StreetsblogMASS

House Budget Proposal Would Shift More Funds From Highways to Transit

By Christian MilNeil | Apr 20, 2023 | No Comments

The House proposes a $70 million increase in state funding for regional transit authorities – a 74 percent increase in state support – to fund better bus service and potentially expand popular fare-free policies.

A WRTA bus in front of City Hall in downtown Worcester. Courtesy of WRTA.

Worcester’s Buses Will Remain Fare-Free Through 2024

By Christian MilNeil | Apr 20, 2023 | No Comments

Worcester's transit system will be the longest-running fare-free transit network in the United States.

Featured Reader Comment: The T’s Boss Got A Big Pay Raise; What About Bus Drivers?

By Christian MilNeil | Apr 17, 2023 | No Comments

The Healey administration gave a huge pay increase to the MBTA General Manager's position to lure Phillip Eng to Boston. When will her administration take a similar approach to recruit bus drivers, whose real wages have declined in the past two years?

A middle-aged Asian man in a suit and tie looks into the setting sun with the Boston Harbor behind him.

An Evening Cruise With Phillip Eng, the MBTA’s New Boss

By Christian MilNeil | Apr 14, 2023 | No Comments

During his first week in the Boston area, Eng has been riding the Blue Line regularly, and he noted that he's been experiencing some of the T's reliability issues first hand.

Bar chart showing bus driver hiring trends since January. The first column for January shows that the T had 349 vacant positions vs. 1474 active drivers; the middle column for Feb. 2023 shows 353 vacancies vs. 1470 active drivers, and the right column for March shows 365 vacancies vs. 1458 active drivers.

The MBTA’s Bus Driver Shortage Is (Still) Getting Worse

By Christian MilNeil | Apr 13, 2023 | No Comments

The MBTA currently has 365 vacant bus operator positions, up from 349 in January.

A view from City Hall of Northampton's pilot Maimn Street redesign in the summer of 2020. Complaints from business owners led the city to discontinue the temporary street reconfiguration after only a few weeks. Photo by Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz.

Main Street Project Would Widen Sidewalks, Create Protected Bike Lanes In Downtown Northampton

By Christian MilNeil | Apr 12, 2023 | No Comments

Later this month, the City of Northampton and MassDOT will present plans to renovate one of the most walkable Main Streets in western Massachusetts with widened sidewalks and protected bike lanes. “The ultimate goal is to reallocate that tremendous amount of right-of-way on Main Street to provide safer spaces for people to walk and linger […]

The WRTA's downtown bus hub, next to Worcester's Union Station.

Running Low On Pandemic Relief Funds, Fare-Free Buses Need Gov. Healey’s Help

By Christian MilNeil | Apr 11, 2023 | No Comments

The WRTA has been one of the few agencies that's maintained a continuous fare-free policy since March 2020, and its ridership last year was over 20 percent higher than it was in 2019, before the pandemic began, according to federal data.

Mayor Wu’s 2024 Budget Proposal Includes $1.4 Million for Electric Bluebikes

By Christian MilNeil | Apr 10, 2023 | No Comments

Mayor Wu wrote that "we have included $550,000 to support $5 Bluebikes passes for 10,000 residents, expanding Bluebike usage and encouraging mode shift, plus $1.4 million to introduce electric Bluebikes across the system."

A graded gravel path under construction runs underneath a highway bridge next to a concrete bridge abutment. To the right of the abutment and below the trail are some railroad tracks.

The Northern Strand Trail Is Growing In Lynn and Everett

By Christian MilNeil | Apr 7, 2023 | No Comments

Construction has finally begun on a short connection under the Revere Beach Parkway, and when complete, the Northern Strand Trail will have a continuous path to the Mystic riverfront in Everett.

A view of a sidewalk-level bike lane running alongside newly planted sidewalk trees through a neighborhood of historic brick buildings. In the distance a downtown Boston skyscraper is visible.

Buses Get Pushed to the Side in Boston’s Latest Design for Summer Street

By Christian MilNeil | Apr 6, 2023 | No Comments

Under the administration of former mayor Marty Walsh, Boston had proposed a center-running dedicated busway on Summer Street to connect South Boston, the Seaport District, South Station, and the downtown financial district. Revised plans call for a shared bus-and-truck lane that will run on the side of the street instead.

Memorial Drive in Cambridge. Photo by John Phelan, licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 3.0.

It’s Official: State ‘Conservation’ Agency Will Reduce Park Access to Bring Back Motor Vehicle Traffic

By Christian MilNeil | Apr 4, 2023 | No Comments

A DCR spokesperson did not respond to questions from StreetsblogMASS about how the decision aligns with the agency's mission and with the Healey administration's climate goals.

Courtesy of the Pembroke Firefighters Local 2351.

WalkBoston Analysis Finds Traffic Violence Is Overwhelmingly Concentrated in Lower-Income, Non-White Neighborhoods

By Christian MilNeil | Apr 3, 2023 | No Comments

"This skewed spatial distribution of fatal pedestrian crashes in Massachusetts demonstrates that (environmental justice) communities face disproportionate harm in large part because of historic and present-day injustices in transportation planning," says WalkBoston.

Load more stories