Lower South Street and Vicinity Neighborhood
This page contains information about the Neighborhood Slow Streets plan for Lower South Street and Vicinity.
Neighborhood Slow Streets is an approach to street safety requests on minor residential streets in Boston. We're focused on street designs that self-enforce slower speeds and safer behaviors. Through this program, we aim to:
- reduce the number and severity of crashes on the minor residential streets
- create safer streets for walking and biking
- add to the quality of life in neighborhoods.
The Lower South Street and Vicinity Neighborhood was added to the Neighborhood Slow Streets program in summer 2020. The City of Boston prioritizes neighborhoods for traffic-calming to first serve those areas with the most need. We use data to prioritize communities with more youth, elders, and people with disabilities and where there are more public places, such as libraries, schools, and parks. We also consider the crash rate per mile on local streets.
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Looking for general information about the Neighborhood Slow Streets program? Visit the Neighborhood Slow Streets page.
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Chat with usEvery other Wednesday, you can schedule a virtual chat or phone call with a project team member.
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Get on the email list
Project Summary
From 2020 to 2022, we worked with neighborhood residents to understand their transportation safety concerns and develop a plan to address them. Through a series of community meetings, we proposed new street designs that respond to concerns about speeding, visibility, fast turns, and crossing safety.
Before reaching final designs, we shared proposals along the way and made modifications in response to feedback. You can read about the plan and view presentations from previous meetings on this page. We are aiming to install these changes in 2023.
Learn more about the design
FALL 2022 DROP-BY MEETINGS RECAP
chat with the project team:
We invited residents to chat with us and review the Slow Streets plan:
Tuesday, August 16, 2022 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.Arboretum - South Street at Archdale Road
Tuesday, September 20, 2022 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.Healy Field - Florence Street
View the handout
reach out:
- Email us: slow.streets@boston.gov
- Schedule a 15-minute appointment to talk with us
- Send letters to: Boston Transportation Department ATTN: Slow Streets, 1 City Hall Square Room 721, Boston MA 02201
Community Meetings
Community Meetingsfall 2022 chat with the project team series:
We invited residents to chat with us in-person at a park and review the Slow Streets plan.
Tuesday, August 16, 2022 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.Arboretum - South Street at Archdale Road
Tuesday, September 20, 2022 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.Healy Field - Florence Street
View the handout
We hosted a virtual meeting on June 2, 2022 to share updates about the Lower South Street and Vicinity Slow Streets project. We shared an overview of the street design changes proposed in the draft plan and how the plan has evolved in response to resident feedback and support. View the invitation postcard mailed to all residents in the zone.
Watch the recording from June 2, 2022
View the presentation
We hosted a virtual meeting on April 14, 2022 to share updates and take resident feedback about the Lower South Street Neighborhood Slow Streets project. During this conversation, we shared proposed changes to address safety concerns we heard for Murray Hill Road, Lindall Street, Basile Street, and Florence Street. View the meeting invite postcard.
Watch the recording from April 14, 2022
Español
View the presentation
Español
We hosted virtual meetings on November 16, 2021, and November 17, 2021, to share updates about the Neighborhood Slow Streets project, including:
- streets where speed humps are feasible, and
- design updates for a safer crossing on Florence Street
- design updates for a safer crossing at Archdale Road and South Street
- design updates for a safer crossing at Florence and Firth Road
We mailed a notification postcard to residents on all the streets within the zone about the meeting. View the meeting invite postcard.
Follow-up
Watch the recording from november 16
View the presentation
After the meeting, we also mailed two postcards sharing information from the meeting. We mailed this postcard to all residents in the zone so they could learn about the information we shared. View the postcards:
On March 31, we hosted a virtual meeting. We advertised this meeting by sending postcards to residents of the zone and through our email list.
At the meeting, we reviewed:
- general information about the Neighborhood Slow Streets program
- our work to date in collecting and reviewing residents' stories and concerns
- The design process timeline
- ideas for three focus areas in the neighborhood.
View the March 2021 ideas for safer crossings:
- South Street and Archdale Road intersection
- Florence Street between Sycamore Street and Marion Street segment
- Florence Street and Firth Road intersection
Other materials:
On October 20, we hosted a virtual meeting. The meeting was advertised via direct mail to residents of the zone and through our email list.
At the meeting, we reviewed:
- the Neighborhood Slow Streets program, generally
- the common tools we use to address safety concerns, and
- common feedback we heard through our surveys, via phone or email, and at our in-person workshop.
We held an outdoor workshop at the Healy Field on September 12. Residents dropped by to talk with us about their street safety and transportation concerns within the Slow Streets study area.
We start our design process by listening to residents' concerns. We asked people to share what they see happening on their streets and how they feel while out walking, bicycling, or driving. We use residents' stories and concerns to inform the design approach for the Slow Streets zone.
In the Lower South Street Neighborhood Slow Streets zone, we solicited feedback via:
- An online survey. Residents were able provide details and upload photos that describe their safety concerns. The survey was available in English, Haitian Creole, and Spanish. The survey was mobile-friendly.
- A mailed survey. Residents could choose to download and print the survey and send it to us by mail or email. Here's what the survey looked like.
MAP OF STREETS IN THE SLOW STREETS ZONE
Project Information
Map of Project Area
Streets marked in blue are within project area.
