Residents 12 or older, including non-U.S. citizens, university students and all sixth-graders, can vote on Participatory Budgeting projects from Jan 4-9 and help decide how to spend $500,000 on projects to improve the city. Past winning projects include critical resource kits for the homeless, musical instruments for students, tree planting, and water bottle fill stations.

In September, community members submitted more than 660 ideas about how to spend part of the city’s fiscal year 2022 capital budget. More than 60 volunteers researched and evaluated the ideas, leaving 16 projects for the ballot. Residents can vote for up to five:

• Fast Response High Visibility Fire Hydrant Markers ($8,000)
• Bike Signals at Busy Intersections ($40,000)
• Rain Gardens for Resiliency ($120,000)
• New Park Pavilion ($175,000)
• Pedestrian-Controlled Crosswalk Lights ($100,000)
• Add Color to our Youth Centers ($25,000)
• Who Let the Dogs Out? ($20,000)
• Open Our Doors – Automatic Door Openers on Public Buildings ($50,000)
• Swinging into Inclusivity ($40,000)
• Bridging the Digital Divide ($95,000)
• Listen Up! Public Meeting Space Hearing Technology ($150,000)
• Safer Streets Around Parks and Schools ($90,000)
• Urban Micro-Forests for Cambridge (85,000)
• We Need More Crosswalks ($40,000)
• Waste Management Education Campaign ($85,000)
• Keeping Cambridge Cleaner ($45,000)