Roxbury Resilient Corridors
The City of Boston will partner with local residents and community organizations to design improvements for three important corridors: Malcolm X Boulevard, Warren Street, and Melnea Cass Boulevard.
Project Phase
Project Information
PROJECT UPDATE
After the City of Boston won a competitive $20 million federal grant for critical street infrastructure improvements along three major corridors in Roxbury, the grant was cancelled in 2025 by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The grant, awarded to the City in 2022 under the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant Program, would fund the Roxbury Resilient Corridors project, including safety, transit, accessibility, and traffic flow improvements.
Background information
Roxbury is a vibrant neighborhood with a thriving residential community and busy small businesses. The neighborhood has a rich history of community activism and many cultural institutions that celebrate the diversity and lived experiences of its residents. We want to help improve Roxbury residents’ quality of life by making it safer, more convenient, and more enjoyable for you to get to where you want to go.
Key principles informing the work include:
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Improve the quality of life for residents
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Improve safety for all those who use the corridor on a daily basis
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Proactively include approaches for climate resilience with green stormwater infrastructure, street trees, and “hot spot” heat mitigation
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Address parking and traffic flow concerns
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Prioritize public transit and non-vehicular modes of travel
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Address the historic legacy of inequities in investment experienced in Roxbury where the corridors are located.
The upcoming work will strive for a comprehensive solution that integrates affordable housing, prevents displacement, reduces heat island effects, contributes to a thriving small business community, and supports local artists. The three corridors are the primary roadways of the Roxbury neighborhood, the heart of the Black community in Boston. Today they are detracting from quality of life in the area. The wide, auto-centric thoroughfares of Melnea Cass Boulevard, Malcolm X Boulevard, and Warren Street are a result of eminent domain and block clearance during Boston’s urban renewal era of the 1960s.
These corridors have some of the highest ridership and the most delays in the entire MBTA system. Our work will improve bus service for these many riders. We will make these corridors better for people walking by making it safer to cross the street and adding seating, trees, lighting and cooling spaces. Our work will also make bicycling stress-free along these corridors and manage car traffic and parking needs.
What we are looking at
We call these corridor projects because we aren’t just looking at the roads. We are looking at sidewalks, lighting, bus stops, bike lanes, street trees, public spaces, green infrastructure (for stormwater management, for example), and more. We want to make sure you feel safe traveling along these streets no matter how you choose to get around.
Our work has to begin with small actions that can make a big difference, like making sure all the street lights are in good condition. We also know that we have to improve bus riders’ experiences on these corridors, and we know that these streets can be stressful for people who ride bikes.
Ultimately, we want to improve safety, comfort, and environmental resilience on these corridors. To achieve these, design features to protect people and the environment may include strategies to increase shade and cooling with green spaces and retrofitted bus shelters, for example.
What we have heard so far
The Boston Transportation Department and our community partners have been out in Roxbury since 2019 asking about people’s experiences with these corridors.
We have collected information through bus ride audits, stakeholder meetings, public meetings and surveys.
Here’s what we have learned so far:
- These streets can feel chaotic and unsafe for all users.
- Bus riders have unpredictable trip times, and sometimes many buses will come at once but then riders are left waiting a long time for the next bus.
- Bike riders don’t always feel safe riding with cars in the street but can also come into conflict with people on the sidewalks.
- People who want to park can have difficulty finding a spot close to their destination.
Who we are coordinating with
There is a lot going on in Roxbury.
Our project team is coordinating with other City staff to collaboratively address community concerns. Our goal is to coordinate projects and not to overload you with meetings. Here are some relevant, related projects.
The MBTA and City of Boston are partnering on the Blue Hill Avenue Investment Plan.
Developing roadway, intersection, and streetscape design plans for construction in Nubian Square
Boston's first center-running bus lane is now in operation on Columbus Avenue.
We are planning safety improvements and better crosstown access for all users along Columbia Road.
Green infrastructure is essential to Boston's work towards becoming a greener, more resilient, and equitable city.
All developments proposed or under construction in the neighborhood.
The City is transforming White Stadium into a state-of-the-art athletic facility for Boston Public Schools Athletics.
Multilingual information
Multilingual infoWho's Involved
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