Everyone Deserves Safe Streets

Boylston Street

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One of Boston’s iconic streets, Boylston Street is both a destination and an important travel corridor for people walking, biking, and taking transit. Boylston Street features some of Boston’s marquee cultural institutions and public spaces, as well as many dining and retail establishments. It’s also home to thousands of jobs.

Many people already ride their bikes on Boylston Street, as a natural continuation of trips from Fenway, Mission Hill, the Longwood Medical Center, and Brookline. Today, people biking on Boylston Street contend with a busy street lacking a dedicated bike lane, frequent double parking, and commercial loading. As a result,  several blocks of Boylston Street are high-crash corridors for bicyclists .

We will create a one-way separated bike lane on Boylston Street from Massachusetts Avenue to Arlington Street. Between Massachusetts Avenue and Hereford Street, the lane will be on the south side of Boylston Street. At Hereford Street, it will transition to the north side where it will continue to Arlington Street. It will be on the left side in the direction of travel to avoid conflicts with MBTA bus routes that run along the right side. At Arlington Street, you will be able to continue in separated bike lanes all the way into Downtown and beyond.

As part of our work, we will also look closely at curb regulations along Boylston Street to ensure they are meeting the needs of delivery vehicles and to reduce double parking.

Milk Street

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Downtown Boston and the Financial District hold some of the highest concentration of jobs in the region as well as historic landmarks, dining, and retail destinations. Milk Street will serve as the eastbound pair to separated bike lanes on State Street and Court Street. We will include a contraflow bike lane on Washington Street from School Street to Milk Street to make it safer and easier to travel eastward on bike. We also plan for a two-way separated bike lane on a section of Milk Street between Devonshire Street and Washington Street.

We will make changes to traffic circulation on Milk Street to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety and to provide clear zones for commercial loading and pick-up/drop-off traffic. We will partner closely with the Downtown business community on any potential changes.

Charles Street South and Tremont Street

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We will add separated bike lanes on Tremont Street and Charles Street South between Marginal Road and Stuart Street. This will complete the missing link from  Tremont Street south of Herald Street, where separated bike lanes are currently under construction , and the existing separated bike lanes on Stuart Street.

Our plan is to install a one-way separated bike lane on the east side of the street, heading in the same direction as general traffic.

We have heard from community members about how difficult it can be to cross three lanes of northbound traffic Charles Street South at Warrenton Street/Melrose Street. Our design will reduce the width of Charles Street South from three to two lanes. In addition, we propose new  crossing islands  at that intersection to eliminate the possibility of a double-threat crash. People walking will be able to cross one lane at a time. We will also improve visibility of pedestrians by adding “ clear corners ” approaching the crosswalks. We will rebuild the curb ramps to meet accessibility standards.

Albany Street

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The South Bay Harbor Trail is a community-led plan to create a walk- and bike-friendly route between Roxbury and the waterfront. Its route crosses over bridges and under highways, including public and private parcels.

Parts of this vision have been realized: the shaded paths along Melnea Cass Boulevard; the sidewalks and separated bike lanes on both the West Fourth and Broadway Bridges; and the new paths along Frontage Road and Dorchester Avenue.

By next winter, we aim to have separated bike lanes on much of Albany Street, connecting the South Bay Harbor Trail's northern sections to Mass. Ave. We will also improve curb ramps and address visibility issues at crosswalks.

We will continue to work on the longer-term vision for Albany Street, including reconstruction of sidewalks and improved bus reliability.

Hemenway Street

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We propose a series of changes to streets in East Fenway, including speed humps and better crosswalks for the area's many pedestrians. These changes have been identified and requested by residents for many years.

As part of that work, we plan to add a contraflow bike lane to Hemenway. This improves the biking connection between Massachusetts Avenue and the Emerald Necklace paths in the Fens.

Commonwealth Avenue

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On a regular day,  you'll find 1,000 people biking  along Comm. Ave. near Silber Way. On a sunnier day, you're likely to see  over 2,000 on bikes . But, Comm. Ave. is also  one of the most crash-prone streets  in the City for people on bikes.

Even when there are available parking spaces on the street, drivers often stop in the bike lane. This creates a dangerous situation for people on bikes, who must merge into a lane with quick-moving traffic and buses.

Comm. Ave. was one of the first streets in Boston to have a bike lane. Now, it's time to make them better.

Western Avenue

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The Boston Planning & Development Agency launched the  Western Avenue Corridor Study and Rezoning  to engage local stakeholders in discussing the future of Western Avenue between Barry’s Corner and Leo Birmingham Parkway. 

Through those discussions, the community identified a near-term need to add separated bike lanes on Western Avenue. Additional changes will help organize bus stops and improve the accessibility of crosswalks along the street.

North Beacon Street

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The  Allston-Brighton Mobility Plan  was adopted in May 2021. Over 1,600 comments from community members shaped that plan over nearly three years of meetings and events. Residents identified North Beacon Street as a priority for improved biking.

Today, there is no dedicated space for biking. We plan to install separated bike lanes. Some amount of on-street parking will need to be removed, and the width of travel lanes reduced. The narrower travel lanes will help calm traffic speeds.

We upgraded the curb ramps at existing crosswalks already. New crosswalk locations can be added.

Winship Street

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The  Allston-Brighton Mobility Plan  identified Winship Street for traffic-calming treatment. More than two-thirds of drivers on Winship Street exceed the 25 MPH speed limit.

We propose adding a separated bike lane in the uphill direction. This will narrow the width of the street for driving and prompt drivers to slow down. Most on-street parking will remain and buses will be accommodated.

Winship is an important connection for bicyclists traveling from Cambridge Street/Washington Street to destinations on Chestnut Hill Avenue and beyond. Chestnut Hill Avenue was also identified for separated bike lanes in the Allston-Brighton Mobility Plan. We plan to work with neighbors on the design of Chestnut Hill Avenue soon.

South Street (Brighton)

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Today, South Street is one-way for travel from Chestnut Hill Avenue to Commonwealth Avenue. It is relatively flat, and drivers have a tendency to pick up the pace if they see a green light at Comm. Ave. Other parts of the street network nearby follow a hillier topography.

We propose adding speed humps to calm traffic. We will also install signs that permit people on bikes to travel in both directions, avoiding hills.

South Huntington Avenue

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South Huntington Avenue provides an important connection between dense residential parts of Jamaica Plain—where as many as 9.4% of residents bike to work—and Mission Hill to the Longwood Medical Area, one of the region’s major employment centers.  The street is, however, among the top 3% high-crash corridors for people biking citywide . The section north of Heath Street, where the MBTA Green Line E Branch trolley tracks run in the middle of the street, has the highest concentration of bicycle crashes.

We propose adding separated bike lanes on the length of South Huntington Avenue. Between Centre Street and Heath Street, the bike lanes will be one-way in the direction of traffic on either side of the street. Between Heath Street and Huntington Avenue, we will explore several configurations in partnership with residents. And, we want to create a short but useful connection on Huntington Avenue from South Huntington Avenue to the Emerald Necklace Path and Brookline. On the southern end, we will provide a connection to our planned bike route on Boylston Stree

Boylston Street (Jamaica Plain)

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Boylston Street provides a direct link between the Southwest Corridor Bike Path and Centre Street. However, people biking don’t have an easy way to get to the Southwest Corridor Bike Path because nearby eastbound streets, like Paul Gore Street, don’t have ramps to access the bike path.

We will install a contraflow bike lane on Boylston Street in the eastbound direction from Centre Street to Lamartine Street. This will provide an easy two-way connection for people biking while keeping the street one-way for westbound vehicle traffic. People biking westbound, with traffic, will use a shared lane with general traffic. We also propose speed humps to encourage safer driving speeds. Because Boylston Street is quite narrow in some sections, we will need to make changes to where parking is allowed.

Together with South Huntington Avenue, Boylston Street will be part of an easy, continuous two-way bicycle route between the Southwest Corridor Bike Path to the Emerald Necklace Path at Huntington Avenue.

Green Street

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Green Street is one of the few streets in central Jamaica Plain to provide a connection all the way from Washington Street to Centre Street. It is an important connecting route for people biking from the Southwest Corridor Bike Path to the Centre Street business district and the Pondside area of Jamaica Plain. Together with streets on either end, it connects Franklin Park to Jamaica Pond.

We are considering several ideas for a bicycle route on Green Street between Lamartine Street and Centre Street. One idea is to install a contraflow bike lane from Centre Street to Woosley Square. This would make Green Street a two-way connection for bicyclists while keeping it one-way westbound for vehicles. Another idea is to install a one-way bike lane on Green Street in the westbound direction with traffic. We would pair this with a bike lane on Seaverns Avenue going one-way in the eastbound direction.

Seaverns Avenue and Gordon Street

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Seaverns Avenue is one of the primary westbound streets in central Jamaica Plain, starting in the heart of the Centre Street business district and connecting to the Southwest Corridor Bike Path via Gordon Street.

We are considering several ideas for a bicycle route on Seaverns Avenue and Gordon Street between Centre Street and the Southwest Corridor Bike Path. One idea is to install a contraflow bike lane from Woosley Square to Centre Street. This would make Seaverns Avenue and Gordon Street a two-way connection for bicyclists while keeping it one-way eastbound for vehicles. Another idea is to install a one-way bike lane in the eastbound direction with traffic. We would pair this with a bike lane on Green going one-way in the westbound direction.

Eliot Street

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Eliot Street is already a popular bicycling route between Jamaica Pond and the vibrant small business district on Centre Street. Many parents use this route when traveling with their kids by bike. However, many people bike on the sidewalk because the street is one-way.

We propose formalizing two-way bicycling, while keeping the street one-way for vehicles. To ensure drivers stay at a safe speed, we plan to build at least one more speed hump.

McBride Street

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McBride Street is a relatively flat route between the Southwest Corridor Bike Path and South Street while other parallel streets are hillier.

Our proposal is to add a westbound contraflow bike lane on McBride Street, making it a two-way connection for bicyclists while keeping it one-way eastbound for vehicles. This will make the street an easy way for neighbors in southern Jamaica Plain to get to and from the Southwest Corridor Bike Path.

Poplar Street

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Poplar Street is a relatively flat and quiet street parallel to the hillier and busier Cummins Highway. You’ve told us that Poplar Street could be a great way to get to and from Roslindale Square if it was two-way for bicyclists for its entire length.

We propose a contraflow bike lane on Poplar Street from Sycamore Street to Washington Street. Vehicle traffic will remain as it is today: one-way from Washington Street to Sycamore Street. People biking with traffic will share a lane with vehicles.