Unlocking the Blue Hills
Addressing Equity and Access in the Blue Hills Reservation
Origin
In early 2021, a coalition of advocacy organizations approached the Boston Region MPO to propose a study of public transit access to the Blue Hills Reservation, a state park and popular outdoor recreation destination south of Boston. The coalition's proposal highlighted the challenges residents of the majority-minority and transit-dependent southern Boston neighborhoods closest to the Blue Hills face in accessing this important public space.
The coalition specifically stressed the difficulty of accessing the Blue Hills from Mattapan, a majority-minority neighborhood with a relatively high percentage of low-income and carless households located less than five miles from the Blue Hills.
Engagement
MPO staff, led by the Communications and Engagement group, scoped this study based on the coalition’s proposal and formed an advisory group composed of the initial proponents, other advocacy organizations, and municipal agency representatives to guide the study’s development. Staff held a series of advisory group meetings at key points during the research and analysis phases of the study to provide opportunities for proponents to drive the direction of the study. The advisory group consisted of representatives from:
In addition to advisory group meetings, staff engaged the following advocacy groups, nonprofits, community groups, and neighborhood associations to discuss their experiences and opinions on accessing the Blue Hills and other green spaces via public transit:
- Edgewater Neighborhood Association
- Elevate Youth
- Outdoor Afro
- Roseberry-Ruskindale Road Neighborhood Association
- Southwest Boston Community Development Corporation
- TransitMatters
- Urban Outdoors Association
- West Fairmount Hill Community Group
February — August 2021
A coalition of advocacy and community groups proposed that the MPO study the issue of equity of access to the Blue Hills Reservation. MPO staff worked with the coalition to expand their proposal and prepare it for inclusion in the UPWP Universe of proposed studies. In August, the MPO board voted to endorse the FFY 2022 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP), which included funding for the study Addressing Equity and Access in the Blue Hills.
February 2022
The MPO's newly formed Communications and Engagement team convened the Blue Hills Study Advisory Group to aid in the writing of the study's work scope. The scope incorporated continuous engagement with the group to ensure that the study addresses the concerns of advocates and community members. The MPO board approved the work scope and work on the study began.
March — September 2022
MPO staff conducted a literature review on issues of urban access to green and recreation space, analyzed the demographics of the study target area, assessed current public transit access to the Blue Hills, designed proposed solutions to improve access, and created a StoryMap summarizing the findings. Staff held five Advisory Group meetings, 12 follow-up conversations with individual members of the Advisory Group, and eight meetings with other advocacy and community groups to discuss issues of transportation equity and access to the Blue Hills.
Green Space
Communities of color and low-income neighborhoods in Boston have historically higher exposure to environmental and health burdens due to air quality issues, the placement and impact of highway infrastructure, and systemic inequities. A 2015 Boston Public Health Commission report found that these communities also experienced higher disease rates consistent with environmental conditions, such as asthma.
Health Benefits
Increasing access to parks and outdoor recreation spaces has been identified as a way to improve public health inequities and health outcome disparities across socioeconomic groups. Time spent in parks and regular physical activity greatly improves health outcomes , including reducing the risk of heart disease , diabetes, and high blood pressure. According to a 2011 report by LivableStreets, frequent visitors to parks had better health outcomes than those who did not frequent parks. For city residents, proximity to urban parks is a predictor of mental health quality, with those having limited access to parks and outdoor recreation space reporting higher levels of psychological distress when controlling for other factors.
In terms of overall health, local park and recreation users reported fewer visits to a physician for purposes other than check-ups than did non-park users, even when controlling for the effects of age, income, education level, health status, and other possible influencing factors. (Livable Streets Alliance, 2011)
Community Benefits
The relationship between urban access to natural environments and social cohesion has been demonstrated in a growing body of public health research. Green space provides communities with space to gather and interact with their family, friends, and neighbors, promoting stronger social cohesion , which in turn promotes improved individual health outcomes. Green space provides a place to celebrate culture, engage civically, and find support from others. Conversations with advocates and community groups highlighted the benefits of access to green space for youth development in particular, including opportunities for environmental education, improved mental well-being, and opportunities for confidence-building activities.
We need to break down barriers to accessing green space. With transit access to the Blue Hills we could get more kids outdoors and exploring this important resource in their own backyard. - Cam Regan, Director of Programming and Operations, Elevate Youth
Blue Hills
The Blue Hills Reservation is a 7,000-acre state park located south of Boston. It is bordered by Braintree, Canton, Dedham, Milton, Quincy, Randolph, and Westwood and connects to the Neponset River State Reservation—a network of greenways and protected areas that extend north through Hyde Park, Mattapan, and Dorchester. The Blue Hills offers trails, ponds, picnic areas, sports fields, and playgrounds, as well as a ski slope, community farm, museum, and educational programs for children to learn about wildlife and conservation. Outdoor activities available to visitors include hiking, swimming, fishing, and kayaking. The largest of the 22 hills in the Blue Hills is Great Blue Hill, standing at 635 feet, topped by an observation tower with clear views of the Boston skyline and Boston Harbor.
The Blue Hills is a tremendous free resource to the community all year long, offering over 100 miles of trails and 7,000 acres to explore. This amazing asset, however, is inaccessible to people without a car living just miles away in neighboring urban communities. Convenient, public transportation to the Blue Hills would give nearby communities access to one of metropolitan Boston's natural gems. - Judy Lehrer Jacobs, Executive Director, Friends of the Blue Hills
Communities
The Boston neighborhoods of Dorchester, Hyde Park, Mattapan, and Roxbury are less than eight miles from the Blue Hills yet lack adequate public transportation access to the destination.
A Mattapan-Ashmont Line trolley.
Collectively, Dorchester, Hyde Park, Mattapan, and Roxbury are home to 235,00 people, approximately one-third of Boston's population.
81% of the people in these communities identify as minorities, compared to 37% in the overall Boston region.
38% of residents in these communities are considered low-income,* compared to 20% in the overall Boston region.
32% of households in these communities do not own a car and rely on public transit, compared to 17% in the overall Boston region.
*Low-income residents are those whose family income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.
Source: 2020 US Census (Tables P2 and H1) and 2016 American Community Survey (Tables C17001 and B08201). Low-income population and zero-vehicle household estimates are controlled to 2020 U.S. Census population and occupied housing counts.
Current Access
Current public transit access to the Blue Hills is limited, consisting of two bus routes: The MBTA 716 and MBTA 238. It is much more difficult and time-consuming for residents of the study area who are transit-dependent to access the Blue Hills than for residents of suburban towns in the Boston region much further from the Blue Hills who can drive there. Of the ten most essential destinations in the Blue Hills identified by the Advisory Group, only one (the Trailside Museum ) is accessible by public transit from the neighborhoods of Dorchester, Hyde Park, Mattapan, and Roxbury. In contrast, drivers have access to more than 20 access points and all amenities within the Blue Hills. This inequity of access can be demonstrated by comparing transit travel times to the Trailside Museum from neighborhoods in the study area with lower levels of car ownership to driving travel times from suburban towns in the Boston region. For example, on a typical Saturday at 10:00 AM, driving from the town of Acton (32 miles away) to the Blue Hills Trailside Museum takes 40 minutes, whereas taking transit from Boston neighborhoods close to the Blue Hills can take upwards of an hour to travel much shorter distances.
Roxbury
From Nubian Square 73 minutes, two transfers 8 miles from the Blue Hills Trailside Museum
Hyde Park
From Fairmount Station 70 minutes, one transfer 3 miles from the Blue Hills Trailside Museum
Dorchester
From Grove Hall 57 minutes, one transfer 7 miles from the Blue Hills Trailside Museum
Mattapan
From Mattapan Station 15 minutes, no transfers 4 miles from the Blue Hills Trailside Museum
The Blue Hills Reservation provides many recreational and cultural opportunities, including hiking, swimming, off-road biking, and many more. Due to the lack of public transportation, however, these opportunities are mostly only accessible to those who own cars. Providing greater access to the Blue Hills through improved public transportation will open up a world of adventure for those who currently have no way to get there. - Mark Smith, Executive Director, Mary May Binney Wakefield Arboretum
MBTA 716
The MBTA 716 operates between Mattapan Square and Cobbs Corner in Canton and is the only current public transit origin point in the study area for southern Boston neighborhoods. The 716 makes one stop in the Blue Hills at the western edge by the Trailside Museum. The approximate travel time from Mattapan Station is 15 minutes. The route does not operate on Sundays.
MBTA 238, MBTA 240, BAT 12
Another MBTA bus route, the 238 , operates outside of the study area between Quincy and Randolph, making one stop on the eastern edge of the Blue Hills at Shea Rink. The MBTA 240 and BAT 12 travel through the Blue Hills via Dorchester, but neither stops within the Blue Hills. As of Fall 2022 , the MBTA's Bus Network Redesign proposal does not include plans to significantly alter service on the 716, 238, or 240 routes.
Proposed Improvements
Conversations with the Advisory Group, advocates, and community members yielded a list of the most important destinations and access points to amenities within the Blue Hills. After analyzing current access, MPO staff designed several possible transit service improvements, which were further refined by input from the Advisory Group. These options consider feasibility and operation cost (but not marketing cost), with costs estimated using an assumption of a single small bus running on a contracted route between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM from April 1 to October 31, the peak visitor season for the Blue Hills.
The Advisory Group and other advocates identified Houghton's Pond , a popular family-friendly recreation area in the center of the Blue Hills, as the single most important destination and access point, and this is reflected in the proposed transit service improvements.
The Houghton's Pond Recreation Area is completely inaccessible by existing public transit, denying transit-dependent Boston area residents access to its 24-acre swimming pond and beach, fishing, picnic tables, sports fields, and hiking trails, as well as a visitor's center, and playground.
Option 1: Modify Existing MBTA Service
According to MPO staff's analysis, the simplest and most feasible way to improve access to the Blue Hills is to reroute a section of the existing MBTA 716 bus route to Houghton’s Pond. The 716 currently runs from Monday through Saturday between Mattapan Square and Cobbs Corner in Canton.
Option 1A - Reroute MBTA 716
Option 1A proposes modifying this route on Saturdays from April 1 to October 31 to serve the Houghton’s Pond parking area. This modification could be made with no additional cost to the MBTA and with minimal modifications to the Saturday service schedule of 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Option 1B - Reroute and Expand MBTA 716
Option 1B expands on Option 1A by adding Sunday service to Route 716 with the Houghton’s Pond diversion. Based on recent small bus service contracts and operational costs, this option would add an annual cost of about $20,000, plus marketing costs to advertise the new route. Based on the current 716 service, both Option 1 and 1A would run hourly, with the exception of a two-hour gap in the middle of the day.
Option 2: Provide New Service
The three iterations of Option 2 (A, B, and C) would institute a new fixed-route bus service operating in a loop from Mattapan Station, serving multiple locations in the Blue Hills. Assuming the same service cost calculations as Option 1B, the annual operating cost for Options 2A, B, and C would be about $40,000, plus marketing costs to advertise the new route.
Option 2A - Full Loop
Option 2A is the largest loop, serving destinations on both the western and eastern sides of the Blue Hills and traveling through the middle of the reservation along Chickatawbut Road. This option would operate counter-clockwise from Mattapan Station to serve many popular destinations, including the Trailside Museum, hiking trails around Great Blue Hill, Brookwood Farm, Houghton's Pond, Shea Rink, and the Quincy Quarry, along with many trailheads.
Given the length of this route, in order to operate the service with a single vehicle, the trip frequency would be two hours. This could be decreased to 90 minutes if some stops were removed or designated as flag stops. Adding a second bus for more frequent service, or running a second bus on a clockwise route, would double the estimated annual operating cost to $80,000.
Option 2B - West Loop
Option 2B is a shorter loop that covers the western edge of the Blue Hills, serving popular destinations including the Trailside Museum, Houghton's Pond, Camp Sayre, Ulin Rink, and several trailheads. The frequency of this route would be 60 minutes. Adding a second bus for more frequent service doubles the estimated annual operating cost to $80,000.
Option 2C - Eastern Loop
Option 2C would serve the eastern portion of the Blue Hills, traveling through the middle of the reservation and serving Camp Sayre, Ulin Rink, Houghton's Pond, and additional destinations to the east, including Shea Rink, Quincy Quarry, and several trailheads. The frequency of this loop using one vehicle would be about 75 minutes. This could be decreased to 60 minutes if some stops were removed or designated as flag stops. Adding a second bus for more frequent service doubles the estimated annual operating cost to $80,000.
Other Considerations
An additional service option staff explored, which was ultimately not received favorably by the Advisory Group, was to create a new on-demand microtransit service connecting multiple locations in and around the Blue Hills. This option would assume similar service conditions and operation costs to Option 2, with the additional flexibility of point-to-point trips reserved via app or phone and potentially low wait times depending on capacity.
This option was not considered for further study due to the barriers associated with the costs of developing and marketing a mobile application and the unreliability of cellular service within the Blue Hills.
Next Steps
The goal of this study was to investigate current inequities in access to the Blue Hills, and explore transit service possibilities to improve access for residents of the majority-minority and transit-dependent southern Boston neighborhoods. In the process of designing possible service improvements, staff discovered several options that would be relatively feasible to implement as a pilot program to measure and demonstrate demand, with the expectation that these would be further enhanced and guided by advocates and community input.
The options outlined in this study should serve as a resource that stakeholders can use to propose a service pilot program that either expands existing transit routes (such as Option 1) or creates new fixed-route service (such as Option 2), which could be funded and operated by a combination of municipal, state agency, regional agency, and advocate stakeholders who could collaborate on administration and marketing. An expansion of existing service would need to be pursued independently of the MBTA's Bus Network Redesign plan, and funding for new service could be pursued through opportunities such as the MPO's Community Connections program or MassDOT's Community Transit Grant Program.
None of the options we explored serve every destination suggested by stakeholders, and all routes focus on a single origin in Mattapan Square. Advisory Group members and other stakeholders expressed strong interest in solutions that serve multiple other origin points, including existing transit hubs in Dorchester and Hyde Park. Any pilot program should consider expanding this study’s proposed service options to more areas. Additional considerations stakeholders emphasized include sensitivity to community contexts and neighborhood change, and attention to the accessibility of physical infrastructure, such as pedestrian safety and signage at bus stops within the Blue Hills.
Community engagement was central to this study, and conversations with community organizations and neighborhood associations in southern Boston neighborhoods underscored the importance of ongoing community participation in further work to expand access to the Blue Hills. It is critical to the success of any pilot program that continuous engagement remains at the heart of planning and implementation efforts.
The Boston Region MPO is committed to improving equitable access to important public destinations like the Blue Hills. We look forward to continuing to support this work by facilitating coordination between stakeholders.
Those interested in discussing this study can contact MPO staff at publicinfo@ctps.org .
Acknowledgements
The MPO's Central Transportation Planning Staff's Communication and Engagement team thanks our colleagues Jonathan Belcher, Annette Demchur, Emily Domanico, Róisín Foley, Adriana Fratini, Betsy Harvey, Sandy Johnston, Srilekha Murthy, and Kate White for their contributions to this study.
