Transportation

"A more reliable and better equipped public transportation system that better serves the most disadvantaged communities." Mission Hill resident via text message

Boston’s transportation network plays a critical role connecting residents to economic opportunity, fostering job growth, moving important goods, and creating vibrant neighborhoods. The ways we get around are changing rapidly, from private cars, to bike share, to ride-hailing apps and autonomous vehicles. These demand new thinking about how we use our streets.

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Go Boston 2030

Go Boston 2030 has established a vision and actions to guide Boston’s transportation future over the next five, ten, and 15 years. The initiative’s Action Plan proposes 58 transformative policies and projects to improve transportation for the city’s residents, businesses, and visitors. The plan considers how transportation investments can support equity, climate responsiveness, and economic growth. The 18-month process to develop the plan was driven by data and steered through an inclusive public engagement process.

As Boston grows, our transportation infrastructure should move Bostonians efficiently and reliably among home, work, and school. The City’s comprehensive transportation plan, Go Boston 2030, heard from more than 12,000 residents about their transportation needs and preferences and used their feedback to inform actions, projects, and investments that will culminate in a more robust transportation network for the future. The following initiatives highlight some of Go Boston 2030’s work to improve the accessibility, safety, and reliability of our transportation network.

About 35,000 vehicles travel Commonwealth Avenue every day, along with 27,000 passengers making use of four Green Line branches, 30,000 pedestrians, and 3,000 cyclists in 2014, according to MassDOT. The State recently approved a $20.4 million reconstruction along Commonwealth Avenue between Brookline and Boston, which will include building cycle tracks and protected intersections. Improvements will also consolidate Green Line stops and give buses and trolleys signal priority. $\leftarrow$

This is what inspires us to act.

Today, 73 percent of transit commuters endure commutes longer than 30 minutes. Many depend on unreliable transportation options. Communities of color in particular face significantly higher commute times and less reliable transit options.¹ See graph on facing page $\rightarrow$ Percentage of Commute Times +60 minutes

Roughly 40 percent of Boston residents drive alone to work. This is unsustainable as we grow, unaffordable for many, and perpetuates high greenhouse-gas emissions.²

Access to transportation alternatives varies by neighborhood. Today, 42 percent of households live within a ten-minute walk of a rail station or key bus route, Hubway station, and carshare. Many more live within a ten-minute walk of one or two of them.³

34 percent of Boston households do not own a car, by choice or necessity.⁴ The Bostonians Imagine Boston spoke with emphasized the importance of diversifying the types of transportation available in neighborhoods to reduce Boston's reliance on cars.

Streets and sidewalks comprise 14 percent of Boston's land area.⁵ They constitute the largest public space controlled by the city. By investing in our streets, we create an opportunity to provide places where communities come together safely, instead of just passing through.

10-minute Walkshed from Key Transit Routes

Some neighborhoods are better served by transit than others.

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Percentage of Commute Times +60 minutes

Some neighborhoods face disproportionately longer commute times, especially commutes longer than 60 minutes.

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Mode Shift: How we get around today and aspire to in 2030

Changes are already occuring in how Bostonians get around. As we plan for 2030, Boston aspires to increase our active low-carbon transportation. Boston is also at the forefront of transportation disruptions, including autonomous vehicles, and is helping to guide these innovations to ensure they serve all Bostonians.

Residents and commuters from outside the city have distinct transportation patterns. For instance, city residents are more likely to walk and nonresidents are more likely to drive. The City has set aspirations for residents and regional commuters.¹

Hubway station in South End $\rightarrow$

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"Transit signal priority for all MBTA key bus routes" Handwritten via poster comment

"Keep working on the bike network gaps" Allston resident via traveling display

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Columbia Road

Columbia Road can become an active, green transportation corridor that connects people to Franklin Park and the waterfront, via the historic Emerald Necklace.

Columbia Road is a vital corridor serving numerous neighborhoods and communities. Originally envisioned as an urban boulevard, today it is approximately 100 feet wide, with four to six lanes of vehicular traffic, a median barrier, and sidewalks on either side. A proposed active green corridor along the route would preserve the function of the road as an important motor vehicle connector while consolidating the median, sidewalks, and wider areas into a green space that stretches from Franklin Park to the waterfront at Moakley Park. The allocation of roadway space will be determined in conjunction with local residents and will include improved pedestrian paths and safe crossings, protected bike paths, and significantly more trees to transform this boulevard into a vibrant green corridor. New green space and connections along Columbia Road will extend Boston’s walking, bicycling, and open-space network and complete Olmsted’s vision of an Emerald Necklace around the center of Boston.

Columbia Road today

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Currently a four-to six-lane road with a median, Columbia Road is wide enough to support a diversity of connections and open space.

"Make it feel like the Arborway" Participant in Columbia Road Open House

"More small spaces for socializing and play" Participant in Columbia Road Open House

“Complete the Emerald Necklace and make Columbia road into a parkway with physically separated bike paths.” Roslindale resident via online mapping comments

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In community conversations from 2015 to Summer 2017, a range of hopes, visions, and concerns have been voiced.

Concerns

• Many people use Columbia Road to get to elsewhere in the city, leading to lots of traffic
• Cyclists have a difficult time riding along the road
• Speeding and general safety is an issue
• Businesses along the corridor find that traffic keeps customers away
• Parking is hard to find and could benefit from better signage

Note: From 2015 and June 2017 community conversation with local organizations and leaders

Visions

• Historic and cultural landmarks should be celebrated and supported, including Upham’s Corner assets such as the Strand Theatre, Dorchester North Burying Ground, and local restaurants
• The Dorchester side would benefit from better access to Franklin Park
• Temporary installations such as a pop-up café, public art, and a variety of programming could bolster the vibrancy of the corridor and strengthen community connections
• Columbia Road could include parklets to create spaces for socializing and relaxing. It could also include water play areas and shade to cool off from the heat.
• Planting more trees and making rain gardens could prevent runoff pollution.
• Columbia road should be safer for everyone - pedestrians, bikes and cars. This could include traffic calming as well as protected bike and pedestrian paths.

A community process will help set priorities for Columbia Road. Early guiding principles from neighbors and residents include street enhancements to make Columbia Road easy to navigate, multimodal, green, and reflective of the culture and creativity of the communities that live along the road.

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"Reprogram traffic signals to prioritize pedestrian crossings over vehicular turns." South End resident via online mapping comments

"If the T is more convenient, more people will take it, traffic and pollution will decline and people won't be as stressed out and angry." Brighton resident via text message

We will:

Aim to have zero fatal crashes on our roads

To get to "Vision Zero," we will implement new street designs that focus on improving safety. We will support pedestrian- and bike-friendly main-street design, with people-focused streets, and also expand and accelerate the Neighborhood Slow Streets program.

Work to create neighborhood mobility hubs

These will provide local connections by clustering bike share and car share with bus stops, wayfinding, and placemaking in order to expedite transfers and improve multimodal transportation.

Build a complete bicycle network for safe, active commuting

We will increase access to jobs and open space by connecting sections of regional bicycle routes and by expanding Hubway.

Advocate for more frequent and reliable service on select additional commuter rail lines

We will work with the state to find opportunities to improve service on select additional lines including the Needham and Franklin lines.

Strengthen connections to job centers

We will work with the state, MBTA, and community organizations to establish more frequent and reliable service on the Fairmount/Indigo Line to connect Bostonians to emerging and established job centers. We will explore developing a spur of the Fairmount Line that extends to the South Boston Waterfront. We will also invest in streetscape, crosswalks, and wayfinding improvements and explore potential bike, train, or bus connections in neighborhoods.

Work with partners on better bus corridors

These corridors will connect people to key job centers and strengthen connections between neighborhoods.

Support the creation of multimodal transit stations

These will facilitate rail and bus connections at new and emerging job centers, including West Station in Allston.

Lead the nation in setting policies to guide autonomous vehicle use

We will establish policies, pilots, and infrastructure to ensure that technological innovations make our streets safer, less congested, and more equitable.

Connected City

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Connected City was a topic that participants consistently rated as "important to the city" and "important for my life" in Summer 2016 workshops. Comments focused on the importance of affordable public transit and safe bike routes.

As an East Boston resident put it, "Boston was not built for cars; any way that we can encourage transit, walking, biking, etc. will make the city safer and more enjoyable as it grows."

Collaborate to increase the use of Boston's waterways

We will work with partners to identify ways to complement local and regional transportation with ferry service that links waterfront neighborhoods and municipalities in conjunction with improvements to first- and last-mile connections between neighborhoods and ferry stops. New proposed routes include ferry service between Fan Pier in South Boston and Lovejoy Wharf at North Station. Other proposed connections include East Boston to Charlestown and South Boston. We will work to enhance connectivity along the waterfront through an improved Harborwalk and green-space system.

Parking Policy

Modernize on-street parking policy in commercial districts to enhance community access, support local businesses, and reduce traffic and double parking. We will update parking pricing and technology in commercial districts, balancing demand with supply to ensure that customers can access businesses and that traffic flow and safety are not compromised by drivers circling for a space or double-parking.

Right-size parking requirements and update on-street residential parking policies to increase housing affordability and promote mode shift. Required off-street parking increases the cost of housing and decreases the number of units that can be built. Requirements will be strategically revised to address current demand, and promote use of transit, walking, biking, and ride-sharing. Management of on-street residential parking will also be updated to ensure that residents have access to convenient spaces and new developments do not cause parking congestion in existing neighborhoods.

Policy Objectives*

Promote Economic Opportunity

Access to jobs, services, businesses, goods, and more is a fundamental function of parking. Spaces in prime retail locations must be available to customers in a user-friendly fashion supported by technology, not enforcement. The parking system should support the vitality of commercial districts, both in terms of business access as well as investment in travel amenities that also promote transit, biking, and walking access. The high cost of building new supply must be realized, spread across more users, and separated from the cost of necessary housing to keep a reasonable amount of driving access affordable to all.

Enhance Community Access

Parking should be designed not for the sake of storing a car but as part of a system through which to gain access to needed destinations. Where destinations are walkable, bikeable, served by transit, etc., parking access should only be for those who need it most—those who cannot use other means or are visiting for only a short time. Where destinations rely on a vehicle, policies should rationally accommodate drivers, with higher regard to those who share rides when capacity is limited.

Reduce Parking Demand

As stewards of our planet, we must recognize the impact that parking supply has on climate change. Providing parking alone takes land and resources. Too much parking makes driving and emitting greenhouse-gas emissions too plentiful, but just limiting parking is not enough. Parking policy needs to direct resources equitably to non polluting modes of travel while supporting incentives that reduce trip-making and ensuring that residents travel to destinations safely and equitably.

*Note: Policy objectives from Future of Parking in Boston Report (A Better City, 2016)

Spotlight

"We need transit oriented districts with less or no parking, in areas with income diversity and value capture financing." Resident via handwritten comments in Draft Plan

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Conceptual graphic about the effects of parking on new developments $\rightarrow$

Source: Seth Goodman, Reinventing Parking

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Source: Nelson/Nygaard, The Future of Parking in Boston

Parking takes up space that can otherwise be used for housing, office space, and other productive uses.