Blue Hill Avenue Transportation Action Plan

How do you travel along Blue Hill Avenue? What do you like about it? What would you like to see changed? We welcome concerns ranging from traffic congestion to bus stop cleanliness and anything in between. 

We know that vehicle speeds along Blue Hill Avenue are high. But, we'd like to hear from you about how to make it safer for all users. How does Blue Hill Avenue feel as a pedestrian? Have you felt unsafe while waiting for the bus or cycling? 

Examples of public spaces include:

• sidewalks
• plazas
• parks
• playgrounds, and
• seating areas.

Let us know how you feel about the current public spaces along Blue Hill Avenue and what you would like to see in the future by emailing bluehillave@boston.gov.

We know that the neighborhoods along Blue Hill Avenue experience extreme heat and a lack of shade in the summers. Greenery helps mitigate this urban heat island effect, improving health outcomes, economic outcomes, and more. How can we bring more greenery and climate mitigating elements to the corridor? How can we ensure that Blue Hill Avenue is around to serve generations to come? 

Meeting overview:

• 65 members of the public attended the meeting. The people who attended the meeting primarily travel on Blue Hill Avenue using the following modes:
  • Bike - 0%
  • Bus/train - 24%
  • Drive - 66%
  • Walk - 7%
• We shared updates on the bus rider survey conducted from April through June along Blue Hill Ave. Our team collected over 500 surveys in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole at the busiest bus stops along Blue Hill Ave during weekdays and weekends. Some major takeaways:
  • More than half of the respondents exclusively take the bus along Blue Hill Ave. The remainder ride the bus in addition to walking and/or driving.
  • The most common reason for bus trips was getting to work. The four most common destinations were Mattapan, Downtown, Roxbury, and Dorchester, in that order.
  • The most common requests to improve the bus rider experience were more consistent buses (32%) trips being less affected by traffic (24%), and knowing when the bus is coming (23%).

Meeting overview:

• 55 members of the public attended the meeting. The people who attended the meeting primarily travel on Blue Hill Avenue using the following modes:
  • Bike - 8%
  • Bus/train - 23%
  • Drive - 54%
  • Walk - 12%
•  We shared more details on two alternative design scenarios for Blue Hill Ave (you can check those out above or in the meeting slides), and answered the following questions:
  • What are the scenarios? How did we land on these?
  • What is the City’s preferred approach, and why?
  • How will the City decide on an approach?

Meeting overview:

• 55 members of the public attended the meeting. The people who attended the meeting primarily travel on Blue Hill Avenue using the following modes:
  • Bike - 4%
  • Bus/train - 37%
  • Drive - 52%
  • Walk - 7%
• We previewed some survey findings from “Complete Street Deetz” (youth workshops). Here are some data points that we shared:
  • The majority of respondents were high school age (62% were 15-19 years old).
  • When asked, “How would you like to see the following change on Blue Hill Ave?” the two most popular responses were: (1) Having safe crosswalks (71%) and (2) Improving public transportation services (65%).
• We shared some updates on how the BHA engagement process will connect to the design process. 
  • As a reminder, the City has not yet finalized a design. 
  • The design team is working to compare alternative design scenarios using a set of qualitative and quantitative metrics. You can see those proposed metrics here. During the meeting, 68% of participants said these metrics somewhat reflect or strongly reflect their interests and design questions, 18% reported that they were neutral, and 14% said they somewhat do not reflect their interests and design questions.
  • The scenarios will be constructed based on best practices and public feedback collected at the virtual meetings, in-person events, the online form, and other discussions with the team.

Meeting overview:

• 66 members of the public attended the meeting. The people who attended the meeting primarily travel on Blue Hill Avenue using the following modes:
  • Bike - 9%
  • Bus/train - 32%
  • Drive - 56%
  • Walk - 3%
• BTD staff presented findings from their study of Columbus Ave between Walnut Ave and Centre St, where the center-running bus lanes are located. That report will be available on the Columbus Ave project website.
• Kate England, Director of Green Infrastructure, presented on the City's new green infrastructure policies and the potential for trees and other greenery on Blue Hill Ave
• 41 respondents responded to the question, "What would you like to see more of on Blue Hill Ave?"
  Light fixtures - 68%
  Real-time bus arrival signs - 68%
  Trees and other greenery - 66%
  Trash cans - 61%
  Public art - 51%
  Plaques featuring neighborhood history - 51%
  Seating - 49%
  Outdoor games - 24%

Meeting overview coming soon!

Meeting overview:

• 85 members of the public attended the meeting. The people who attended the meeting primarily travel on Blue Hill Avenue using the following modes: 
  • Walk - 4%
  • Drive - 46%
  • Bus/train - 14%
  • Bike - 7%
• Attendees' top two concerns that they believe should be addressed are double parking (70%) and availability of parking (51%)

Representatives from the Mayor's Office of Housing joined this meeting to provide updates on new low-income homeownership programs, development of city-owned land, and other programs. 

We also responded to a common question about parking on BHA: What is the plan for parking? 

• We talked about how parking availability depends on both the total number of spaces and the total number of people who can use each space per day. We also discussed a parking study pilot that will begin in May, to start to look at how the existing parking is being used on Blue Hill Ave.

Meeting overview:

• 102 members of the public attended the meeting. The people who attended the meeting primarily travel on Blue Hill Avenue using the following modes:
  • Walk - 6%
  • Drive - 65%
  • Bus/train - 17%
  • Bike - 12%
• Someone from MBTA presented data to help answer the following questions:
  • How do you expect people to choose the bus if it's not reliable?
  • What is the MBTA doing to make buses more frequent?
  • How does better bus service help small businesses?
• Attendees' top two benefits that they believe should be prioritized are safety for pedestrians (76%) and faster, more reliable bus service (54%).
• Attendees' top two concerns that they believe should be addressed are car congestion/more traffic (71%) and negative impacts on small businesses (49%). 

Meeting overview:

• 86 members of the public attended the meeting. The people who attended the meeting primarily travel on Blue Hill Avenue using the following modes:
  • Walk - 6%
  • Drive - 68%
  • Bus/train - 15%
  • Bike - 9%
  • Other - 2%
• The majority of attendees supported ideas to make the corridor more lively and beautiful through trees, greenery, plantings, public art, and improved lighting. Attendees also spoke of the importance of more trash receptacles to keep the streets and sidewalks clean, and to minimize the presence of vermin. 
• Many people voiced dismay at the current condition of the physical infrastructure, noting that Blue Hill Ave. needs to be repaved, and the sidewalks are in terrible shape with a lot of buckling from tree roots making it challenging for those in wheelchairs and walkers.
• Attendees expressed concern that a reduction in the number of travel lanes would cause congestion. However, a reduction in traffic congestion did not necessarily mean participants wanted traffic to be faster. Several spoke on speeding being an issue and called for speed reduction and traffic calming measures to ensure a safer corridor for all users.
• Several attendees acknowledged the goal of a multimodal corridor as creating safe and accessible options for users of all ages and abilities.
• Opinions for/against bike lanes existed in the feedback, as well as opinions for/against center-running bus lanes.
• Some attendees felt parking is a challenge on Blue Hill Ave. Many participants said that there was not enough parking along the corridor, and that double- and even triple-parking creates numerous safety and traffic flow conflicts.
• Many attendees valued the presence of small businesses on the Avenue and expressed support for ways to support them, such as providing wider sidewalk space so there could be more outdoor dining.

Meeting overview:

• 144 members of the public attended the meeting. The people who attended the meeting travel using the following modes:
  • Walk - 20%
  • Drive - 38%
  • Bus/train - 27%
  • Bike - 13%
  • Other - 2%
• 60 members of the public contributed to the discussion verbally or in the chat.
• 12 members of the public were responsible for more than 50% of chat comments.
• 37 individuals gave feedback on what they would like to see from a project to redesign Blue Hill Avenue. The most common feedback included:
  • more lighting
  • new sidewalks
  • more crosswalks
  • more trees
  • better bus stops
  • support for small businesses on the avenue