Recent Streetsblog MASS posts about Springfield

Bluebikes System Approaches Its 10 Millionth Ride

By Christian MilNeil | Sep 17, 2019

Before the end of this week, the Bluebikes bikesharing system, which has been operating since 2011 and has been expanding its reach across the metropolitan area ever since, will celebrate its 10 millionth trip. Though the system has been operating for nearly 9 years, almost a fifth of the system’s historic ridership has occurred this […]

Use of the "emergency access ramp" illustrated above eliminates the need for outbound Silver Line buses to drive an extra half a mile through congested Seaport streets to get to the Ted Williams Tunnel. Courtesy of the MBTA.

Transit Dispatches: Updates From the September MBTA Board Meeting

By Christian MilNeil | Sep 16, 2019

The MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board met for the first time in over a month today, in a joint meeting with the MassDOT board of directors. Here’s a roundup of what they discussed: Successful Seaport Shortcut for Silver Line In a test run on August 29, the MBTA ran its Silver Line buses down […]

A rendering of the proposed Ruggles Street improvements illustrate new bike lanes, shortened, raised crosswalks, and increased sidewalk space for pedestrians and bus riders. The planned reconstruction project is scheduled to begin in 2020. Courtesy of the City of Boston.

Ruggles Street Plans Aim for Safer Link From Dudley Square to SW Corridor

By Christian MilNeil | Sep 16, 2019 | 1 Comment

The City of Boston Public Works Department is finalizing plans to rebuild Ruggles Street, a street lined with affordable housing developments, with narrower car lanes, wider sidewalks and new protected bikeways. The project spans only about 2,000 feet of roadway, but it is bookended by two major transit destinations: the Ruggles T stop and the […]

TransitMatters argues that South Station (pictured) is big enough to accommodate a dramatic increase in commuter rail service – but only if the MBTA makes organizational changes to move trains more quickly in and out of the station.

TransitMatters Report Asks State to Cancel South Station Expansion

By Christian MilNeil | Sep 12, 2019

TransitMatters argues that South Station is big enough to accommodate a dramatic increase in commuter rail service – but only if the MBTA makes organizational changes to move trains more quickly in and out of the station.

The crosswalk on Summer Street at the Melcher Street intersection, where a driver hit two pedestrians, killing one, on the evening of Sept. 11, 2019.

Van Driver Kills One Pedestrian, Injures Another In Summer Street Bridge Crosswalk

By Christian MilNeil | Sep 12, 2019

Boston Police report that a van driver struck two pedestrians in a crosswalk on Summer Street in the Fort Point neighborhood Wednesday evening, killing one. Secondhand witness accounts suggest that the van driver may have been turning left from Melcher Street onto Summer Street, towards downtown Boston, when they struck the two pedestrians in the […]

Filmmaker Liz Canning, director of the "MOTHERLOAD" documentary, riding with her twin children in 2011. Photo © Miguel Farias, used with permission.

‘MOTHERLOAD’ Documentary Chronicles Parenting on Two Wheels

By Christian MilNeil | Sep 11, 2019

This Sunday at the Brattle Theater, Green Cambridge will host a screening and discussion of “MOTHERLOAD,” a new documentary about bicycling, feminism, and parenting from California filmmaker Liz Canning. As a new mom living in the hills above Fairfax, California, Canning had been feeling stressed out and isolated until she bought a cargo bike that […]

The City of Boston is soliciting outside consultants to help conduct public outreach and design work for safer streets on several corridors radiating south and west from downtown Boston, illustrated in this map of projects included in a July 2019 "request for proposals" document. Courtesy of the City of Boston.

City Hall Seeks Outside Help to Plan Expanded Safe Streets Network

By Christian MilNeil | Sep 10, 2019

The City of Boston is currently evaluating proposals from consulting firms to accelerate safety and non-motorized transportation improvements on several corridors, including projects to link the Southwest Corridor into downtown Boston, safety improvements on Massachusetts Avenue in Dorchester, and an eastward extension of the recent improvements on Commonwealth Avenue through the Boston University campus. In […]

A section of the proposed Wellfleet extension of the Cape Cod Rail Trail. Image courtesy of the Massachusetts DCR.

Wellfleet Debates Details Over Northern Extension of Cape Cod Rail Trail

By Christian MilNeil | Sep 9, 2019

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is moving forward with plans to extend the Cape Cod Rail Trail two miles northward into the town of Wellfleet, but the proposed trailhead on Route 6, the main highway through the outer Cape, is stirring up safety concerns about the busy highway that runs through Wellfleet’s […]

Carlos Vives and Shakira in the video for "La Bicicleta."
Carlos Vives and Shakira in the video for "La Bicicleta."

STREETSBLOG CHICAGO

The Joy of Bicycling in POC Music and Art

By Lynda Lopez | Sep 5, 2019

It's more likely that drivers are distracted than pedestrians, frankly. Photo: Washington University in St. Louis

STREETSBLOG NYC

‘Distracted Walking’ Is A Distraction From the Threat of Speeding Drivers

By Gersh Kuntzman | Sep 4, 2019

“Cell phone use by pedestrians does not appear to be disproportionately contributing to fatal pedestrian crashes,” a report from the New York City Department of Transportation stated.