StreetsblogMASS

A derailed Red Line car blocks the tracks at the JFK/UMass station on June 11, 2019. The derailment destroyed signal equipment and is expected to disrupt service on the Red Line for most of the summer. Photo courtesy of the Boston Fire Department.

Higher Fares Take Effect, and Elected Officials Respond With a ‘Boston T Party’

By Christian MilNeil | Jul 1, 2019

A fare increase for most MBTA subway and commuter rail tickets takes effect today, but dozens of local elected officials and activists are responding with a “Boston T Party” during this morning’s commute. The higher prices take effect nearly three weeks after a Red Line train went off the rails at the JFK/UMass station and […]

A presentation board showing the Department of Conservation and Recreation's conceptual cross-sections for Memorial Drive in Cambridge, photographed at a public meeting held on June 25, 2019.

State’s Memorial Drive Concept Conserves Cambridge Waterfront… for Cars

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 26, 2019 | 2 Comments

On Tuesday evening in Cambridge, several dozen neighbors, local politicians and transportation advocates turned out to hear the state’s conceptual improvement plans for the “Memorial Drive Phase III” project, which would rebuild the roadways and paths on Cambridge’s riverfront from Eliot Bridge near Mount Auburn Hospital to the rotary at the foot of the Boston […]

Amsterdam shows how beautiful a street can be without on-street car storage. Photo: Clarence Eckerson Jr.

StreetFilms: Amsterdam's Parking Purge

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 25, 2019 | 1 Comment

The core of this idea is one that might appeal even to Boston's car owners: let everyone who currently has a free on-street parking permit keep it – but make future residents of Boston pay a fair price for the privilege of parking on the street.

A Google Streetview image of Massachusetts Avenue at Melnea Cass Blvd.

Motorist Kills Pedestrian at Mass. Ave. and Melnea Cass

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 24, 2019 | 2 Comments

Massachusetts State Police are investigating after a motorist killed a pedestrian this morning at the dangerous intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard in Roxbury. The intersection is one of the city’s most chilling examples of how outdated street design is a serious threat to the safety of the traveling public: according to the […]

Centre Street in West Roxbury on the evening of June 20, 2019.

City Proposes Road Diet, Protected Bike Lanes for West Roxbury’s Centre Street

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 24, 2019 | 1 Comment

City staff propose taking away a car lane, shortening pedestrian crossings and adding protected bike lanes to West Roxbury's main street.

A map of Blue Bikes stations in Dorchester as of June 13 illustrates the long-delayed dock locations, in gray, proposed for T stops on the Red and Fairmount lines. Source: Bluebikes.com

Dorchester to Get Better Blue Bikes Connections to the Red Line

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 17, 2019 | 1 Comment

The City of Boston is finally poised to build a long-awaited Red-Blue connection (no, not that one): new Blue Bikes stations have finally been permitted for installation at four Red Line stops in Dorchester. “After nearly a year of working with the T on permits, we recently completed the process for seven locations in Boston, […]

A group photograph of West Roxbury neighbors setting out on a safety audit of Centre Street on May 11, 2019. Courtesy of West Roxbury Walks.

Boston Kicks Off Redesign Process for West Roxbury’s Centre Street

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 17, 2019 | 1 Comment

West Roxbury Main Streets, the neighborhood business organization, has been asking the city for traffic calming improvements since 2016, when a survey identified Centre Street's pedestrian-hostile design as a major barrier to foot traffic.

An architects' rendering of the hotel and public plaza being proposed for the western edge of Kenmore Square. Rendering by Reed Hilderbrand Landscape Architects, courtesy of BPDA.

Developers Pitch Major Reconfiguration of Kenmore Square

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 14, 2019 | 3 Comments

"The result is a Kenmore Square whose heart is a public space rather than a busy roadway," says the proposal's designer.

A Route 57 bus in Packard's Corner in April 2016. Wikimedia Commons photo by Pi.1415926535.

Allston Gets a New Bike/Bus Lane

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 12, 2019

It’s been a rough week for the MBTA and its riders, with a Saturday derailment on the Green Line that injured 10, and an extremely disruptive Red Line derailment during this morning’s rush hour, but some good news is here for riders on two of the agency’s busiest bus routes. Over the course of the […]

STREETSBLOG USA

3rd Street bus lane in San Francisco. Photo: SFMTA

The Magic of Red Painted Bus Lanes

By Angie Schmidt | Jun 10, 2019

Drivers may be seeing red, but bus drivers are seeing only green. Washington, D.C.’s new red-painted bus-only lanes on H and I streets downtown appear to be a success just one week in, with buses are moving faster, and most drivers are following the rules and staying out of their way, according to a quick, […]

MIT Study: High Fares Limit Low-Income Households’ Mobility

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 10, 2019 | 4 Comments

A team of MIT researchers today announced the results of a study that concluded that a discounted transit fare for low-income households could offer significant benefits to those households without necessarily contributing to peak-hour crowding in the MBTA system. In a new whitepaper, “How Low-income Transit Riders in Boston Respond to Discounted Fares: A Randomized […]

The proposed Red/Blue connection would extend the downtown terminus of the Blue Line a few blocks westward to link with the Red Line, and a major transit destination, at Charles/MGH.

Transit Advocates Press State to Build Long-Awaited Blue Line/Red Line Connection

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 7, 2019 | 1 Comment

A quarter of a century ago, Massachusetts promised environmentalists a broad array of transit improvements in order to mitigate air pollution impacts from the “Big Dig” highway expansion. Among those commitments was a short extension to the Blue Line, tunneling a few blocks westward under Cambridge Street, to enable direct transfers to the Red Line […]

Load more stories