Recent Streetsblog MASS posts about Boston Common

A diagram showing recommended installation heights and four varieties of signage from MassDOT's bike route signage design guide. Gray outlines of a person walking and a person riding a bike are shown for scale against a light grid of horizontal lines that indicate height in 1-foot increments. The four example signs all have 7 feet of clearance underneath them. The leftmost sample sign, which is indicated as 18 inches tall by 24 inches wide, shows icons of a bike rider and pedestrian in white on a blue background above the words "Linear Route Name." To the right, the next sample sign shows two signs mounted on a single pole: the top sign is a smaller 8-inch-tall blue-background "Linear Route Name" indicator sign; below it, a green sign split vertically into three sections has three white arrows pointing in various directions next to three copies of the word "Destination." To that sign's right, a third sample sign shows the same 18-inch-by-24-inch blue "Linear Route Name" sign over a smaller sign with a single, bold white arrow on a green background. The fourth and rightmost sign, specifed as 6 to 8 inches tall, says "Street Name" in white on a green background.

New Wayfinding Guide Aims to Help Riders Find Their Way Across the Commonwealth

By Christian MilNeil | Dec 1, 2022 | No Comments

If you've ever found yourself bewildered on Boylston Street, lost in Lowell, or stranded in Sandwich, the state has a new plan to help you get your bearings on your bike rides. The new Bike Wayfinding Design Guide from the state's inter-agency MassTrails team establishes a system of consistent, easy-to-read signage for bike routes and […]

An animated GIF showing Congress Street in Fort Point as it is today – a wide two-lane street with on-street parking on both sides – alongside a rendering of how the street will look after a reconstruction project is finished, with protected bike lanes and widened sidewalks.

Boston Planning New Bikeways, Widened Sidewalks for Fort Point

By Christian MilNeil | Nov 29, 2022 | No Comments

Several construction projects scheduled to begin construction in the coming year in Boston's Fort Point neighborhood will widen sidewalks and connect the neighborhood's emerging network of protected bike lanes.

Group of people walking toward the train doors on the North Station platform,

Could the New Governor Breathe New Life Into the T’s Regional Rail Plans?

By Sam Mintz | Nov 29, 2022 | No Comments

Maura Healey wants to get rid of the commuter rail as we know it. The next Massachusetts governor promised during the campaign to move from a system named after and designed for outdated societal expectations about work to a true regional rail system, the kind that transit advocates in the state have been dreaming of […]

a white car is parked in between two trees planted in the street.

What Planting Trees In the Street Could Look Like in Boston: Learning From Other Cities

By Grecia White | Nov 25, 2022 | No Comments

As the effects of climate change begin to worsen, replacing heat-absorbing pavement with new trees can help make a difference toward expanding our urban canopy when space is limited.

A chain-link fence blocks the entrance to the JFK/UMass Red Line station.

Citing Structural Hazards, T Shuts Down Critical Access Point to JFK/UMass Station

By Christian MilNeil | Nov 23, 2022 | No Comments

A T spokesperson said that repairs will take “at least 4-5 weeks before the concourse can be re-opened."

Riders check out a newly-rebranded Merrimack Valley Transit bus, with colorful red, blue, and orange stripes wrapped around this bus, next to a fall-themed park with haybales, mums, and pumpkins in Lawrence, Massachusetts. In the background are several triple-decker apartment buildings. Courtesy of Merrimack Valley Transit.

RTAs Are Giving Their Riders A Holiday Bonus

By Christian MilNeil | Nov 21, 2022 | No Comments

All 15 of the commonwealth's Regional Transit Authorities (every non-MBTA bus route in the state, in other words) will suspend fare collection for the holiday season, from the day after Thanksgiving until New Year's Eve.

children and parents play inside the new playscape next to City Hall.

PHOTOS: Boston City Hall Plaza’s Grand Opening

By Grecia White | Nov 21, 2022 | No Comments

“This plaza wasn’t just shaped by our values, it brings them to life. It was built by the people of Boston, for the people of Boston for generations to come,” said Mayor Wu.

A Green Line train bearing the destination sign for "Union Square" arrives at Lechmere station in Cambridge.

MBTA Board Updates: Green Line to Medford Will Open Dec. 12

By Christian MilNeil | Nov 17, 2022 | No Comments

At today’s monthly MBTA board of directors meeting, T officials announced that the Medford branch of the new Green Line Extension project would finally open next month. “I am pleased to announce that the Green Line Extension Medford branch will open at the start of service on December 12. We are really pleased to be […]

Extensiones de bordillo/banqueta con vegetación en ambos lados del cruce peatonal localizados en la intersección de Somerville Avenue y Merriam Street a lo largo del camino de bici en la Ciudad de Somerville. Extensiones de bordillo/banquetas hacen la calle más angosta y ayudan a reducir la distancia que la gente tiene que cruzar.

Nuevas Normas de Diseño Para Calles Mas Seguras y Verdes

By Grecia White | Nov 17, 2022 | No Comments

El mes pasado, funcionarios municipales y estatales se juntaron para anunciar las primeros normas de infraestructura verde en Boston, con el fin de aumentar la resiliencia de la ciudad contra el cambio climático por medio de pequeñas instalaciones en las calles. Read the article in English. En una junta de prensa en Central Square Park […]

A photo illustration of a proposed new shared-use path. A wide, paved path runs through the middle of the image and is lined on both sides by trees and shade. To the left is a wooden guardrail and a two-lane roadway.

DCR Proposes New Trail Connection from Hyde Park to Blue Hills

By Grecia White | Nov 17, 2022 | No Comments

Monday evening, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) presented conceptual design plans to connect the Neponset River Greenway to the Blue Hills via new and upgraded multi-use paths. Spanning 8.2 miles, the Neponset River Greenway begins in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester and runs along the Neponset River through the neighborhoods of Hyde Park, […]