
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 7:07pm
She's gotta put the shades on when she says it.
Speaking As An Alum
By CAP
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 1:08pm
Has anyone noticed that since Emerson College decided to get into the polling racket, that they've been consistently terrible at it?
According to 538
By Waquiot
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 10:41pm
Emerson does a good job at polling. Not as good as Suffolk, but better than CNN and an old favorite, Quinipiac.
Is Wu actually a Democrat and
By Frelmont
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 1:20pm
Is Wu actually a Democrat and Progressive beneath the veneer of de rigueur policy positions? It seems like she’s advancing gentrification, wealthy interests, local inflation, developers’ agendas.
If that were the case
By ResidentRozzident
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 1:59pm
If your claims that she's "advancing developer's agendas" were at all true we wouldn't be having a years long rezoning process in Roslindale. She could have just railroaded it through. Instead she's instructed the team to engage with the community, hosting dozens of in person and virtual meetings, walkshops, office hours, etc. It has majority support in the public comments, but she's still getting compared to Trump by the people who don't like it.
She tried to railroad through zoning changes Downtown
By ScottB
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 2:36pm
With a public comment period lasting a whopping three weeks, after a six-year-long planning process which came to a very different result than the mayor's proposal.
So yeah, in the pocket of the developers where there's real money to be made. There's not as much money at stake in Rozzie.
But downtown desperately needs to be rezoned
By ResidentRozzident
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 3:45pm
It's time to set up downtown Boston for the 21st century. Currently there are boarded up buildings and vacant office space. This is a big reason why the area has developed a reputation for being less safe. We should make it a more residential area to increase foot traffic to businesses that are struggling with fewer office workers. It's a chance to unwrite decades of bad policy that turned our downtown from a place where people live to place that people commute into and out of for work.
And like I said
By ScottB
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 5:36pm
There was a six-year-long engagement to rezone downtown with input from the residents and businesses in the area. Which the mayor promptly threw out to allow 500'-tall buildings along Washington Street.
OMG 500 foot BUILDINGS
By anon
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 6:49pm
I work in one.
But what about that Marty Ego Monument on Federal? Whataboutaboutaboutabouthat?
It has majority support of
By Mara K.
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 2:55pm
It has majority support of the people who chose to attend and participate in these meetings and events. I doubt it had the majority support of every person in the 02131 zip code. My mom wrote letters of concern for years about things happening in Roslindale that were wholesale ignored and eventually gave up because she knew she was going to be ignored and whatever was wanted was going to happen with or without her dissent. If “people” really want Squares and Streets, fantastic. I doubt that this is something that most people currently living in Roslindale actually care about one way or another. There are bigger fish to fry in the world right now than what kind of inadequate housing can be built on top of existing buildings.
If you build housing
By Plen-T-Pak
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 7:10pm
Addressing our state's most pressing issue, you're in the pocket of developers and advancing gentrification. Got it.
And if she were magically able to make it all affordable, she'd be a communist.
The worst
By Tom C
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 2:34pm
I have lived in Boston all 64 years of my life... and Wu is definitely the worst mayor this city has ever seen... and I voted for her. Not next time.
Is it her shrill voice or something?
By Plen-T-Pak
Thu, 02/27/2025 - 7:13pm
Please enlighten us with some actual information so we can attempt to appreciate your viewpoint.
"She gets up there and says things, like she runs the place. Then she does things and who does she think she is!? She has kids for God's sake! Never again."
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