Tag: South End

POSTPONED: Upcoming City of Boston Transportation Department Open Houses 

POSTPONED: Upcoming City of Boston Transportation Department Open Houses 

Update, 3/13 11:00am – OPEN HOUSE SERIES POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
We are postponing our series of Open Houses scheduled for the Tremont Street Design Project. We apologize for any inconvenience.

The postponed Open Houses are as follows:

Open House #1: Monday, March 16, from 6 – 8 p.m. at the Revolution Hotel, located at 40 Berkeley Street
Open House #2: Saturday, March 21, from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the South End Branch Library, located at 785 Tremont Street
We will reschedule the Open House series as soon as we can.
We look forward to meeting with you again in the near future!

AVISO EN ESPAÑOL

ENGAGING WITH YOU ELECTRONICALLY
As we continue to take precautions around public gatherings, we are working on ways to engage with you electronically. We will update you via email when we have more information. You can also check the Tremont Street Design Project webpage and @BostonBTD on Twitter for updates.

Previous Update, 3/11 12:30pm – the March 11th Open House for Connect Downtown has been postponed due to COVID-19 precautions. No decision has been made about Saturday’s Open House or the Tremont Street meetings.

There are upcoming Boston Transportation Department open house meetings scheduled for the Connect Downtown Project and the Tremont Street Design Project.We encourage you to attend and weigh in positively about the important changes that will make downtown safer for people walking!

An open house meeting is designed to make it easier for you to stop by for a short time to look at project boards, ask questions, and give feedback. Sign up for updates for either project on the project page.

Connect Downtown

PROJECT VISION: Walking will be pleasant and easy. Safe, separated bikeways will serve and connect residents, employers, and local businesses. Families will explore Boston’s neighborhoods and iconic parks together, from the Esplanade to the Boston Common to the Southwest Corridor.

Through this project, BTD will:

  • Improve pedestrian crossings along the route
  • Provide comfortable, reasonably direct routes for bicyclists, and
  • Enhance pedestrian access to the Public Garden and Common.

March 11, 6-8pm
Hill House
127 Mt Vernon St

March 16, 1-3pm
Boston Public Library
Orientation Room
230 Dartmouth St

Additional office hours available at 3 Boston Public Libraries (see full schedule)

Tremont Street Design Project (South End) 

Boston Transportation Department is designing changes to make Tremont Street safer for everyone with an emphasis on pedestrian safety at intersections. Tremont Street is in the top 3 percent for pedestrian crashes on City-owned streets. In recent years, two people lost their lives while attempting to cross Tremont Street at one of the many four-lane crosswalks. Data show that 53 crashes resulted in an EMS response in the last 3 years. This includes 19 that involved people walking. BTD is currently focused on Tremont Street between Massachusetts Avenue and Herald Street.

March 16, 6-8pm
Revolution Hotel
40 Berkeley St

March 21, 11a-1pm
Boston Public Library
South End Branch
785 Tremont St

South End Patch – “Pedestrian Killed In Crash On Mass Ave Connector, Prompts Delays

South End Patch – “Pedestrian Killed In Crash On Mass Ave Connector, Prompts Delays

South End Patch: “Pedestrian Killed In Crash On Mass Ave Connector, Prompts Delays”

“There are multiple jurisdictions at this intersection, which complicates Boston being able to do something to fix it,” said Brendan Kearney communication director at WalkBoston.

…

And that’s a problem all across the state. Some of the most dangerous intersections are not actually controlled by the local jurisdiction, he said.

Although MassDOT gives Complete Streets funding for communities to make fixes to problem areas within their communities, and more than 200 communities have come up with plans on how to improve roadways, that money can’t go toward fixing areas under MassDOT or DCR jurisdiction.

“It’s not like MassDOT or DCR doesn’t make changes, they do,” said Kearney. “But the question is how can they do it quicker and not have to wait for a fatal crash to get it done?”

June 24, 2019

Age-Friendly Walking – better walking for all ages

Age-Friendly Walking – better walking for all ages

By Adi Nochur/Project Manager, WalkBoston

Age-Friendly Walking is an emerging framework to increase pedestrian safety for children and older adults. WalkBoston has spent many years working with children on Safe Routes to Schools efforts, and over the last two years we have focused on seniors through an Age-Friendly Walking initiative with Boston. In close collaboration with the City’s Elderly Commission and many other municipal agencies, community partners, and local residents, we are advancing safe and comfortable walking for Boston seniors – and by extension everyone!

With financial support from the Tufts Health Plan Foundation and the Mass Councils on Aging, we are working with three pilot neighborhoods in Boston – the South End, East Boston, and Mattapan Square – to identify key issues and concerns, and to implement street and sidewalk improvements that create safe and pleasant walking conditions for seniors. We are also using the lessons learned from these pilots to create guidelines for a long-term citywide approach to senior walking. Providing benches as places to rest and repairing unfilled and uneven tree pits to eliminate tripping hazards are among the top priorities we have identified (as well as sidewalk snow shoveling, of course). Thanks to our efforts, improving pedestrian safety is a key recommendation in the City’s Age-Friendly Boston Action Plan. We look forward to our continued partnership with city agencies and community partners to make a positive impact on these issues.

As elderly populations continue to grow across the state and country, the need for walkable communities increases. Walkability is key to ensuring that seniors can age in place, access important goods and services, remain socially active, and maintain physical and economic mobility. Working with low-income seniors and seniors of color has helped us incorporate equity into this work. We have learned that Age-Friendly Walking is a powerful frame to bring diverse stakeholders and new partners to the table.

We encourage your community to consider joining the global Age-Friendly Communities movement, with leadership from the World Health Organization and AARP. We also invite you to contact WalkBoston if you’re interested in starting an Age-Friendly Walking initiative in your community! Visit our page for more details on our Age-Friendly work to date.

This article was featured in WalkBoston’s March 2018 newsletter.
————————————————————————————————
Join WalkBoston’s Mailing List to keep up to date on advocacy issues.
Like our work? Support WalkBoston – Donate Now!
Connect with us on Twitter and Facebook

Comments on the Supplemental Information Document for the Back Bay/South End Gateway Project

Comments on the Supplemental Information Document for the Back Bay/South End Gateway Project

October 5, 2017

Brian Golden, Director
Boston Planning and Development Agency
ATTN: Michael Rooney
One City Hall Square
Boston, MA 02201-­1007

RE: Comments on the Supplemental Information Document for the Back Bay/South End Gateway Project dated August 18, 2017

Dear Mr. Golden:

WalkBoston has reviewed the documents for Back Bay/South End Gateway Project many times. Although the proponent has made efforts to address some of the issues we raised in our prior comments, we continue to have concerns about the project impacts to the extremely busy pedestrian environment around the project area, and to several of the design elements suggested by the proponent.

We have reviewed the letter submitted by South End resident Ken Kruckemeyer and would like to concur with his comments and his very thoughtful suggestions about how to remedy some of the problems that he describes.

Possible garage exit ramp across the Dartmouth Street sidewalk adjacent to the Station
We remain vitally concerned about the possibility of an exit ramp from the project garage onto Dartmouth Street into the heaviest pedestrian traffic in the area. Back Bay Station Orange Line, Commuter Rail and Amtrak service presently serves approximately 64,000 passenger trips (alighting and boarding) each day. Many more pedestrians are simply walking by the site, arriving on buses, via cabs and in automobiles. The MBTA, MassDOT, and all people concerned with the continued economic vitality of the Boston area and a more sustainable transportation system, hope that this number will rise significantly over the coming decades. The Back Bay/South End Gateway Project must be designed and managed in such a way that the transit and transportation functions of the station are enhanced.

WalkBoston does not think that a project design that includes a garage exit ramp that requires cars to cross the Dartmouth Street sidewalk is acceptable. Putting the interests of drivers above those of the tens-­of-­thousands of pedestrians who use this sidewalk is not an appropriate use of public space. Given the intensity of sidewalk use, and the overlap of peak transit and garage use, we do not believe that the ramp can be designed and/or managed acceptably. Asking pedestrians to wait while single cars exit the garage is not a reasonable solution.

We are very concerned about the changes proposed for the station, the bus layover and the sidewalks and interior passageways, but we believe the exit ramp onto Dartmouth Street is a potentially disastrous step to take in such a congested area. We urge the BPDA to recommend that further consideration of the project as presently designed be delayed until this issue is resolved favorably with no garage ramp exiting across the Dartmouth Street sidewalk.

We would appreciate your consideration of our comments and look forward to your responses to them. Please feel free to contact WalkBoston with questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Wendy Landman
Executive Director

Cc Secretary of Transportation Stephanie Pollack City Council President Michelle Wu City Councilor Josh Zakim Ellis South End Neighborhood Association Bay Village Neighborhood Association Neighborhood Association of Back Bay Ken Kruckemeyer