Christian MilNeil

The board of the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) voted Thursday evening to approve a massive development of Suffolk Downs, a former horse racetrack that straddles the Boston-Revere border adjacent to two Blue Line stations.

In cities across the globe emerging from COVID-19, we have consistently seen a slow return to transit, and a quick return (and even growth) in private car travel. We know that pre-COVID-19, fewer than half of Boston area residents drove to work. We also know that if this ratio were to change due to the crisis -- with people mode shifting to single occupancy vehicles - all of our lives would be impacted in ways both significant and menial, and not for the better.

The state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has announced plans to replace motor vehicle lanes with wide buffered bike lanes along three roadway sections of the Arborway in Jamaica Plain as part of a suite of short-term safety improvements.

The City of Somerville has announced that it will create new protected bike lanes on the Wellington Bridge across the Mystic River this fall, connecting Somerville's fast-growing Assembly Square district with the City of Medford.

It's now clear that the density of cities isn't a major risk factor in the COVID-19 pandemic. But another factor – crowding within households, which disproportionately affects lower-income and historically marginalized communities in big cities and rural areas alike, is a real culprit.

New bus lanes on Blue Hill Avenue would benefit roughly 20,000 bus riders in Dorchester and Mattapan, reduce their collective commuting times by 800 hours every day, and allow the T to make over 100 additional daily bus trips along existing routes using the same number of buses and drivers, according to a rejected application for federal funding.

Reservations are required, but Amtrak's new bike racks will allow passengers to take their bikes with them as carry-on luggage.

Representatives from more than 160 organizations across America signed a letter to Congress urging leaders to pass a Greenway Stimulus, which would be used to build off-street trails, on-street bike lanes, and generous shared-use sidewalks to connect communities in all 50 states.

Wu was a lead organizer for last summer's "Boston T Party" event in protest of the MBTA's fare increases, and more recently outlined a proposal for a municipal "Green New Deal" for Boston.

Trains to Lynn will depart every 30 minutes starting in November (up from every 30 to 90 minutes last year), and trains on the Fairmount Line will run every 45 minutes (up from every 60 minutes last year).