Boston and MBTA unveil detailed plans for Blue Hill Avenue transit project to improve traffic safety and enhance transit connections. Open houses to gather community feedback on station locations and road layouts. Upgrades include new bike lanes, pedestrian safety features, and more.
Photo courtesy of Blue Hill Avenue Tranportation Action Plan
In an effort to make buses faster and more dependable for residents of Mattapan and Dorchester, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced earlier this year that her administration would invest in a major redesign of Blue Hill Avenue with center-running bus lanes, protected bike lanes and preserved trees in the roadway's landscaped medians.
The city of Boston and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) have released new conceptual designs for the Blue Hill Avenue transit project and announced plans to host three open houses in Mattapan and Dorchester in the coming month to vet the refined plan with neighbors and bus riders.
StreetsblogMASS reported Nov. 8 that the new concept-level designs represent the first step toward drawing up detailed blueprints for a construction project, which is not expected to begin until 2026.
Blue Hill Avenue is the busiest bus route in New England. Unfortunately, the MBTA estimates that bus riders collectively waste more than 3,000 hours every weekday due to traffic congestion and illegally-parked vehicles that block their bus stops.
Because Blue Hill Avenue traverses neighborhoods where the majority of Boston's Black and Brown populations live, the costs of those delays overwhelmingly fall onto people of color, the online news service noted.
In an effort to make buses faster and more dependable for residents of Mattapan and Dorchester, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced earlier this year that her administration would invest in a major redesign of Blue Hill Avenue with center-running bus lanes, protected bike lanes and preserved trees in the roadway's landscaped medians.
"This corridor is vital as it carries over 40,000 riders each day, comparable to ridership we see on the Blue Line daily," MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng said in a statement provided to StreetsblogMASS. "Updating the layout of this roadway will improve travel for all along this corridor and make bus trips safer and more efficient for our drivers and riders."
Updated Road to Provide Numerous Features, Benefits
While previous plans for Blue Hill Avenue had been limited to abstract cross-sections and rough sketches, the new plans released the first full week of November show considerably more detail about specific locations for new stations, traffic lights, crosswalks, tree plantings and bike lanes.
Among the community benefits that the roadway upgrade will provide are:
- Improved traffic safety along Blue Hill Avenue.
- Faster, more reliable and more comfortable service for riders with new transit connections.
- Enhanced pedestrian safety with better visibility at crossings.
- Improved pedestrian accessibility.
- Better climate resilience with green infrastructure throughout the corridor.
According to MBTA, the project's many planned features will include:
- Dedicated spaces for people to walk, bike, drive, and access public transit.
- Center-running bus lanes to support current and future bus service.
- Bus boarding platforms with shelters, real-time information screens, better lighting, security cameras, emergency call boxes, new seating and accessibility upgrades.
- Roadway resurfacing.
- Traffic signal upgrades to prioritize buses.
- At least 14 new crossing signals, providing pedestrians with 40 percent more opportunities to safely cross the street.
- Crossing distances shortened by about 25 percent on Blue Hill Avenue and by an average of 19 ft. on intersecting streets.
- Repaired sidewalks with at least 185 curb ramps upgraded to meet accessibility standards.
- At least 150 new trees along the avenue.
- Over 100,000 sq. ft. of additional public space with opportunities for better street lighting, benches, bike parking and public art.
City Hall, MBTA Want to Hear from Public
Boston officials and MBTA are still soliciting feedback on details for specific station locations and street layouts in a few key locations.
The conceptual plans include alternative designs for stations near Morton Street, American Legion Highway and the Blue Hill Avenue Fairmount Line station.
A precise siting of those stations will affect other elements of the street's design, including the number of crosswalks, availability of curbside parking and turn lanes for motor vehicle traffic.
StreetsblogMASS noted that city planners and the MBTA will need to determine a final choice between those alternatives before the project moves into more advanced design in 2025.
To help them make those decisions, the city is hosting three project open houses in the next month:
- On Nov. 19 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Sportsmen's Tennis and Enrichment Center in Harambee Park, located at 950 Blue Hill Ave.
- On Nov. 21 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Grove Hall Branch of the Boston Public Library, located at 41 Geneva Ave.
- And on Dec. 4 at the Josh Kraft Mattapan Teen Center at 10 Hazleton Street, from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
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