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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 […]

Rush-hour bike traffic takes the lane on Boylston Street, a heavily-used bike route with no dedicated bike facilities, on the morning of Friday, May 3, 2019.

Portents of a Post-Pandemic Walking and Cycling Boom

By Christian MilNeil | May 12, 2020 | No Comments

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 […]

Foot and bike traffic in Coolidge Corner. Courtesy of the Town of Brookline.

Brookline Boards Endorse Car Lane Closures to Give Pedestrians More Space

By Christian MilNeil | Apr 8, 2020 | No Comments

The town will close on-street parking lanes on Brookline Avenue, Longwood Avenue, and Harvard Street, plus one motor vehicle travel lane on Beacon Street in the vicinity of Coolidge Corner.

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 […]

An outbound MBTA Fairmount Line train stops at the Talbot Avenue station in December 2012. Photo by Wikimedia Commons user Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Reduced Commuter Rail Schedules Leave Health Care Workers in the Lurch

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 17, 2020 | No Comments

For many hospital workers who work 12-hour shifts that start at 7 a.m., the new commuter rail schedules have eliminated transit as a commuting option.

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 […]

Livablestreets Report Keeps ‘Go Boston 2030’ on the Agenda, Not on a Shelf

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 11, 2020 | No Comments

In a new report released this morning, the LivableStreets Alliance says that Boston is making good progress on improving street safety, but by and large has yet to make significant progress on its ambitions to reduce traffic and air pollution by increasing biking, walking and transit use. Go Boston 2030, the city’s long-term transportation plan, […]

A Forest Hills-bound bus bypasses morning traffic on Washington Street in Roslindale. Photo courtesy of the City of Boston.

Boston Is Still the Title Town For Worst Traffic

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 9, 2020 | No Comments

INRIX has released its annual traffic scorecard - but some important caveats apply to their methodology.

The Massachusetts State House in downtown Boston.

Major Transportation Funding Bill Passes the Massachusetts House

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 4, 2020 | No Comments

The House proposal would raise roughly half a billion dollars in additional revenue for transportation projects through a 5-cent gasoline tax increase, a 9-cent increase to diesel fuel taxes, hikes to the Commonwealth’s minimum corporate tax rates, and higher fees on app-based ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft.

A red light camera in Springfield, Ohio. Public domain photo by Derek Jensen, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Mass. Senate Takes Up Automated Enforcement Bill

By Christian MilNeil | Feb 24, 2020 | No Comments

The amended bill now includes provisions to allow automated enforcement of dedicated bus lanes.

State Senate Calls For Fees On Transportation-Related Climate Pollution By 2022

By Christian MilNeil | Jan 31, 2020 | No Comments

The Senate bill calls on Massachusetts to reduce emissions 50 percent below 1990 levels within the next ten years, and sets a January 2022 deadline for the state to start taxing emissions from cars and trucks.

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