August 18, 2025 • 39 mins
Bradley Jay filled in on NightSide:
What is STEAM education and why is it important? STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. STEAM education equips students with a well-rounded set of skills and mindsets that are essential in today’s rapidly evolving world. Educators believe it sets students up for success. Bianca Mauro, co-founder of the Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race joined Bradley to discuss not only the importance of STEAM but their upcoming 8th annual race!
What is STEAM education and why is it important? STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. STEAM education equips students with a well-rounded set of skills and mindsets that are essential in today’s rapidly evolving world. Educators believe it sets students up for success. Bianca Mauro, co-founder of the Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race joined Bradley to discuss not only the importance of STEAM but their upcoming 8th annual race!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, greetings, my friends. I love talking to Steve Kirchin.
I love talking about woodstock, and I hope you enjoyed
it as well. This is a you know, things loosen
up a little bit more now. I do want to
share with you an activity that might be great for anyone,
kind of with a striking distance of up in the
Lowell area. I found out about it and was fascinated
(00:22):
by it and wanted to hear more about it and thought, wow,
maybe there's something that I'm always looking for, something different
to do. You know, you can go on borrowway trips.
You gotta buy a plane ticket, you gotta deal with
the hassles of a million other travelers. There's a lot
of hassle and a lot of expense. And I've kind
of said recently I want to explore stuff right around here,
so much good stuff, and this is one of them.
(00:45):
There is an event coming up. Let me explain it
to you. It's called the Lowll Kinetic Sculpture Race. Well
maybe you could figure that out if we didn't explain,
but maybe not. A sculpture race known as LKSR for
good reason, because this kind of unwieldy otherwise is an
(01:08):
annual Steam event held third Sat of every every September
in a little Massachusetts which is a really cool town.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
By the way.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Kinetic sculptures are human powered all terrain sculptures, which also
human powered all terrain vehicles. They're kind of vehicle sculptures
made from new and repurposed materials, you know, stuff you
might find around and some new stuff. And they have
to make it through streets that's paved streets, water, mud,
(01:40):
and sand. So there's a lot to go into designing
these ALKSR strives to inspire artists, designers, science, sea type
of folks, artsy type of folks into creating this project
and then all coming together in a big event that
(02:01):
celebrates well Lowell for one thing, and the steam areas
in engineering all right, mathematics all that. And we have
us with us a guest, and I'm excited to speak
with beyoncome moral and she's going to tell us a
lot about it. So thanks for being with us. I
(02:21):
appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Thank you so much for having me. I feel like
you already did my whole pitch. It was amazing.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Oh it's so much more.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
I have many deep and deep questions that only you
can probably answer.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
So, first, well me in about ten thousand of my
closest friends who've been doing this since twenty sixteen.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Okay, so first tell us a little bit about you,
so we know if what you say has any credibility
at all.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
All right, well, I'll probably only be damaging my credibility
by giving you my backstory. But here goes. Here is
my fifteen second elevator pitch. So I came up in
rock and roll and entertainment. I did a lot of
touring rock and roll touring back in the day, and
then in twenty fifteen, I decided that I didn't want
to live out of a suitcase anymore. So I settled
(03:09):
down where else but loll And while I was there
trying to figure out what my next move was, I
opened a company. I built a bunch of big art
stuff as well. But someone came up to me and
they said, Hey, I have a friend who saw this
crazy race out in California, and he knows absolutely nothing
about putting on any kind of event, but he wants
(03:31):
to show this thing to you. So I went in cold.
I watched the YouTube video from one of the races
out in Arcada, California, and we can circle back to
that in a minute, because that's where it all began.
But I saw this like ninety second YouTube video and
I was completely hooked. One because I like weird and
two because I like stuff that's never been done before.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
So it hooked.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
It hooked me right off the bat, and I was like,
we can definitely do this hereuntil it started cool.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
You really have to see it to get it.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
And so perhaps even while folks are listening to us,
they could open another tab on their computer, or or
if they're on their rate listening on the radio, open
a computer and what would they google to see this?
See what this looks like?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
You're gonna want to So if you just google loll
Kinetic Sculpture Race, you will get our YouTube channel. You
will get our website which is lowkinetic dot com, our Instagram,
our TikTok, our Facebook. They are all versions of loll Kinetic.
So if you google lol kinetic, you will get all
of it. And you are totally right. You need to
(04:39):
see this to believe it.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
It's kind of like a triathlon, only not with your body,
but with these.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
These vehicles, crazy crazy.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Vehicles that are that are put together with file materials
and new stuff as well that have to they have
to be able to get through do the streets and mud.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Like the fact that they have to get through mud.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Really, what's a monkey wrench into a normally a normal
design because a normal street design is not going to
necessarily work in the mud water there's some sort of
water feature they have to go through.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
So I'll give you an overview of the day. So
for anyone who's coming, the race doesn't officially start until
eleven thirty am. So if getting up and driving up
to loll waking up in Loll pre coffee isn't for you,
then you can still get there between eleven and eleven
thirty and have a great day. But but the really
(05:36):
cool thing, my favorite thing, is from nine am to
eleven am, all the machines line up on Market Street
in downtown loll And for two hours. We're working behind
the scenes to make sure all these machines are inspected
and safe to ride. We have a lot of criteria
they need to meet for safety standards. But while that's happening,
(05:57):
people are invited to touch the machine, get on the machines,
talk to the builders and the racers. We call it
meet the machines. So from nine am to eleven am
September twentieth is Meet the Machines. Then eleven to eleven
thirty is our awesome opening ceremonies. We have circuit performers,
fire breathers, dancing bananas, anything you can imagine is happening
(06:20):
from eleven to eleven thirty, and then eleven thirty the
race kicks off. The first obstacle these machines have to
endure are just the cobblestones of downtown loll We call
this bone Shaker Alley. We do this right off the
bat because it will immediately separate the well built machines
from the things that were basically being held held together
(06:41):
by duct tape and bubblegum. If the machine makes it
through bone Shaker Alley, it travels less than a mile
to the mudpit, the maddening mud pit. This thing is
seventy five feet long by a foot thick. We have
bleachers set up on either side of it because every
year it gets rowdier and radier and routier. And this
(07:02):
is the drama of the race. This makes or breaks machines,
and mostly breaks them. But you will have thousands of
people in the stands screaming for strangers they've never met
before who are just face planting incessantly in the mud
until they either courageously beat the obstacle or have to
drag their machine out in despair. From there, the racers
(07:25):
travel three miles through all the neighborhoods of loll through
the UMass Little Campus all the way down to the
Sampus Pavilion across the three from Heritage Farm ice Cream,
and there's a beautiful venue down there with a permanent
stage and a big lawn. We open that venue up
at twelve pm and have the Family Fund Zone, So
we've got a fleet of food trucks, more performers, live music,
(07:49):
tons of art, lawn games everywhere, and then the machines
roll in there at about one o'clock. They all circle
up again and they prepare for the water up stickle. So,
if you're building a kinetic machine and you're finding things
around the house and putting them together, like old bikes
and kayaks and just random stuff, right, you have to
(08:12):
plan for two hundred yards of the Merrimack River. And
we're not talking like knee deep. We're talking all the
way into the Merrimack River. For two hundred yards. How
deep is we give I really should know that, but it's.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Like over your head and probably twel yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
Yeah, it's a real river.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yep.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
All of these machines, we give them about twenty minutes
to modify their machines in preparation for the water. So
everything you need for the day needs to be on
board your machine. So people are pulling out flotation devices,
they're blowing things up, everyone's putting on their life jackets.
They're making sure. We're making sure that all the racers
(08:58):
are safe. Every machine is required to have a winch
point built onto the front of it so that we
can drag it out of the river if things go sideways.
Then once all the machines are ready, we send them
down the ramp, which is an old boat ramp which,
for better or for worse, gives them quite a bit
of speed as they hit the water. And then they
splash into the water and race to the beach which
(09:21):
is about two hundred yards away, and that's where they
encounter the sand. They have to come up of a
grade of the beach covered in thick sand, and if
they survive all of that, they get to race three
war miles back downtown to the spectacular finish.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
So firstly, my impression is that's a long way to First,
I guess I first need to say how are these powered?
And then I would say if they're powered by people power,
that's a long way they are.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
They're totally people powered. So you can't use any you
can't use any electronics, you can't use a combustion engine,
can't get tricky and try to do lots of things
that are sciencing, nerdy, wonderful. Competitors have tried to sneak
by us in the past. They must be completely human powered,
whatever that means to you. And for most of our racers,
(10:14):
they're trying to do something called ace the race. So
we have a fifty percent serious, fifty percent ridiculous set
of rules that are also available for your reading enjoyment
on low kinetic dot com. And among those rules is
a subset called ACE and these are the strictest of
our rules. And if the competitors meet these criteria, they
(10:38):
become part of an elite group of racers called the Aces.
And there is one Ace every year that is chosen
by our judges as the ACE Champion. And while we
give away copious handmade amazing awards. This one is the
most coveted. And so if you are going to try
(11:00):
to ace the race, you can't even put your feet
on the ground. There's a lot more to all six
point two miles. Yeah, for all six point two miles.
You can't even touch one foot to the ground.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Nobody on the on the vehicle can.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
Nope.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Is there more than one person on the vehicle usually
or just.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
One, it varies.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Nobody on the vehicle can touch the ground once correct
in the in the ace high high strict rules.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
You know, you know if you're doing that. There are
a lot of people who just come for the fun,
and there are people who come year after year with
different objectives, and so we have lots of racers who
just come to see if their thing is gonna float.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
All right, I want to hear more about this after
these words on Busy.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
Night Side Dan Ray on WBZ Boston's news radio.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Yes uh, before we continue with our excellent guests talking
about this wild event or reminder that is a cool
way to be part of the night side broadcast by
using the talkback feature on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Get the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
It's free, and while you're listening to the Night Side
Live on WBZ, there's a red microphone in the corner
of the screen of the app. You tap that button
and you can send a personalized audio message and it
might get played back during nights Side. Simple, simple, simple,
easy pasy, and once again, hit that red button top
(12:29):
right corner and record your message. It's really self explanatory
and kind of empowering. Boom, there's that we're having a
good time finding out about something that seemed initially interesting
and as it turns out, it's about ten times more
interesting that it's somebody Steve known as Detenson whose works here,
(12:52):
pops his head in and says, is that biakamorro Oh
my god, I know her. I love that event. I
live near that event. I go all the time. So
it's a big deal up in Lowell, which is a
fantastic town. If you haven't been there, it's with just
a visit to Lowell anytime. But this just makes it
even better. So Biankamara is going to continue with us
(13:12):
talking about the Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race, in which you
will ahead.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
You got it. You gotta pass my love back on
to detention.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Detention. Okay, cool, but you know how he got his name?
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Detention sounds like like a hip hop name, but it's
not really.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
He got it because he got so much detention in school.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
I am I'm shocked, totally shocked.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
So back to this event, I'm not going to recap
the whole thing because it was just moments ago that
you you you outlined it, and so I get to
I have a few questions about it. There obviously is
there obviously is a point beyond building a vehicle and
getting it to go through multiple media, through sand and
(14:06):
water and mudd. And there's a point to this, a
larger point, a reason. Can you tell us what that's
all about?
Speaker 6 (14:13):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (14:13):
You got me? So we are secretly a propaganda machine
for the STEM sciences and the arts.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
You caught me.
Speaker 5 (14:21):
But the real now steam?
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Right?
Speaker 4 (14:26):
Yes, So it.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Started out with science, technology, engineering, and math. But what
was then discovered is that true problem solving, true overcoming
of challenges can really only be achieved when you pair science, technology, engineering,
and math with the creative arts, and that gives it
(14:47):
the A in steam. And so we are heavily promoting
all of the STEM sciences and the collaboration of the
creative arts. And on top of that, are is completely free,
so it's free to attend, it's free to race, and
we are giving people a reason come on enjoy these challenges,
(15:10):
problem solve, collaborate with other people teams. Although we can
have a minimum of one rider, every writer must have
a pit crew, so there is no solo competitor. There
is always at least two people and so this race
thrives on collaboration. Also, it's a great excuse to spend
(15:31):
the day outside with friends, with family, with competitors. It's
an incredible opportunity to use your brain, use your body
and overcome and learn.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
That's good.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
I want to talk about a little more more about
how this benefits the Steam effort to teach kids about science.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
This is the STEM Sciences. How does it earn money
for STEM somehow?
Speaker 3 (16:00):
So every year we partner with a local organization, so
we raise money on race day by selling our merchandise.
We partner with a different local artist every year to
come up with a completely new creative design for our branding,
and then we use that on all of our marketing materials.
We use it on our T shirts, we use it
(16:21):
on swag, all of which is sustainably sourced and sold
at our race and then we take one hundred percent
of the profit from all the merchandise sales of race
Day and we donate it to a local program. For years,
we donated it to the STEM Academy at the Rogers School,
which is a LOLL based program promoting STEM sciences. This
(16:44):
year we're partnering with an organization, Mill City Grows out
of LOLL. They're are premier organization partner for the year
and they teach a lot about urban gardening and sustainability
and the biological sciences. So we try to use our
fun creative platform to amplify other organizations within Lowell who
(17:09):
are doing work with UTH and doing work with science
and the arts.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
You guys just fallen behind in these areas, Huh, Steam,
the standards, sciences, it is, but.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
It's an opportunity. It is an opportunity for us to
come together and explore what can be achieved through the
collaboration of STEM and the arts. It really I see
it as an opportunity. And also we're out there showing
younger people what it's like to see adults having fun.
(17:46):
Our entrance to the race are anything from We have
lots of student groups that enter the race, we have
collegiate age groups that enter the race, and then we
have all manner of adults, everyone from artists and people
in the sciences starting out in their careers to retired engineers.
(18:06):
And there's something really magical about seeing a younger person
who may be too young to race, but seeing a
younger person watch adults create a giant machine out of
what looks like scrap parts and then dress up. Because
the arts are part of this day. You need to
(18:27):
be silly, you need to have a good time. Part
of our oath is that everyone swears to have fun
during opening ceremonies. And then you see adults coming together
and using all of those things that you think you're
never going to use outside of school to build truly
awesome things and get through these obstacles. And it's a
(18:47):
physical application of real world themed stem sciences and the arts.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
You know, you used to hear stories about Lowell becoming,
you know, reinventing itself and becoming a great place. Now
it has become. It is now a great community, it.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
Really is, and we love it showing people exactly and
another really great side effect of this race is that
over the last eight really ten because of COVID, but
over the last eight years of this race, we've gotten
the opportunity to show LOLL to so many people who
wouldn't have come there otherwise. Something I hear walking around
(19:29):
on race day more than almost anything else. I hear
two main things. One is people coming up to me
and saying, oh my god, it's so great here, Like
I had no idea there were all these restaurants, all
these galleries, all these shops, all these museums. LOLL is
full of incredible opportunities to play and learn and create.
(19:49):
And then the second most thing, the second most popular
thing I hear on race day is from anyone who's
never seen the race before become the immediately sucked in
and they'll look at this whole thing, and at the
end of the day they look at me and go,
I think I can do that, and that that's what
(20:11):
makes it worth it.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
Or you could say I think I can watch that,
which is another big part of the thing is go
up and experience it. Even if you don't want to
get involved, you can take.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
Mot and just being there and being involved. We encourage
anyone coming to the race to just be their most
comfortable selves. If that means you're wearing your inflatable t
Rex costume, we have at it. If that means you know,
you're joining in and singing with some of the street
bands that we have out there, or dancing along to
the party band playing in downtown Lowll, we encourage our
(20:45):
spectators to just have as much fun as they possibly
can that day.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
A lot of people come into the city to do
their activities, but this is something so cool that people
from the city might want to get on the train,
the community community.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
The train goes to Lull. Everybody should know.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
Absolutely it sure does. We have a commuter Reil stop
and it's walking distance from the start and finish line,
all right. And also once you're in Lull, go ahead start.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
One more cool thing about this is that I feel
kind of bad for younger young you know kids. I
guess they have a completely non tactile existence plastic, plastic, plastic.
They touch plastic computers and plastic cups and plastic everything.
And this is something that changes that if you get involved,
(21:34):
because you get to touch different kinds of materials like
metal and rubber and spokes and It gets you out
of the plastic bubble that you're in. If you're a
young person today or even an adult, it's a plastic
world and this is a and I think that causes
mental issues, actually psychological issues. So I think this is
(21:54):
a psychologically healthy thing to do. And also you're interacting
with people instead of staring anti your dumby at your
dumb screen.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
So there you go.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
I couldn't agree more. And you know what, there's nothing
quite like getting covered in mud to remind you, to
remind you how real things can be. Yeah, one of
the good one of the things that we are really
really important to us in this race though, in addition
to having fun, is inclusivity and accessibility. So we know
(22:28):
that we have a six point two mile racecourse, and
you mentioned you know people coming in taking the train.
We know that not everyone is going to have a
car with them, not everyone's going to have a bicycle
with them so that they can follow the race, although
you are encouraged to do so if you would like
to do that. And not everyone feels or is able
to walk six point two miles in a day obviously,
(22:50):
so for that, we have multiple shuttles that travel throughout
all the race routes. They're all EIGHTYA accessible shuttles and
people can catch a ride from the start line mud
to the mud to the water and then back to
the finish. In addition to that, every one of our
venues has asl interpreters, so we want everyone to be
(23:10):
able to come and to be able to experience this
race and enjoy themselves.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Bianca Moro, you saw sound like you're a tremendous organizer
and you're certainly a great spokesperson. That's the Loll Connetic
Sculpture Race. Give them me the the info to get
Do you need tickets or anything? Or is it free?
Speaker 3 (23:29):
And we don't need tickets. You just show up September twentieth,
Downtown Loll. If you go to lollkinetic dot com you
can find all the information you're looking for in our
spectator guides. And I would be remiss if I did
not give a warm shout out to our top sponsors
that make this possible. The Markely Group, the Greater Low
(23:49):
Community Foundation as our fiscal sponsor, without who without which
none of this would be possible. The Greater Merrimac Dalley
Convention in Visitors Bureau, and of course the Massachuse, the
Cultural Council and low cultural councils. I apologize, but I just.
Speaker 4 (24:03):
Got to do it.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
That's no problem, of course I get it. Thank you
so much for being a wonderful guest.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
Thank you so much. I'd love to talk to you
again sometime.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
Alrighty bye bye.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
And my suggestion is, if you're going to go, go
up early and get a hotel up there, if you
can find a hotel in Lowell, because it's cool, explore Lowell.
I have a dilimma for you to help me solve.
After this on WBZ, you're on.
Speaker 5 (24:30):
Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ Boston's news radio.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
That's WBZ News Radio ten thirty. Now we get a
little more personal. I want to speak with you. I'll
need your input on this. I have a question. I
don't know the answer to it, and I don't I
can't find anyone who has an answer to it. I'm
going to outline a situation that happens to me all
(25:04):
the time. I just don't know how to act. I
asked other people about fifty percent of them say act
way A and others act way B.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
And here we go.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Outside near my home is a multi lane highway I road,
and you come to it's three lanes, you come to
a red light.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
On the right hand side is a light that has
a red arrow. And I don't know, and I don't
even believe you know. Maybe you do.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
If you can give me, if you can give me
your source and quote the law and tell me where
it came from, I'll believe you. But I bet you
don't know. That's why I'm just asking for your opinion
what to do at this right red arrow. Does a
(26:04):
right red arrow say you can turn right on this
red arrow after it stop?
Speaker 2 (26:11):
Or does it say you know?
Speaker 1 (26:14):
I wouldn't have bothered to put this red arrow here
if it were just like a regular red light where
you can turn right after stop. I don't know what
to do on that. I do go, but I'm always
a little nervous about it, thinking I feel like I'm
breaking the law here, the law.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
And if any officer.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Of the law or anybody going through the footage from
the camera staring right at me at the intersection decides
they're in a bad mood, that I we get a
ticket and my insurance might go up, and I would
be you know, and that would crush me. I've never
had that happen. I've never gotten a ticket. Can you
(27:01):
believe that I've never gotten a ticket?
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (27:03):
I take that back, uninspected vehicle. Oh sorry, I've never
gotten a sort of a ticket for doing something wrong,
like not a moving violation, I guess, although I guess
maybe a non inspected vehicle is a moving violation.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
But you know what I mean. I need your answer
on this. What do you do?
Speaker 1 (27:26):
Are you one of the persons that will take a
right on a red arrow after stop? Or are you
a person that will beep your horn at me if
I don't. I have asked police officers, I have asked
automotive writers. My guess, Craig Fitzgerald, no one knows.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Do you know? What do you do?
Speaker 1 (27:51):
If we can get a consensus here, or even a
majority opinion, I'll do what you say. If the majority
opinion says you should turn, and shame on you for
holding us up by not turning. But if I come
up to that light and it's red and I don't go,
(28:15):
people behind me start beeping. On the other hand, two
people I talk to today said, no, no, I think
there's something specific about a red light with an arrow
that says don't go, and I it's super unclear, and
it should be more unclear. It should be more clear.
(28:38):
I guess it doesn't make any difference. And in a
related topic, have you noticed is it just me or
there's very little traffic enforcement, a greatly reduced traffic enforcement.
And I'm not here to point fingers. But unfortunately I'm
kind of a rule follower. A lot of you would,
(29:00):
you know, not like riding with me because I follow
the rules. And I guess it's because I don't drive
that much. But the idea of getting a ticket is
would just be devastating to me. Getting a moving violation,
have my insurance go up, I would think I was
a total loser.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
So I just am a rule follower.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
But maybe, you know, maybe you can convince me that
I can lighten up a little bit. Oh good, we
got some responses here. I'm gonna actually take a pen
on a paper, make the little car cross hatch. Okay,
I'll put go and don't go, and we can see
(29:41):
what the consensus is in here.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
And then until I find out from.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
I don't know who told me this, the Attorney General,
probably not, I don't even know if the police know.
Are there any police officers out there that no this?
Please and if you're not a police officer.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
Google it for me right now. Find the law that
says what to do. This is a public service. This
is a big deal.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
It's a big deal because some folks you're gonna save
them from getting a ticket, and other folks you're gonna
save them from getting beeped at with hate. B A
w h beeped at with hate. Who goes first? It
would be Ray and Bridge?
Speaker 6 (30:36):
Hi?
Speaker 4 (30:36):
Ray?
Speaker 2 (30:36):
What do you think? Man? Hey?
Speaker 4 (30:38):
Okay, so number one, I'm a CEO driver, I have
a class saying I'm heading home from and to Quinsy.
I'm then break you aught it right now? Okay, So
first of all, that right on red if there's a
sign that says no, right on red, don't turn. If
there's no signke a turn. And yeah, I'm that guy
(31:03):
that with that air on. I'm gonna be beeping next
he come in my car. It's still gonna be back.
Speaker 2 (31:10):
Okay, So answer me this.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Then, why brother have the arrow at all? Isn't that
telling you something different?
Speaker 4 (31:17):
Oh wait a minute, that's a separate deal. Okay, Yeah,
if you have a red arrow. You need to wait.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Okay, so that's completely different. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
So since you seem to know you're talking about what
is the theory behind it?
Speaker 2 (31:33):
What does it mean? What does the arrow mean?
Speaker 4 (31:37):
The arrow mean? And okay, I'm gonna give you another example.
I used to drive a cab in Brocket. I did
it there for twenty years. And there is high street
that comes out to Warren App. That street has a
red arrow at the intersection of a Pie and Warren App,
which is now Frederick Dougley Steeve. So I've seen many
(31:59):
people take that left on that arrow. You're supposed to wait.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
You mean right, you're I mean you're never supposed to
go no.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
No, no, no, no, no no, because that part of Warren
App is a one way street and you can only
take a left. It's a one way street. So when
you you know what's there now, when you come up
Frederick Douglas to Warren App. Directly in front of you
is the brand new I don't even it's not even
open yet, public Safety Building for Broaden, the Fire and
(32:29):
Police Department. It hasn't even opened yet. So right there,
it's a one way Heed suf on Warren App. There
is a red and a green arrow. Traffic like right there.
Everyone seems to pull up to that red arrow and
take a left. Really, truly, I don't.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
Understand why you're supposed to take a left.
Speaker 4 (32:53):
You're not You're not supposed to turn left or right
on a red arrow. If it's an arrow, it's an
arrow for a reason.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
Okay, okay, so okay, that's right. If what is the
reason for the arrow? What is the arrow actually saying?
Speaker 4 (33:11):
The arrow is saying, do not take this turn. That's
what it changed usually okay, where is there? Where is
the where where's the the no? No right on red?
And sometimes you could take a right on red as
long as it's not posted. That's what the arrow means.
(33:31):
Do not turn okay, period.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
See here that folks, that's Ray and Bridgewater and that's
one for don't go.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
Thank you Ray, very good, very good call. And it's
David in Madapan. Hi, David, Hi.
Speaker 4 (33:49):
Agree.
Speaker 7 (33:51):
There's a red arrow and Dudley's Street going to the
Warren Streets and the bung drivers take the right turn
on red. So nobody takes that right the red nobody,
I mean, no one takes that rter the red and
nobody beasurt me.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
So you're talking red arrow, correct, red arrow.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
Okay, and you never take it, and no one be say.
Speaker 4 (34:21):
You, no one be hurt nobody okay.
Speaker 7 (34:25):
And a bus driver stopped there and wait for it
to turn green, and then he goes and that as
goes too good. Nobody supposed to turn on red arrow
even though it's not posed or not okay.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
Good, thank you. That's two for don't go.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
I'm kind of surprised because when i'm I I see
what happens a lot. Because right near my house, mahas
are so near this red arrow, this intersection that there's
a pollinator garden, and I water the pollinator garden early
in the morning. So I'm out there right beside that
light for twenty minutes, and I see at every light
(35:11):
cycle that someone doesn't that someone doesn't go, that someone
stops and waits for the red arrow to turn green,
a bunch.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
Of people beeping, beeping beepe i.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
And this is part of why I'm asking the question,
why are these people so irritated If the law is
to not turn until it turns green, are they just
expecting you to avoid the law? And I guess that
brings me to a further question. Is obeying traffic law
(35:44):
a thing?
Speaker 2 (35:45):
Now?
Speaker 1 (35:46):
Have people just decided that A there's not enough enforcement
and B I don't really care if I get a
ticket that people just blow off the law? Is that
the way it is now?
Speaker 2 (35:59):
They just figure? And here's the thing.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
I see complete U turns, complete U turns where it's
where it's you know, not you turntime. It's clearly marked,
no U turn I still do it. People just don't
care anymore.
Speaker 7 (36:15):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (36:15):
You're tell me what's up, especially on the red arrow thing.
And I have a few more minutes, actually I have
all the time. I want to talk about this on WBZ.
Speaker 5 (36:26):
Coming up, it's night Side with Dan Ray on w
b Boston's news radio.
Speaker 1 (36:33):
It is Nightside with Dan Ray Bradley for Dan tonight,
and I'm asking you, when you come to a red light,
red arrow light.
Speaker 5 (36:41):
Do you.
Speaker 2 (36:43):
Go or do you wait for it to turn green?
What's the rule?
Speaker 1 (36:46):
And in addition to that, regardless of the rule, what
do you do? Let's go to Jack and Redding. Hi, Jackie, No,
I'm sorry, Jack, I'll come to you next. It's Mike
in Plymouth.
Speaker 6 (36:56):
I Mike Mike Hi Bradley, how you doing. I got
to answerify my friends. All right, So on a red
arrow you cannot turn red. It is a fine. It's
a civil violation. If you make the turn on the
red arrow. When the arrow turns green or if it's yellow,
you can make a right. Code of Massachusetts Regulations, I
(37:20):
don't have the section, but that's where the law governing
traffic for civil violations comes from. The Code Choosets Regulations
or CMRS. I do not have the exact section, but
that's what they cite on a ticket. If you get
a right on a red on an arrow, how do
you know the difference? The difference between let me hear
(37:42):
me out for a second. The difference between the red
arrow and a solid red where you can take right
on red is that the arrow changes colors to tell
you when to go. A solid red light does not
change color. But you can take a right on red
on it if there's no sign that says no turn
(38:02):
on red.
Speaker 5 (38:02):
Right.
Speaker 6 (38:03):
So there's your difference. Okay, it's the arrow is controlled
by the light signal itself. The intersection tells you when
you can go. There's no discretion on your part whether
or not you can make the right turn on a
right on red. It's at your discretion to take a
right on a full solid red light.
Speaker 4 (38:23):
But you do not have to. It's not required.
Speaker 6 (38:25):
So the guy beeping behind you at a solid red
light can't make you move if you don't want to.
But when that light turns green, you know when to go.
If it's the arrow turns green, you know you can go.
When it's red, you cannot go. It's a civil fine.
Speaker 2 (38:41):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (38:42):
So the guy beeping behind you when you stopped at
a red If he's beeping behind you and you stopped
at a red arrow, then he's in the.
Speaker 4 (38:51):
Wrong and one wrong.
Speaker 6 (38:54):
You cannot go. Absolutely. That's why it's red. Why do
you think the arrow changes color?
Speaker 1 (39:00):
Regular lights change color too, You know what. I'm sorry,
I'm running late. I get a run, but thank you
for that fact. Thank you.
Speaker 4 (39:08):
Okay, all right, we'll continue.
Speaker 2 (39:10):
With this in a moment. I'm busy,
Well, greetings, my friends. I love talking to Steve Kirchin.
I love talking about woodstock, and I hope you enjoyed
it as well. This is a you know, things loosen
up a little bit more now. I do want to
share with you an activity that might be great for anyone,
kind of with a striking distance of up in the
Lowell area. I found out about it and was fascinated
(00:22):
by it and wanted to hear more about it and thought, wow,
maybe there's something that I'm always looking for, something different
to do. You know, you can go on borrowway trips.
You gotta buy a plane ticket, you gotta deal with
the hassles of a million other travelers. There's a lot
of hassle and a lot of expense. And I've kind
of said recently I want to explore stuff right around here,
so much good stuff, and this is one of them.
(00:45):
There is an event coming up. Let me explain it
to you. It's called the Lowll Kinetic Sculpture Race. Well
maybe you could figure that out if we didn't explain,
but maybe not. A sculpture race known as LKSR for
good reason, because this kind of unwieldy otherwise is an
(01:08):
annual Steam event held third Sat of every every September
in a little Massachusetts which is a really cool town.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
By the way.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Kinetic sculptures are human powered all terrain sculptures, which also
human powered all terrain vehicles. They're kind of vehicle sculptures
made from new and repurposed materials, you know, stuff you
might find around and some new stuff. And they have
to make it through streets that's paved streets, water, mud,
(01:40):
and sand. So there's a lot to go into designing
these ALKSR strives to inspire artists, designers, science, sea type
of folks, artsy type of folks into creating this project
and then all coming together in a big event that
(02:01):
celebrates well Lowell for one thing, and the steam areas
in engineering all right, mathematics all that. And we have
us with us a guest, and I'm excited to speak
with beyoncome moral and she's going to tell us a
lot about it. So thanks for being with us. I
(02:21):
appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Thank you so much for having me. I feel like
you already did my whole pitch. It was amazing.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Oh it's so much more.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
I have many deep and deep questions that only you
can probably answer.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
So, first, well me in about ten thousand of my
closest friends who've been doing this since twenty sixteen.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Okay, so first tell us a little bit about you,
so we know if what you say has any credibility
at all.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
All right, well, I'll probably only be damaging my credibility
by giving you my backstory. But here goes. Here is
my fifteen second elevator pitch. So I came up in
rock and roll and entertainment. I did a lot of
touring rock and roll touring back in the day, and
then in twenty fifteen, I decided that I didn't want
to live out of a suitcase anymore. So I settled
(03:09):
down where else but loll And while I was there
trying to figure out what my next move was, I
opened a company. I built a bunch of big art
stuff as well. But someone came up to me and
they said, Hey, I have a friend who saw this
crazy race out in California, and he knows absolutely nothing
about putting on any kind of event, but he wants
(03:31):
to show this thing to you. So I went in cold.
I watched the YouTube video from one of the races
out in Arcada, California, and we can circle back to
that in a minute, because that's where it all began.
But I saw this like ninety second YouTube video and
I was completely hooked. One because I like weird and
two because I like stuff that's never been done before.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
So it hooked.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
It hooked me right off the bat, and I was like,
we can definitely do this hereuntil it started cool.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
You really have to see it to get it.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
And so perhaps even while folks are listening to us,
they could open another tab on their computer, or or
if they're on their rate listening on the radio, open
a computer and what would they google to see this?
See what this looks like?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
You're gonna want to So if you just google loll
Kinetic Sculpture Race, you will get our YouTube channel. You
will get our website which is lowkinetic dot com, our Instagram,
our TikTok, our Facebook. They are all versions of loll Kinetic.
So if you google lol kinetic, you will get all
of it. And you are totally right. You need to
(04:39):
see this to believe it.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
It's kind of like a triathlon, only not with your body,
but with these.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
These vehicles, crazy crazy.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Vehicles that are that are put together with file materials
and new stuff as well that have to they have
to be able to get through do the streets and mud.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Like the fact that they have to get through mud.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Really, what's a monkey wrench into a normally a normal
design because a normal street design is not going to
necessarily work in the mud water there's some sort of
water feature they have to go through.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
So I'll give you an overview of the day. So
for anyone who's coming, the race doesn't officially start until
eleven thirty am. So if getting up and driving up
to loll waking up in Loll pre coffee isn't for you,
then you can still get there between eleven and eleven
thirty and have a great day. But but the really
(05:36):
cool thing, my favorite thing, is from nine am to
eleven am, all the machines line up on Market Street
in downtown loll And for two hours. We're working behind
the scenes to make sure all these machines are inspected
and safe to ride. We have a lot of criteria
they need to meet for safety standards. But while that's happening,
(05:57):
people are invited to touch the machine, get on the machines,
talk to the builders and the racers. We call it
meet the machines. So from nine am to eleven am
September twentieth is Meet the Machines. Then eleven to eleven
thirty is our awesome opening ceremonies. We have circuit performers,
fire breathers, dancing bananas, anything you can imagine is happening
(06:20):
from eleven to eleven thirty, and then eleven thirty the
race kicks off. The first obstacle these machines have to
endure are just the cobblestones of downtown loll We call
this bone Shaker Alley. We do this right off the
bat because it will immediately separate the well built machines
from the things that were basically being held held together
(06:41):
by duct tape and bubblegum. If the machine makes it
through bone Shaker Alley, it travels less than a mile
to the mudpit, the maddening mud pit. This thing is
seventy five feet long by a foot thick. We have
bleachers set up on either side of it because every
year it gets rowdier and radier and routier. And this
(07:02):
is the drama of the race. This makes or breaks machines,
and mostly breaks them. But you will have thousands of
people in the stands screaming for strangers they've never met
before who are just face planting incessantly in the mud
until they either courageously beat the obstacle or have to
drag their machine out in despair. From there, the racers
(07:25):
travel three miles through all the neighborhoods of loll through
the UMass Little Campus all the way down to the
Sampus Pavilion across the three from Heritage Farm ice Cream,
and there's a beautiful venue down there with a permanent
stage and a big lawn. We open that venue up
at twelve pm and have the Family Fund Zone, So
we've got a fleet of food trucks, more performers, live music,
(07:49):
tons of art, lawn games everywhere, and then the machines
roll in there at about one o'clock. They all circle
up again and they prepare for the water up stickle. So,
if you're building a kinetic machine and you're finding things
around the house and putting them together, like old bikes
and kayaks and just random stuff, right, you have to
(08:12):
plan for two hundred yards of the Merrimack River. And
we're not talking like knee deep. We're talking all the
way into the Merrimack River. For two hundred yards. How
deep is we give I really should know that, but it's.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Like over your head and probably twel yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
Yeah, it's a real river.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yep.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
All of these machines, we give them about twenty minutes
to modify their machines in preparation for the water. So
everything you need for the day needs to be on
board your machine. So people are pulling out flotation devices,
they're blowing things up, everyone's putting on their life jackets.
They're making sure. We're making sure that all the racers
(08:58):
are safe. Every machine is required to have a winch
point built onto the front of it so that we
can drag it out of the river if things go sideways.
Then once all the machines are ready, we send them
down the ramp, which is an old boat ramp which,
for better or for worse, gives them quite a bit
of speed as they hit the water. And then they
splash into the water and race to the beach which
(09:21):
is about two hundred yards away, and that's where they
encounter the sand. They have to come up of a
grade of the beach covered in thick sand, and if
they survive all of that, they get to race three
war miles back downtown to the spectacular finish.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
So firstly, my impression is that's a long way to First,
I guess I first need to say how are these powered?
And then I would say if they're powered by people power,
that's a long way they are.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
They're totally people powered. So you can't use any you
can't use any electronics, you can't use a combustion engine,
can't get tricky and try to do lots of things
that are sciencing, nerdy, wonderful. Competitors have tried to sneak
by us in the past. They must be completely human powered,
whatever that means to you. And for most of our racers,
(10:14):
they're trying to do something called ace the race. So
we have a fifty percent serious, fifty percent ridiculous set
of rules that are also available for your reading enjoyment
on low kinetic dot com. And among those rules is
a subset called ACE and these are the strictest of
our rules. And if the competitors meet these criteria, they
(10:38):
become part of an elite group of racers called the Aces.
And there is one Ace every year that is chosen
by our judges as the ACE Champion. And while we
give away copious handmade amazing awards. This one is the
most coveted. And so if you are going to try
(11:00):
to ace the race, you can't even put your feet
on the ground. There's a lot more to all six
point two miles. Yeah, for all six point two miles.
You can't even touch one foot to the ground.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Nobody on the on the vehicle can.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
Nope.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Is there more than one person on the vehicle usually
or just.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
One, it varies.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Nobody on the vehicle can touch the ground once correct
in the in the ace high high strict rules.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
You know, you know if you're doing that. There are
a lot of people who just come for the fun,
and there are people who come year after year with
different objectives, and so we have lots of racers who
just come to see if their thing is gonna float.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
All right, I want to hear more about this after
these words on Busy.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
Night Side Dan Ray on WBZ Boston's news radio.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Yes uh, before we continue with our excellent guests talking
about this wild event or reminder that is a cool
way to be part of the night side broadcast by
using the talkback feature on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Get the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
It's free, and while you're listening to the Night Side
Live on WBZ, there's a red microphone in the corner
of the screen of the app. You tap that button
and you can send a personalized audio message and it
might get played back during nights Side. Simple, simple, simple,
easy pasy, and once again, hit that red button top
(12:29):
right corner and record your message. It's really self explanatory
and kind of empowering. Boom, there's that we're having a
good time finding out about something that seemed initially interesting
and as it turns out, it's about ten times more
interesting that it's somebody Steve known as Detenson whose works here,
(12:52):
pops his head in and says, is that biakamorro Oh
my god, I know her. I love that event. I
live near that event. I go all the time. So
it's a big deal up in Lowell, which is a
fantastic town. If you haven't been there, it's with just
a visit to Lowell anytime. But this just makes it
even better. So Biankamara is going to continue with us
(13:12):
talking about the Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race, in which you
will ahead.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
You got it. You gotta pass my love back on
to detention.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Detention. Okay, cool, but you know how he got his name?
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Detention sounds like like a hip hop name, but it's
not really.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
He got it because he got so much detention in school.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
I am I'm shocked, totally shocked.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
So back to this event, I'm not going to recap
the whole thing because it was just moments ago that
you you you outlined it, and so I get to
I have a few questions about it. There obviously is
there obviously is a point beyond building a vehicle and
getting it to go through multiple media, through sand and
(14:06):
water and mudd. And there's a point to this, a
larger point, a reason. Can you tell us what that's
all about?
Speaker 6 (14:13):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (14:13):
You got me? So we are secretly a propaganda machine
for the STEM sciences and the arts.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
You caught me.
Speaker 5 (14:21):
But the real now steam?
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Right?
Speaker 4 (14:26):
Yes, So it.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Started out with science, technology, engineering, and math. But what
was then discovered is that true problem solving, true overcoming
of challenges can really only be achieved when you pair science, technology, engineering,
and math with the creative arts, and that gives it
(14:47):
the A in steam. And so we are heavily promoting
all of the STEM sciences and the collaboration of the
creative arts. And on top of that, are is completely free,
so it's free to attend, it's free to race, and
we are giving people a reason come on enjoy these challenges,
(15:10):
problem solve, collaborate with other people teams. Although we can
have a minimum of one rider, every writer must have
a pit crew, so there is no solo competitor. There
is always at least two people and so this race
thrives on collaboration. Also, it's a great excuse to spend
(15:31):
the day outside with friends, with family, with competitors. It's
an incredible opportunity to use your brain, use your body
and overcome and learn.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
That's good.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
I want to talk about a little more more about
how this benefits the Steam effort to teach kids about science.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
This is the STEM Sciences. How does it earn money
for STEM somehow?
Speaker 3 (16:00):
So every year we partner with a local organization, so
we raise money on race day by selling our merchandise.
We partner with a different local artist every year to
come up with a completely new creative design for our branding,
and then we use that on all of our marketing materials.
We use it on our T shirts, we use it
(16:21):
on swag, all of which is sustainably sourced and sold
at our race and then we take one hundred percent
of the profit from all the merchandise sales of race
Day and we donate it to a local program. For years,
we donated it to the STEM Academy at the Rogers School,
which is a LOLL based program promoting STEM sciences. This
(16:44):
year we're partnering with an organization, Mill City Grows out
of LOLL. They're are premier organization partner for the year
and they teach a lot about urban gardening and sustainability
and the biological sciences. So we try to use our
fun creative platform to amplify other organizations within Lowell who
(17:09):
are doing work with UTH and doing work with science
and the arts.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
You guys just fallen behind in these areas, Huh, Steam,
the standards, sciences, it is, but.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
It's an opportunity. It is an opportunity for us to
come together and explore what can be achieved through the
collaboration of STEM and the arts. It really I see
it as an opportunity. And also we're out there showing
younger people what it's like to see adults having fun.
(17:46):
Our entrance to the race are anything from We have
lots of student groups that enter the race, we have
collegiate age groups that enter the race, and then we
have all manner of adults, everyone from artists and people
in the sciences starting out in their careers to retired engineers.
(18:06):
And there's something really magical about seeing a younger person
who may be too young to race, but seeing a
younger person watch adults create a giant machine out of
what looks like scrap parts and then dress up. Because
the arts are part of this day. You need to
(18:27):
be silly, you need to have a good time. Part
of our oath is that everyone swears to have fun
during opening ceremonies. And then you see adults coming together
and using all of those things that you think you're
never going to use outside of school to build truly
awesome things and get through these obstacles. And it's a
(18:47):
physical application of real world themed stem sciences and the arts.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
You know, you used to hear stories about Lowell becoming,
you know, reinventing itself and becoming a great place. Now
it has become. It is now a great community, it.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
Really is, and we love it showing people exactly and
another really great side effect of this race is that
over the last eight really ten because of COVID, but
over the last eight years of this race, we've gotten
the opportunity to show LOLL to so many people who
wouldn't have come there otherwise. Something I hear walking around
(19:29):
on race day more than almost anything else. I hear
two main things. One is people coming up to me
and saying, oh my god, it's so great here, Like
I had no idea there were all these restaurants, all
these galleries, all these shops, all these museums. LOLL is
full of incredible opportunities to play and learn and create.
(19:49):
And then the second most thing, the second most popular
thing I hear on race day is from anyone who's
never seen the race before become the immediately sucked in
and they'll look at this whole thing, and at the
end of the day they look at me and go,
I think I can do that, and that that's what
(20:11):
makes it worth it.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
Or you could say I think I can watch that,
which is another big part of the thing is go
up and experience it. Even if you don't want to
get involved, you can take.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
Mot and just being there and being involved. We encourage
anyone coming to the race to just be their most
comfortable selves. If that means you're wearing your inflatable t
Rex costume, we have at it. If that means you know,
you're joining in and singing with some of the street
bands that we have out there, or dancing along to
the party band playing in downtown Lowll, we encourage our
(20:45):
spectators to just have as much fun as they possibly
can that day.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
A lot of people come into the city to do
their activities, but this is something so cool that people
from the city might want to get on the train,
the community community.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
The train goes to Lull. Everybody should know.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
Absolutely it sure does. We have a commuter Reil stop
and it's walking distance from the start and finish line,
all right. And also once you're in Lull, go ahead start.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
One more cool thing about this is that I feel
kind of bad for younger young you know kids. I
guess they have a completely non tactile existence plastic, plastic, plastic.
They touch plastic computers and plastic cups and plastic everything.
And this is something that changes that if you get involved,
(21:34):
because you get to touch different kinds of materials like
metal and rubber and spokes and It gets you out
of the plastic bubble that you're in. If you're a
young person today or even an adult, it's a plastic
world and this is a and I think that causes
mental issues, actually psychological issues. So I think this is
(21:54):
a psychologically healthy thing to do. And also you're interacting
with people instead of staring anti your dumby at your
dumb screen.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
So there you go.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
I couldn't agree more. And you know what, there's nothing
quite like getting covered in mud to remind you, to
remind you how real things can be. Yeah, one of
the good one of the things that we are really
really important to us in this race though, in addition
to having fun, is inclusivity and accessibility. So we know
(22:28):
that we have a six point two mile racecourse, and
you mentioned you know people coming in taking the train.
We know that not everyone is going to have a
car with them, not everyone's going to have a bicycle
with them so that they can follow the race, although
you are encouraged to do so if you would like
to do that. And not everyone feels or is able
to walk six point two miles in a day obviously,
(22:50):
so for that, we have multiple shuttles that travel throughout
all the race routes. They're all EIGHTYA accessible shuttles and
people can catch a ride from the start line mud
to the mud to the water and then back to
the finish. In addition to that, every one of our
venues has asl interpreters, so we want everyone to be
(23:10):
able to come and to be able to experience this
race and enjoy themselves.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Bianca Moro, you saw sound like you're a tremendous organizer
and you're certainly a great spokesperson. That's the Loll Connetic
Sculpture Race. Give them me the the info to get
Do you need tickets or anything? Or is it free?
Speaker 3 (23:29):
And we don't need tickets. You just show up September twentieth,
Downtown Loll. If you go to lollkinetic dot com you
can find all the information you're looking for in our
spectator guides. And I would be remiss if I did
not give a warm shout out to our top sponsors
that make this possible. The Markely Group, the Greater Low
(23:49):
Community Foundation as our fiscal sponsor, without who without which
none of this would be possible. The Greater Merrimac Dalley
Convention in Visitors Bureau, and of course the Massachuse, the
Cultural Council and low cultural councils. I apologize, but I just.
Speaker 4 (24:03):
Got to do it.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
That's no problem, of course I get it. Thank you
so much for being a wonderful guest.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
Thank you so much. I'd love to talk to you
again sometime.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
Alrighty bye bye.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
And my suggestion is, if you're going to go, go
up early and get a hotel up there, if you
can find a hotel in Lowell, because it's cool, explore Lowell.
I have a dilimma for you to help me solve.
After this on WBZ, you're on.
Speaker 5 (24:30):
Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ Boston's news radio.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
That's WBZ News Radio ten thirty. Now we get a
little more personal. I want to speak with you. I'll
need your input on this. I have a question. I
don't know the answer to it, and I don't I
can't find anyone who has an answer to it. I'm
going to outline a situation that happens to me all
(25:04):
the time. I just don't know how to act. I
asked other people about fifty percent of them say act
way A and others act way B.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
And here we go.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Outside near my home is a multi lane highway I road,
and you come to it's three lanes, you come to
a red light.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
On the right hand side is a light that has
a red arrow. And I don't know, and I don't
even believe you know. Maybe you do.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
If you can give me, if you can give me
your source and quote the law and tell me where
it came from, I'll believe you. But I bet you
don't know. That's why I'm just asking for your opinion
what to do at this right red arrow. Does a
(26:04):
right red arrow say you can turn right on this
red arrow after it stop?
Speaker 2 (26:11):
Or does it say you know?
Speaker 1 (26:14):
I wouldn't have bothered to put this red arrow here
if it were just like a regular red light where
you can turn right after stop. I don't know what
to do on that. I do go, but I'm always
a little nervous about it, thinking I feel like I'm
breaking the law here, the law.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
And if any officer.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Of the law or anybody going through the footage from
the camera staring right at me at the intersection decides
they're in a bad mood, that I we get a
ticket and my insurance might go up, and I would
be you know, and that would crush me. I've never
had that happen. I've never gotten a ticket. Can you
(27:01):
believe that I've never gotten a ticket?
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (27:03):
I take that back, uninspected vehicle. Oh sorry, I've never
gotten a sort of a ticket for doing something wrong,
like not a moving violation, I guess, although I guess
maybe a non inspected vehicle is a moving violation.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
But you know what I mean. I need your answer
on this. What do you do?
Speaker 1 (27:26):
Are you one of the persons that will take a
right on a red arrow after stop? Or are you
a person that will beep your horn at me if
I don't. I have asked police officers, I have asked
automotive writers. My guess, Craig Fitzgerald, no one knows.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Do you know? What do you do?
Speaker 1 (27:51):
If we can get a consensus here, or even a
majority opinion, I'll do what you say. If the majority
opinion says you should turn, and shame on you for
holding us up by not turning. But if I come
up to that light and it's red and I don't go,
(28:15):
people behind me start beeping. On the other hand, two
people I talk to today said, no, no, I think
there's something specific about a red light with an arrow
that says don't go, and I it's super unclear, and
it should be more unclear. It should be more clear.
(28:38):
I guess it doesn't make any difference. And in a
related topic, have you noticed is it just me or
there's very little traffic enforcement, a greatly reduced traffic enforcement.
And I'm not here to point fingers. But unfortunately I'm
kind of a rule follower. A lot of you would,
(29:00):
you know, not like riding with me because I follow
the rules. And I guess it's because I don't drive
that much. But the idea of getting a ticket is
would just be devastating to me. Getting a moving violation,
have my insurance go up, I would think I was
a total loser.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
So I just am a rule follower.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
But maybe, you know, maybe you can convince me that
I can lighten up a little bit. Oh good, we
got some responses here. I'm gonna actually take a pen
on a paper, make the little car cross hatch. Okay,
I'll put go and don't go, and we can see
(29:41):
what the consensus is in here.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
And then until I find out from.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
I don't know who told me this, the Attorney General,
probably not, I don't even know if the police know.
Are there any police officers out there that no this?
Please and if you're not a police officer.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
Google it for me right now. Find the law that
says what to do. This is a public service. This
is a big deal.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
It's a big deal because some folks you're gonna save
them from getting a ticket, and other folks you're gonna
save them from getting beeped at with hate. B A
w h beeped at with hate. Who goes first? It
would be Ray and Bridge?
Speaker 6 (30:36):
Hi?
Speaker 4 (30:36):
Ray?
Speaker 2 (30:36):
What do you think? Man? Hey?
Speaker 4 (30:38):
Okay, so number one, I'm a CEO driver, I have
a class saying I'm heading home from and to Quinsy.
I'm then break you aught it right now? Okay, So
first of all, that right on red if there's a
sign that says no, right on red, don't turn. If
there's no signke a turn. And yeah, I'm that guy
(31:03):
that with that air on. I'm gonna be beeping next
he come in my car. It's still gonna be back.
Speaker 2 (31:10):
Okay, So answer me this.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Then, why brother have the arrow at all? Isn't that
telling you something different?
Speaker 4 (31:17):
Oh wait a minute, that's a separate deal. Okay, Yeah,
if you have a red arrow. You need to wait.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Okay, so that's completely different. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
So since you seem to know you're talking about what
is the theory behind it?
Speaker 2 (31:33):
What does it mean? What does the arrow mean?
Speaker 4 (31:37):
The arrow mean? And okay, I'm gonna give you another example.
I used to drive a cab in Brocket. I did
it there for twenty years. And there is high street
that comes out to Warren App. That street has a
red arrow at the intersection of a Pie and Warren App,
which is now Frederick Dougley Steeve. So I've seen many
(31:59):
people take that left on that arrow. You're supposed to wait.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
You mean right, you're I mean you're never supposed to
go no.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
No, no, no, no, no no, because that part of Warren
App is a one way street and you can only
take a left. It's a one way street. So when
you you know what's there now, when you come up
Frederick Douglas to Warren App. Directly in front of you
is the brand new I don't even it's not even
open yet, public Safety Building for Broaden, the Fire and
(32:29):
Police Department. It hasn't even opened yet. So right there,
it's a one way Heed suf on Warren App. There
is a red and a green arrow. Traffic like right there.
Everyone seems to pull up to that red arrow and
take a left. Really, truly, I don't.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
Understand why you're supposed to take a left.
Speaker 4 (32:53):
You're not You're not supposed to turn left or right
on a red arrow. If it's an arrow, it's an
arrow for a reason.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
Okay, okay, so okay, that's right. If what is the
reason for the arrow? What is the arrow actually saying?
Speaker 4 (33:11):
The arrow is saying, do not take this turn. That's
what it changed usually okay, where is there? Where is
the where where's the the no? No right on red?
And sometimes you could take a right on red as
long as it's not posted. That's what the arrow means.
(33:31):
Do not turn okay, period.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
See here that folks, that's Ray and Bridgewater and that's
one for don't go.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
Thank you Ray, very good, very good call. And it's
David in Madapan. Hi, David, Hi.
Speaker 4 (33:49):
Agree.
Speaker 7 (33:51):
There's a red arrow and Dudley's Street going to the
Warren Streets and the bung drivers take the right turn
on red. So nobody takes that right the red nobody,
I mean, no one takes that rter the red and
nobody beasurt me.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
So you're talking red arrow, correct, red arrow.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
Okay, and you never take it, and no one be say.
Speaker 4 (34:21):
You, no one be hurt nobody okay.
Speaker 7 (34:25):
And a bus driver stopped there and wait for it
to turn green, and then he goes and that as
goes too good. Nobody supposed to turn on red arrow
even though it's not posed or not okay.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
Good, thank you. That's two for don't go.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
I'm kind of surprised because when i'm I I see
what happens a lot. Because right near my house, mahas
are so near this red arrow, this intersection that there's
a pollinator garden, and I water the pollinator garden early
in the morning. So I'm out there right beside that
light for twenty minutes, and I see at every light
(35:11):
cycle that someone doesn't that someone doesn't go, that someone
stops and waits for the red arrow to turn green,
a bunch.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
Of people beeping, beeping beepe i.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
And this is part of why I'm asking the question,
why are these people so irritated If the law is
to not turn until it turns green, are they just
expecting you to avoid the law? And I guess that
brings me to a further question. Is obeying traffic law
(35:44):
a thing?
Speaker 2 (35:45):
Now?
Speaker 1 (35:46):
Have people just decided that A there's not enough enforcement
and B I don't really care if I get a
ticket that people just blow off the law? Is that
the way it is now?
Speaker 2 (35:59):
They just figure? And here's the thing.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
I see complete U turns, complete U turns where it's
where it's you know, not you turntime. It's clearly marked,
no U turn I still do it. People just don't
care anymore.
Speaker 7 (36:15):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (36:15):
You're tell me what's up, especially on the red arrow thing.
And I have a few more minutes, actually I have
all the time. I want to talk about this on WBZ.
Speaker 5 (36:26):
Coming up, it's night Side with Dan Ray on w
b Boston's news radio.
Speaker 1 (36:33):
It is Nightside with Dan Ray Bradley for Dan tonight,
and I'm asking you, when you come to a red light,
red arrow light.
Speaker 5 (36:41):
Do you.
Speaker 2 (36:43):
Go or do you wait for it to turn green?
What's the rule?
Speaker 1 (36:46):
And in addition to that, regardless of the rule, what
do you do? Let's go to Jack and Redding. Hi, Jackie, No,
I'm sorry, Jack, I'll come to you next. It's Mike
in Plymouth.
Speaker 6 (36:56):
I Mike Mike Hi Bradley, how you doing. I got
to answerify my friends. All right, So on a red
arrow you cannot turn red. It is a fine. It's
a civil violation. If you make the turn on the
red arrow. When the arrow turns green or if it's yellow,
you can make a right. Code of Massachusetts Regulations, I
(37:20):
don't have the section, but that's where the law governing
traffic for civil violations comes from. The Code Choosets Regulations
or CMRS. I do not have the exact section, but
that's what they cite on a ticket. If you get
a right on a red on an arrow, how do
you know the difference? The difference between let me hear
(37:42):
me out for a second. The difference between the red
arrow and a solid red where you can take right
on red is that the arrow changes colors to tell
you when to go. A solid red light does not
change color. But you can take a right on red
on it if there's no sign that says no turn
(38:02):
on red.
Speaker 5 (38:02):
Right.
Speaker 6 (38:03):
So there's your difference. Okay, it's the arrow is controlled
by the light signal itself. The intersection tells you when
you can go. There's no discretion on your part whether
or not you can make the right turn on a
right on red. It's at your discretion to take a
right on a full solid red light.
Speaker 4 (38:23):
But you do not have to. It's not required.
Speaker 6 (38:25):
So the guy beeping behind you at a solid red
light can't make you move if you don't want to.
But when that light turns green, you know when to go.
If it's the arrow turns green, you know you can go.
When it's red, you cannot go. It's a civil fine.
Speaker 2 (38:41):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (38:42):
So the guy beeping behind you when you stopped at
a red If he's beeping behind you and you stopped
at a red arrow, then he's in the.
Speaker 4 (38:51):
Wrong and one wrong.
Speaker 6 (38:54):
You cannot go. Absolutely. That's why it's red. Why do
you think the arrow changes color?
Speaker 1 (39:00):
Regular lights change color too, You know what. I'm sorry,
I'm running late. I get a run, but thank you
for that fact. Thank you.
Speaker 4 (39:08):
Okay, all right, we'll continue.
Speaker 2 (39:10):
With this in a moment. I'm busy,
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