DCR Planning Another Parkway Road Diet in Newton
The project would reallocate two of the street's four motor vehicle lanes to create additional greenspace plus a dedicated pathway for bikes and pedestrians.
January 22, 2021
City of Boston Cancels Melnea Cass Boulevard Reconstruction
"One of the things I’m very grateful for is how we realized how everybody cares about trees – we just need to make people aware, and they respond... This was just the right moment for (the city) to pay attention, and it worked. I’m inspired by the trees," says Yvonne Lalyre, a organizer with the Friends of Melnea Cass.
January 21, 2021
Stephanie Pollack Leaving MassDOT to Join Biden’s Federal Highway Administration
Governor Baker has appointed Jamey L. Tesler, the current Registrar of Motor Vehicles, to be the Acting Secretary of Transportation following Pollack's departure for Washington.
January 21, 2021
Baker Vetoes Key Policies In Transportation Bond Bill
Baker used his line-item veto power to delete many of the bill's policy proposals, including language that would have established a low-income transit fare program, guidelines and financing for the massive Allston Multimodal Project, and a proposal to raise more money for transportation projects with increased fees on Uber and Lyft rides.
January 18, 2021
Baker’s Climate Plans Presume A Future With Lots of Driving
Governor Baker's climate plan focuses most of its attention on subsidizing electric car purchases, and generally dismisses the potential of reducing pollution with transit-oriented development or expanded transit services.
January 18, 2021
In Case You Missed It: Watch Our ‘Right of Way’ Book Discussion With Angie Schmitt
On Wednesday evening, about 50 Streetsblog readers got together virtually for a discussion of Angie Schmitt's new book, "Right of Way: Race, Class, and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America."
January 15, 2021
Higher Uber/Lyft Fees Could Boost Funding for Street Safety and Transit
Historically, municipalities have used their share of fees on Uber and Lyft to finance local transportation improvements, including quick-build safety projects and small transit services. Under new legislation awaiting Governor Baker's signature, that funding could increase significantly.
January 14, 2021
Data Confirm That More Fatal Crashes Happen in Commonwealth’s Black Neighborhoods
Of the 210 fatal car crashes in Massachusetts where a driver killed a bike rider or pedestrian between 2018 and 2020, a quarter of those killings occurred in neighborhoods where the Black population makes up a higher-than-average proportion of the neighborhood population, according to a Streetsblog analysis of MassDOT fatal crash records.
January 12, 2021
Senate Considering $10B for Highway Teardowns
The Restoring Neighborhoods and Strengthening Communities Program — known among advocates as the “Highways to Boulevards” initiative — would be available for projects located in regions with a high concentration of low income residents or residents of color.
January 11, 2021
Bond Bill Boosts Proposal to Reconfigure Boston’s Charles Circle
"It would be the largest expansion of Esplanade parkland in decades," says Rep. Jay Livingstone, the state representative for the neighborhood.
January 7, 2021
