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A rendering of a proposed Mystic River bike and pedestrian bridge, which could connect the Northern Strand multi-use path in the City of Everett to the Assembly Orange Line Station in Somerville. Rendering by AECOM, courtesy of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

For Priority Trails-To-Transit Projects, MBTA Can’t Get Out of Its Own Way

By Christian MilNeil | Oct 4, 2019 | No Comments

Today’s Boston Globe reports on the ongoing efforts to build a new bike and pedestrian bridge over the Mystic River to connect Everett to the Assembly Orange Line stop, and how administrative bottlenecks at the MBTA are hampering the project in spite of broad financial and political support. Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria is extremely eager […]

A group of bicycle users discuss the section of Massachusetts Avenue near the Newmarket MBTA station with City of Boston transportation planners during a group ride on Sept. 18, 2019.

Boston Planners Begin Outreach for Mass. Ave. Upgrades In Dorchester

By Christian MilNeil | Oct 3, 2019 | No Comments

On Saturday, the City of Boston will host its second community walk and bike ride with city transportation planners to discuss safety upgrades to Massachusetts Avenue between Melnea Cass Boulevard and Columbia Road at Edward Everett Square, a corridor that was identified as a top short-term priority for better bike lanes and crosswalks in the […]

The Mystic Avenue crosswalk at the Kensington pedestrian underpass in East Somerville.

State Highway Designers Respond To Crosswalk Killings On Mystic Ave In Somerville

By Christian MilNeil | Oct 1, 2019 | No Comments

After hit-and-run motorists killed two pedestrians in separate crashes in crosswalks near Assembly Square in Somerville, city and MassDOT officials are hosting a meeting this evening to announce short-term safety improvements to the state-controlled roadway. In July, a motorist killed Cheryl Pauline Richards, 52, of Somerville, as she was walking across Mystic Avenue in the […]

The Wayside Trail, part of the Massachusetts Central Rail Trail, passes an abandoned trail station at the Church Street underpass in Weston.

A Network of Rail-Trails Comes Together In Boston’s Suburbs

By Christian MilNeil | Oct 1, 2019 | 2 Comments

This fall, trail advocates and officials are celebrating ribbon cuttings on two significant new trail connections in the suburbs west of Boston: a 2.5 mile segment of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail through West Concord, and a 4.5 mile segment of the Wayside Trail (part of the longer Massachusetts Central Rail Trail, which extends from […]

The current eastbound bike lane on Cambridge Street in Allston is pictured in September 2019. The City of Boston and MassDOT are planning to add flexposts to separate the street's bike lanes from vehicular traffic.

Boston Plans Separation, Traffic Calming For White-Knuckle Allston Bike Lanes

By Christian MilNeil | Sep 30, 2019 | No Comments

The Boston Transportation Department is planning “near-term” changes to Cambridge Street in Allston between Harvard Avenue and the Charles River, where paint-only bike lanes currently guide cyclists through a series of intimidating merges with speeding vehicles headed to and from the Massachusetts Turnpike. In an open house last Tuesday, staff from the Boston Transportation Department […]

Jillian Kaplan (left), a survivor of a crash involving a cellphone-distracted driver, and Jerry Cibley, whose son died after dropping his cellphone while driving, were among the speakers advocating for quick passage of the "hands-free" bill at the State House on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019.

Legacy of Racial Profiling By Police Holds Up Distracted Driving Law

By Christian MilNeil | Sep 26, 2019 | 2 Comments

The Massachusetts legislature is on the verge of passing a new law that would outlaw people from holding cellphones while driving motor vehicles, but the bill has stalled as lawmakers hammer out details of how to collect data on traffic stops related to the new law in order to prevent racial profiling by police. Both […]

Pioneer Valley Transit Authority buses at the Springfield Union Station in July 2017. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user Newflyer504, licensed under Creative Commons.

New Census Data Suggests Growing Transit Use Statewide – but Not in Boston or Cambridge

By Christian MilNeil | Sep 26, 2019 | No Comments

In Boston, an estimated 32.2 of workers used the T to commute in 2018, compared to 34 percent in 2014.

A cyclist enters Cambridge on the protected bike lane at the western end of the Longfellow Bridge in May 2019. Under plans to be implemented this fall, similar improvements will be made for the eastbound lanes of Cambridge's Main Street.

Kendall Square Is Getting Rid of Another Car Lane

By Christian MilNeil | Sep 26, 2019 | 2 Comments

In the midst of a development boom that will bring thousands of new workers and residents into the neighborhood, the City of Cambridge is continuing its policy of accommodating growth by re-allocating street space from private vehicles to cleaner, more efficient modes of transportation with a planned road diet on Main Street between Broadway and […]

Governor Baker, MassDOT Secretary Stephanie Pollack, and MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak celebrated the new Orange Line train at Wellington Station on August 14, 2019. Photo by Joshua Qualls, courtesy of the Governor's Press Office.

Hair-Raising Door Glitches Send New Orange Line Trains Back to the Shop

By Christian MilNeil | Sep 25, 2019 | No Comments

Frequent riders of the MBTA’s Orange Line have noticed that the line’s brand-new vehicles haven’t been around to delight their riders for a few days. Last night, transit advocate Chris Friend observed that the last time one of the new trains was in service was last Friday afternoon, right around the time this MBTA customer […]

About 40 cars occupy five lanes of highway in crawling traffic that stretches off to the horizon..

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