{"id":355,"date":"2026-05-14T23:33:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T23:33:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=355"},"modified":"2026-05-14T23:33:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T23:33:44","slug":"a-report-found-the-blue-hill-avenue-redesign-would-speed-bus-commutes-but-slow-car-traffic-it-was-never-released","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=355","title":{"rendered":"A report found the Blue Hill Avenue redesign would speed bus commutes but slow car traffic. It was never released."},"content":{"rendered":"
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For months, as officials and residents debated a controversial plan to remake Blue Hill Avenue, community meetings and government discussions have circled around the same questions: Would the plan save significant time for beleaguered bus riders, who face notoriously sluggish trips on the corridor? And, on the flip side, would it make commutes slower for drivers?<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Supreme Court preserves access to widely used abortion pill, while lawsuit plays out<\/a><\/p>\n

A 1,029-page traffic analysis prepared for the MBTA last year offers some answers: Yes and yes. But the document was not shared with the public, even as the divisiveproject obtained tens of millions of federal dollars and moved closer to execution. <\/span><\/p>\n

The traffic report, obtained by the Globe Thursdaythrough a public records request, lays out notable gains for transit users, projecting that riders on the popular 28 bus route would save as much as 10 to 15 minutes during peak hours if city and state officials go ahead with their plan to reduce traffic lanes and add a dedicated center-running bus lane. Drivers, meanwhile, would see their commutes slow, including by nearly six minutes when traveling northbound on Blue Hill Avenue during the morning rushon weekdays, according to the report. The analysis, prepared by engineering firms wsp and Fuss & O\u2019Neill, also details the plan\u2019s efforts to make a dangerous stretch safer for walkers and bikers, adding 24 crosswalks and 5.6 miles of bike lanes. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIn relocating bus operations to the center of the roadway, the proposed project will greatly improve the travel experience for bus riders,\u201d the report concluded. \u201cThe anticipated increases in vehicle travel time will encourage drivers to consider other modes of transportation and will ultimately help the City of Boston reach their mode shift targets.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

It\u2019s not unexpected that the redesign plan \u2014 which is not final \u2014 would add time for drivers while reducing waits for bus riders. But the analysis puts numbers to a neighborhood concern that has been roiling for years. The data would have been helpful to see before the numerous hearings and meetings held on the project over the last few months, public officials and activists said. Two city councilors and one state representative who have been closely involved in the project said they had not seen the analysis until the Globe shared it with them on Thursday; some officials were not even aware it was conducted. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo have to get it from you, it\u2019s amazing,\u201d said City Councilor Miniard Culpepper, who alongside many of his constituents has been a vocal opponent of the center-running bus lane. \u201cWe didn\u2019t even know it was in existence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t say\u201d there was an effort to hide it, Culpepper added, but \u201cI can certainly say there wasn\u2019t an effort to make it public.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For years, transit planners have been pitching a center-running bus lane along Blue Hill Avenue from Mattapan Square to Grove Hall, a design they say would free up the bus to move faster and allow for badly needed safety improvements while having minimal impacts on drivers. But that plan has never proven popular in the surrounding neighborhoods. Communities along the avenue rejected a similar plan, called the 28X, in 2009. <\/span><\/p>\n

For Mayor Michelle Wu, the Blue Hill Avenue project has become a political quagmire, particularly as a vocal segment of Black voters expresses disappointment with her tenure. Critics from Mattapan, Roxbury, and Dorchester worryit would slow traffic and hurt businesses along the corridor.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo one is disputing that it would be a good idea if the 28 would go faster,\u201d said Dianne Wilkerson, a former state senator who has been actively opposed to the project. \u201cWe just think that there are some other ways to do it, rather than destroying the entire economic underpinning of the avenue.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Some, however,particularly young transit riders, say a faster bus would be life-changing, allowing them to get to work, school, and recreation more quickly. Transit activists say the corridor, which is home to some of the city\u2019s most diverse neighborhoods, deserves faster and more reliable ways to get around. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is about equity,\u201d said state Representative Russell Holmes, a Mattapan Democrat who supports redesigning the avenue. \u201cThe road has been designed primarily for car drivers. … But you\u2019re trying to balance 40,000 car drivers and 40,000 transit riders.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He acknowledged there might be some \u201ctradeoffs\u201d in the plan, including slower commutes for drivers, but said he is advocating for a design that will preserve two traffic lanes in each direction to keep cars moving. Holmes said he was aware the report was being done but had not seen it until this week.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s driving our decisions is data and not emotions,\u201d he said. \u201cThe existing conditions are horrible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

City Councilor Brian Worrell, who also had not seen the report until Thursday, said government officials should be \u201cas transparent as possible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that they\u2019re not releasing the traffic study is telling me that the traffic study\u2019s not good,\u201d Worrell said. \u201cWe don\u2019t know the plan because you\u2019re not releasing all the information.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Neither the city of Boston nor the MBTA responded to detailed questions from the Globe about the report\u2019s findings or why it was not released publicly. A city employee who provided the report said the city had not \u201creviewed or offered comments on it\u201d and noted that the document was \u201cprepared for the MBTA by their consultant.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Both the city and the MBTA had the report in their possession; both provided the report to the Globe on Thursday in response to separate public record requests. <\/span><\/p>\n

At a council hearing last month, city transportation officials sounded noncommittal about the project\u2019s future and said they would meet with the MBTA to discuss next steps. <\/span><\/p>\n

Mohammed Missouri, the executive director of the office of neighborhood services, said the city was hesitant to advance projects that didn\u2019t have significant public support. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure that we\u2019re hearing [residents\u2019] voices and finding the best solutions that are unique to specific parts of the city,\u201d Missouri said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more A top US commander dismisses reports of civilian deaths in Iran<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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