COVID-19
News topics:
Baker Admin. Launches $5M ‘Shared Streets and Spaces Emergency Grant Program’
The Commonwealth is launching a new $5 million grant program to create safer walking and biking routes with more room for physical distancing as “stay at home” orders ease this spring and summer.
June 11, 2020
Mayor Walsh Announces Details of New ‘Healthy Streets’ Initiative
The initial plans include a network of new protected bike lanes across downtown Boston and around the Public Garden, expanded bus stop waiting areas, and processes to let restaurants expand their outdoor seating areas on sidewalks and on-street parking lanes.
May 28, 2020
New Poll Forecasts Fewer Trips, Large Mode Shifts on the Streets This Summer
A new poll from the MassINC Polling Group shows that many Massachusetts residents expect to make fewer trips once the state begins to reopen this summer, and when they do travel, they expect to ride transit much less often – and walk or drive more – than they did before the pandemic.
May 28, 2020
Cambridge Lags In Delivering Safer Streets for Physical Distancing
It's been over a month since the Cambridge City Council endorsed a policy order to restrict car traffic on Memorial Drive and other neighborhood streets in order to give residents more space to physically distance on city streets, and the city's administration has still not taken any action, even as peers in surrounding cities have successfully implemented their own programs.
May 27, 2020
Check Out Somerville’s Citywide ‘COVID-19 Mobility Strategy’
The City of Somerville has announced a citywide mobility strategy to provide safer walking and biking routes with more room for physical distancing as "stay at home" orders ease this spring and summer.
May 24, 2020
Pandemic Adds to Delays for New Orange and Red Line Cars
The new Orange and Red Line cars are a key element in the T's ambitions to reduce crowding on its two busiest subway lines.
May 15, 2020
Boston Outlines Plans for Expanded Sidewalks, Expedited Bike Projects for Pandemic Recovery
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.
May 12, 2020
Portents of a Post-Pandemic Walking and Cycling Boom
As Governor Baker's administration prepares its phased reopening plan, ongoing physical distancing requirements present a stark choice for the region's political leaders: will people returning to work physically distance themselves in massive traffic jams, or will cities and towns give them they space they need to travel safely with widened sidewalks, protected bike routes, and less-crowded transit vehicles?
May 12, 2020
Demands of ‘Essential’ Work Put Boston’s Neighborhoods of Color at Higher Risk
'Essential' workers are more likely to live in the Boston region’s neighborhoods of color, according to an analysis by the ACLU of Massachusetts.
April 27, 2020
Guest Column: Pandemic Puts Tow Drivers in Limbo
Tow truck drivers are still considered "essential" workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, but with declining traffic, fewer tows, and bigger health risks, drivers in the industry are facing difficult financial decisions.
April 23, 2020