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Boston transportation plan touts 58 projects to improve mobility

Plan includes policies for restructured bus routes, autonomous vehicles and development of 'microhubs' with access to bike- and carshare options.

March 7, 2017
Boston transportation plan touts 58 projects to improve mobility

Go Boston 2030 image via Facebook

3 min to read


Go Boston 2030 image via Facebook

The City of Boston's newly released transportation plan is comprised of 58 transportation projects and policies that are designed to expand access to a variety of connected transportation options, improve traffic-related safety on Boston's streets, and ensure reliability of service for the City's residents, commuters and visitors. The Go Boston 2030 Vision and Action Plan, unveiled by Mayor Martin J. Walsh today, highlights projects already underway and presents a blueprint for the City to direct its capital plan funding.

The "Top Policies and Projects" of the Go Boston 2030 Vision and Action Plan include:

Top Policies

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  • Vision Zero Safety Initiatives - continue to implement innovative measures to reduce traffic-related fatalities and severe injuries due to crashes on Boston's local streets.

  • State of Good Repair - investments by the City to repair and maintain Boston's roadways and bridges for the decades ahead.

  • Restructure Bus Routes - work with the MBTA and local communities to develop a new network of bus routes that better match the travel needs of Bostonians.

  •  Autonomous Vehicles - develop policies to prepare for self-driving vehicles and support on-street testing of autonomous vehicles.


Top Projects:

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  • Walking and Bicycle Friendly Main Street Districts - improve access into and around Boston's neighborhood commercial districts for people traveling on foot and by bike.

  • Fairmount Line Service Improvements and Urban Rail - provide improved connections for Dorchester and Mattapan with an increase to the frequency of service and better payment systems, and then introduce new rail cars to create a rapid transit line.

  •  Columbia Road Greenway - create a neighborhood friendly street for those walking, biking, or traveling by bus along this corridor, that connects to Franklin and Moakley Parks.

  • Neighborhood Mobility microHUBs - develop prominent neighborhood access points to help residents select from a range of connected travel choices including subway, bus, bike-share and car-share.

  • Smart Signal Corridors and Districts - program traffic lights to work together to facilitate movement in congested parts of the City.

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  • Mattapan to LMA Rapid Bus - design high-quality stops, signal priority, all-door boarding, and some exclusive lanes to create direct access from Mattapan and Southwest Dorchester to jobs and medical care in Roxbury, Mission Hill, and the Longwood Medical and Academic Area.

  • North Station to South Boston Waterfront Rapid Bus and Ferry - introduce direct bus service in exclusive lanes between the Seaport and northern commuter rail in tandem with ferry service. 

Five thousand ideas were submitted to the City during the first round of the public engagement process, helping to set the project's goals and metrics. Moving forward from goals to specific projects, the public submitted another 3,500 policy and project ideas. After analyzing these ideas, nearly 4,000 Boston residents and others helped to prioritize them by voting for their top choices of projects.

Several Go Boston 2030 projects are already underway and are having a positive impact on the City's streets, including:

    -Vision Zero
    -Neighborhood Slow Streets
    -ParkBoston
    -Performance Pricing Parking Meter Pilot Program
    -Boston's Safest Driver Contest
    -Autonomous Vehicle Testing
    -DriveBoston car-share Program
    -Expansion of Hubway bike-share Program
    -Installation of protected bike lanes.

Information on all of these programs can be found at www.boston.gov/transportation.

The Go Boston 2030 Vision and Action Plan provides a blueprint for the City of Boston to direct its capital plan spending and to work with state transportation agencies to begin implementation.

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