Recent Streetsblog MASS posts about Street Design

Pedestrians take advantage of expanded walking areas on Beacon Street in Brookline in mid-April. Brookline officials have repurposed on-street parking areas to provide additional space for safe physical distancing in commercial districts and on key routes to area hospitals; City of Boston officials may soon follow suit. Photo courtesy of the Brookline Transportation Department.

Boston Plans Expanded Sidewalks, Expedited Bike Projects for Pandemic Recovery

By Christian MilNeil | May 12, 2020 | No Comments

City of Boston staff are proposing to expand pedestrian space into on-street parking areas, build pop-up bike lanes, expand waiting areas at busy bus stops, and close some residential streets to through traffic in a wide-ranging strategy to support car-free mobility in a new era of physical distancing. City officials discussed these strategies and several […]

A rendering of the new three-lane "road diet" layout on Main Street in Reading. The new layout will be tested in a "pilot" project over the summer and fall of 2020, and evaluated according to its benefits in reducing rates of crashes and illegal speeding. Courtesy of MassDOT.

MassDOT Tries Out Traffic Calming on Reading’s Main Street

By Christian MilNeil | May 11, 2020 | No Comments

MassDOT is test-driving a narrower road layout – and new online public engagement tools – in a suburb north of Boston.

A photo illustration of what a new Northern Avenue Bridge would look like with a dedicated lane for privately-operated shuttles. Photo montage by StreetsblogMASS, based on bridge renderings from the City of Boston.

Will Northern Ave. Bridge Project Use Public Funds to Benefit Private Shuttles?

By Christian MilNeil | May 6, 2020 | No Comments

The City of Boston will spend millions of dollars more on a larger design that allows private commuter shuttles on the new Northern Avenue Bridge across the Fort Point Channel, in spite of what project managers had previously characterized as “overwhelming” public support for a cheaper bridge designed for bikes and pedestrians. Last year, engineers […]

Boston Council to Host Hearing on Pandemic Street Safety Improvements

By Christian MilNeil | Apr 28, 2020 | No Comments

"This is very much about safeguarding everyone's health in the immediate term. We are finding it impossible to practice distancing on narrow sidewalks," said Councilor Michelle Wu.

An overview map of a conceptual South Coast Bikeway route, which aims to link Providence, Rhode Island, Fall River, New Bedford, and Cape Cod. Solid green lines indicate trail segments that have already been built.

South Coast Bikeway Would Create 60-Mile Path From Cape Cod to Providence

By Dana Forsythe | Apr 20, 2020 | No Comments

After decades of planning, a proposed 60-mile bike trail stretching from the Cape Cod canal to Providence, Rhode Island is starting to take shape with help from the South Coast Bike Alliance. With several segments of the route already in use through Swansea, Fall River, New Bedford, Fairhaven, Mattapoisett and Wareham – utilizing on and […]

Memorial Drive in Cambridge. Photo by John Phelan, licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 3.0.

In Turnaround, Cambridge Council Endorses Car-Free Memorial Drive

By Christian MilNeil | Apr 14, 2020 | No Comments

On Monday night, the Cambridge City Council voted to endorse the closure of Memorial Drive to car traffic for the duration of the stay-at-home order associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. With most City Councilors participating by teleconference, the order passed by a 5-3 margin, with Councilors Marc McGovern, E. Denise Simmons, and Timothy Toomey opposed. […]

Show More Stories