Boston
Streetsblog Basics
Coming Soon to Boston’s Massive Parking Crater: More Subsidized Parking
Quick -- what should a city do to improve access to a rapidly developing area near a bus rapid transit station? In Boston, officials have settled on an expensive plan to subsidize driving and traffic.
March 6, 2017
What American Commuter Rail Can Learn From Paris, Part 2
In Europe it's common for regional rail systems to get ridership comparable to that of the subway in the central city. But in America, this is unheard of. One reason for the discrepancy is land use: American commuter rail stations are typically surrounded by parking, while in the Paris region you see a different pattern with ample development next to suburban train stations.
February 15, 2017
Boston Identified Its Most Dangerous, Degrading Bus Stops. Now What?
The MBTA is evaluating all 7,600 of its bus stops for safety and accessibility, and it will either improve or eliminate 200 of the worst ones.
February 8, 2017
What Went Wrong With Boston’s Green Line Extension?
Last week, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority abruptly cut ties with four contractors working on the 4.7-mile Green Line extension to Somerville and Medford, outside Boston. The announcement came shortly after reports that the cost of the light rail project had ballooned to about $3 billion, an increase of a billion dollars.
December 14, 2015
Boston Says So Long to the Casey Overpass, a 1950s Highway Relic
This month, Boston is demolishing a monument to 1950s-era car infrastructure: The Casey Overpass, a short elevated road built in 1955 to whisk drivers over the Forest Hills MBTA station in Jamaica Plain without encountering any pesky things like intersections or pedestrians.
May 20, 2015
The Simple Change to Truck Design That Can Save Lives
When someone is struck by a turning truck driver in New York City, the worst injuries are typically caused when the vehicle's back wheels run over the victim. Amar Diarrassouba, Ngozi Agbim, Noshat Nahian, Jessica Dworkin, and Renee Thompson were among the New Yorkers run over by the rear wheels of large trucks in recent years.
December 18, 2014
Memo From Massachusetts: 25 MPH Speed Limit Would Save Lives
Researchers in Massachusetts have concluded that lowering the default speed limit on local roads from 30 to 25 mph would save lives and yield big public health benefits. Even without additional traffic calming measures, a lower speed limit on its own would prevent 2,200 crashes, 1,200 injuries, and 18 fatalities in the state of 6.6 million, according to an analysis of a 25 mph bill considered by the Massachusetts legislature last year. These numbers should be on the minds of New York legislators, who have the potential to save lives with a 25 mph bill of their own.
June 6, 2014
Boston Doctors Now Prescribing Bike-Share Memberships
The newest tool for doctors in the fight against obesity? That's right: Bike-share.
March 28, 2014
Massachusetts Official: Boston’s Winter Cyclists “Living in the Wrong City”
Bostonians making polite requests for a clear path on one of the city's key bike routes were met with disdain from the state agency responsible for maintaining the paths.
February 19, 2014
More Mayoral Results: Minneapolis, Houston, Boston
This week's mayoral elections yielded good news for transit and safe streets in both Houston and Minneapolis. In Boston, meanwhile, the results are less straightforward.
November 7, 2013