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Central Square in Lynn. Photo by Wikimedia Commons user Kcboling, licensed under Creative Commons BY-SA-4.0.

Lynn Will Get Subway Fares From Its Commuter Rail Station This Summer

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 16, 2020 | No Comments

Though it’s just a 20-minute bike ride from the end of the Blue Line, catching an MBTA commuter train from downtown Lynn has traditionally cost nearly three times more than a subway ticket. That will change for a 2-month pilot this summer, when one-way fares from Lynn to North Station will be reduced to $2.40 […]

Some of the organizations sponsoring a petition to the MBTA for the agency to acknowledge police brutality and prevent law enforcement from using the transit system to limit its riders' freedoms.

Broad Coalition Calls for Reduced Police Influence in MBTA Management

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 15, 2020 | No Comments

A large coalition of community groups, environmental organizations, and transit advocates are petitioning the MBTA to acknowledge the threats of police brutality and take steps to ensure that the region’s transit system will not be used as a tool for law enforcement. “Transit is a public good and necessity at all times. The T must […]

Study: Police Are Weak Deterrent to Texting While Driving

By Kea Wilson | Jun 12, 2020 | No Comments

The threat of police enforcement isn’t deterring dangerous drivers from texting behind the wheel, a new study shows — the latest reminder that law enforcement is unreliable in making streets safer.

An aerial map of interstate highways proposed in the 1962 Massachusetts "Inner Belt and Expressway System" plan. Courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

Exploring Boston’s Unbuilt Highways

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 12, 2020 | No Comments

Imagine a version of greater Boston where ten-lane expressways slice through Cambridgeport and Jamaica Plain, a freeway trench has replaced the Muddy River parkland through the Fenway, and a ten-story-high stack of interchange ramps looms over Nubian Square. As dystopian as that may sound to modern ears, that was the vision for the future that […]

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.

Baker Admin. Launches $5M ‘Shared Streets and Spaces Emergency Grant Program’

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 11, 2020 | No Comments

The Commonwealth is launching a new $5 million grant program to create safer walking and biking routes with more room for physical distancing as “stay at home” orders ease this spring and summer. The new program was announced on Thursday afternoon during a press conference with Governor Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito at the […]

Boston Police Captain John Danilecki at a white supremacist rally in downtown Boston last summer. Photo courtesy of John O'Donnell (@ODonnell4NH) via Twitter.

Safe Streets Advocacy Groups Join Growing Movement to Cut Police Spending

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 10, 2020 | 1 Comment

In a letter sent yesterday to Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, three large advocacy groups for safer streets – the LivableStreets Alliance, Boston Cyclists Union, and WalkBoston – called on the City of Boston to remove the Boston Police Department (BPD) from the city’s Vision Zero Task Force, reduce the BPD’s annual budget, and “reallocate resources […]

A map of the proposed Mystic-to-Charles trail connections to the new Community Path Extension in Somerville. Courtesy of the Friends of the Community Path and the Friends of the Mystic to Charles Connector.

Trail Advocates Plot New Routes to Link E. Somerville to Charles River

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 10, 2020 | No Comments

A newly-published study recommends detailed routes for new dedicated bike and pedestrian pathways to form a network of trails through East Somerville and Cambridge. The trail feasibility study analyzes two critical links that would connect to the under-construction Community Path Extension, which will eventually run from Davis Square to Lechmere: one connection would run northward, […]

Driver Kills Bicyclist on Cummins Highway in Mattapan

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 9, 2020 | No Comments

A motorist struck and killed a person riding a bicycle early this morning in Mattapan. According to Boston Police officials, preliminary dispatch information indicates that police responded at about 7:33 AM to a crash on Cummins Highway near Richmere Road in Mattapan, and the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Photographs from the scene […]

MBTA buses carrying police wait near the Heath Street Green Line stop on the evening of Thursday, June 4, as peaceful protesters gathered nearby. Photo courtesy of Jessica Feldish.

Responding to Intense Criticism, T Will Stop Bussing Cops to Protests

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 5, 2020 | No Comments

In the past 24 hours, the agency had come under intense scrutiny from its workers, city officials, and its oversight board for using public transit vehicles as troop transports to peaceful protest sites around the city.

An Amtrak Lake Shore Limited train passes through Chester, Mass. Photo by Benjamin Turon, licensed under the Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0 license.

Debate Begins Over the Next U.S. Transportation Funding Bill

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 4, 2020 | 1 Comment

Yesterday, House Democrats released a draft bill that establishes a $494 billion, 5-year plan for the nation’s transportation infrastructure – but in spite of language to address climate change, and significant funding increases for rail and transit programs, the lion’s share of the bill’s funding would still go to roads and highways. The proposed legislation, […]

The MBTA closed most of its downtown subway stations Sunday night, escalating tensions as thousands of Black Lives Matter protesters struggled to get home.

How T Closures Escalated Post-Protest Tensions

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 4, 2020 | 2 Comments

Management at the MBTA is facing intense criticism after shutting down core subway stations on recent evenings, leaving thousands of its riders stranded and trapped among the belligerent police forces they were protesting against. On Sunday evening, thousands of people participated in a peaceful march from Nubian Square to the State House. As night fell […]

3rd Street bus lane in San Francisco. Photo: SFMTA

Mental Health Break: Watch Some Buses Cruise Down Dedicated Bus Lanes

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 3, 2020 | No Comments

Take some deep breaths and watching some city buses leapfrog past single-occupant vehicles.

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