Recent Streetsblog MASS posts about Advocacy Opportunities

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.

Boston Plans Expanded Sidewalks, Expedited Bike Projects for Pandemic Recovery

By Christian MilNeil | May 12, 2020 | No Comments

City of Boston staff are proposing to expand pedestrian space into on-street parking areas, build pop-up bike lanes, expand waiting areas at busy bus stops, and close some residential streets to through traffic in a wide-ranging strategy to support car-free mobility in a new era of physical distancing. City officials discussed these strategies and several […]

A photo illustration of what a new Northern Avenue Bridge would look like with a dedicated lane for privately-operated shuttles. Photo montage by StreetsblogMASS, based on bridge renderings from the City of Boston.

Will Northern Ave. Bridge Project Use Public Funds to Benefit Private Shuttles?

By Christian MilNeil | May 6, 2020 | No Comments

The City of Boston will spend millions of dollars more on a larger design that allows private commuter shuttles on the new Northern Avenue Bridge across the Fort Point Channel, in spite of what project managers had previously characterized as “overwhelming” public support for a cheaper bridge designed for bikes and pedestrians. Last year, engineers […]

Boston Council to Host Hearing on Pandemic Street Safety Improvements

By Christian MilNeil | Apr 28, 2020 | No Comments

"This is very much about safeguarding everyone's health in the immediate term. We are finding it impossible to practice distancing on narrow sidewalks," said Councilor Michelle Wu.

Congress Urged to Act as Pandemic Losses Threaten Transit Agencies

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 20, 2020 | No Comments

A $1 trillion draft economic stabilization plan from the U.S. Senate provides no financial assistance for the nation’s transit agencies, which have been bleeding red ink as the COVID-19 pandemic slashes fare collections and revenues from state sales and payroll taxes. Large transit agencies, whose budgets are generally more reliant on fare revenue, have taken […]

City of Boston planner Lindiwe Rennert (center) discusses the city's plans to set aside dedicated bus lanes for Blue Hill Avenue, home to the state's busiest bus route, at a project open house on Thursday, March 5, 2020.

‘Public Process’ Without Public Meetings

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 16, 2020 | No Comments

As cities and towns across Massachusetts embrace increasingly strict “social distancing” measures to try and slow the spread of COVID-19, hundreds of public meetings across the state are being cancelled and major public planning initiatives have been put on hold while governments scramble to address the mounting public health crisis. Spring is typically a busy […]

Blue Hill Avenue facing south towards Mattapan in August 2016.

Thursday: Boston Hosts Events On Blue Hill Ave., ‘Connect Downtown’ Projects

By Christian MilNeil | Feb 27, 2020 | No Comments

City of Boston planners have scheduled two separate public meetings next Thursday, March 5 to present their progress on two major street safety projects: a transit-focused redesign of Blue Hill Avenue in the southern part of the city, and the “Connect Downtown/Southwest Corridor Extension” project, which is aiming to improve bike and pedestrian access into […]

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