Recent Streetsblog MASS posts about Boston

A rendering of a future Dorchester Avenue, looking north from Alger Street. As new apartments and office buildings replace warehouses along Dorchester Ave. in South Boston, the BPDA plans ask abutters to set aside space for protected bike lanes and wider sidewalks. Courtesy of the BPDA.

Boston Plots ‘Complete Streets’ Upgrades for Andrew Square Neighborhood

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 4, 2021 | No Comments

The BPDA is planning major upgrades to sidewalks, bus service, and bike infrastructure to accommodate anticipated growth along Dorchester Avenue in South Boston.

Adam Balsam's homemade speed camera consists of a webcam, a $35 hobbyist computer, and some free open-source software that can analyze speeds from the images of moving cars. Photo courtesy of Adam Balsam.

How to Build a Cheap Homemade Speed Camera

By Christian MilNeil | Feb 26, 2021 | No Comments

Most drivers in the North End go under 20 mph - but reckless speeding over 40 mph was distressingly common.

New Role for Chief Osgood Leaves Another Leadership Vacancy at Boston Transportation Dept.

By Christian MilNeil | Feb 22, 2021 | No Comments

It's not apparent who would lead Boston's transportation departments in Osgood's absence.

New flexible-post bollards have been installed on the Massachusetts Avenue bike lanes through the Boston Medical Center campus. The posts replace sturdier concrete barriers that were removed in December after motorists crashed into them. Photo courtesy of the City of Boston Transportation Department.

Building Back Flimsier: Flexposts Replace Concrete Curbs for Mass. Ave. Bike Lanes

By Christian MilNeil | Jan 26, 2021 | No Comments

The Boston Transportation Department (BTD) has installed flexible-post plastic bollards along the Massachusetts Avenue bike lanes through the Boston Medical Center campus, one of the city’s most dangerous street segments, to replace more robust concrete curbs that were removed in December. The entire length of Massachusetts Avenue is part of the city’s “high crash network,” […]

An Esplanade Association rendering of what the Charles River waterfront could look like with a planned reconfiguration of Storrow Drive near the Longfellow Bridge. Courtesy of the Esplanade Association's "Esplanade 2020" report.

Bond Bill Boosts Proposal to Reconfigure Boston’s Charles Circle

By Christian MilNeil | Jan 7, 2021 | No Comments

"It would be the largest expansion of Esplanade parkland in decades," says Rep. Jay Livingstone, the state representative for the neighborhood.

The MBTA's proposed service cuts for 2021 would eliminate five stops at the end of the Green Line's E Branch in Boston's Mission Hill neighborhood.

Green Line Amputation: T Cuts Would Mothball Light Rail in Mission Hill

By Christian MilNeil | Dec 2, 2020 | No Comments

The shortening of the Green Line would eliminate 5 stops along a 0.75 segment of Huntington and South Huntington Avenues, the only remaining segment of the T's rapid transit network where trains share space with cars and trucks.

Flooding on Morrissey Boulevard in Dorchester during a "king tide" event

The Morrissey Marshes: Where Boston’s Climate and Transportation Challenges Collide

By Christian MilNeil | Nov 17, 2020 | No Comments

Major redevelopment schemes and the city's climate resiliency strategy all hinge on a plan that doesn’t exist yet: how Morrissey Boulevard will be rebuilt for a future with higher sea levels and fewer motor vehicles.

Protesters gather on the Boston Common on May 31, 2020 at a protest against police brutality and the killing of George Floyd. Photo by Wikimedia Commons user GorrillaWarfare, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

Going to Post-Election Protests? Don’t Count On the T

By Christian MilNeil | Nov 4, 2020 | No Comments

If you’re considering attending a protest, start thinking about contingency plans for getting home safely in case the T isn’t available.

Eyes On the Street: The New American Legion Bikeway

By Christian MilNeil | Oct 23, 2020 | No Comments

This week, Boston Transportation Department crews are busy painting a new roadway layout on American Legion Highway that will add a new 2-mile-long link in Boston’s growing network of protected bike lanes. Your StreetsblogMASS editor took a ride on the street on Monday morning to check out the progress. Even though more work remains to […]

DCR Proposes Major Road Diet on the Arborway

By Christian MilNeil | Oct 22, 2020 | 1 Comment

In a virtual meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 21, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) presented preliminary designs for a major renovation of the Arborway in Jamaica Plain that would convert multiple motor vehicle lanes to parkland and fill a missing link in the Emerald Necklace with new bicycle and pedestrian paths. The DCR’s […]

Charles Street between the Public Gardens and Boston Common during "rush hour" on the afternoon of Tuesday, July 7, 2020, before the City of Boston set out a row of construction barrels to create a protected bike lane as part of its "Healthy Streets" initiative.

Boston’s Downtown Bike Lanes Are Gone – But City Hall Says They’ll Be Back, Even Better

By Christian MilNeil | Oct 8, 2020 | No Comments

The Boston Transportation Department reports that the city is gearing up for a “permanent” implementation for new protected bike lanes on the streets around the Common and Public Garden.

Boston Bike Counts Make the Case for Better Bike Lanes on Key Routes

By Christian MilNeil | Sep 4, 2020 | 2 Comments

Data show that several downtown streets, like Cambridge and Charles Streets, get lots of bike traffic in spite of inadequate or nonexistent bike infrastructure.

Load more stories