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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 21/09/2026

This bikeway would (almost) connect to a new pair of protected bike lanes on Beacon Street around the reservoir in Boston, and the proposed new Beacon Bridleway path along the C branch in Brookline. Cleveland Circle (in Boston) remains a major gap in the middle of it all:

Map of Brookline highlighting Chestnut Hill Ave. which runs north-south between Cleveland Circle and Boylston Street/Route 9 which runs east-west along the bottom edge of the map. On the left edge of the map just west of Cleveland Circle is the Chestnut Hill Reservoir.

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 10/09/2026

This is an interesting theory, but according to MassDOT's crash database, there are considerably fewer crashes citywide compared to pre-pandemic for these same time periods. Which makes Damon Road an even bigger outlier:

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 09/09/2026

Of particular note for this story: in 2024, @MassDOT widened the roadway near the scene of this homicide. In the 2 years since that project's completion, the number of crashes on Damon Road was nearly double what it was in the two years before the widening project:

A bar chart labeled "crashes on Northampton's Damon Road before and after MassDOT's Damon Road widening project, according to MassDOT's IMPACT database." The chart shows two columns: to the left, a much shorter column for "pre-construction, 7/1/2017 - 9/1/2019", with 70 non-injury crashes and a smaller red section representing 16 injury-causing crashes for a total of 86. To the left is a much taller column labelled "post-construction, 7/1/2024 - 9/1/2026" with 118 non-injury crashes and 30 injury crashes for a total of 148.

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 09/09/2026

A side-by-side comparison of proposed bike facilities in the 2024 plan vs. the 2026 plan illustrates how the latest plans will leave a gap in bike facilities through Mattapan Square, complicating access to and from the Neponset River Greenway:

A map of Blue Hill Avenue with Franklin Park at right and Mattapan Square at left, highlighting existing and planned protected bike lanes and paths in the neighborhood. The green lines depict bike paths, with a prominent gap around Mattapan Square. The headline on the map reads "Proposed protected bike network in 2026 Blue Hill Avenue redesign"

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 09/09/2026

The new plans preserve the proposed center-running busway, and even improve pedestrian access in some locations with additional crosswalks. However, the updated plans also sacrifice a proposed protected bikeway in key locations to accommodate more on-street parking.

A map of Blue Hill Avenue with Franklin Park at right and Mattapan Square at left, highlighting existing and planned crosswalks and traffic signals pictured as small icons. About 18 red lines indicate planned new crosswalks alongside black lines indicating existing crosswalks. The headline on the map reads "Proposed pedestrian crossings and traffic signals for proposed Blue Hill Avenue redesign"

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 09/09/2026

We've done a detailed side-by-side comparison of the 2026 design with the previous plan (released in 2024, before Mayor Wu's re-election and the infamous "30-day review" memo that halted street safety projects across the city).

A diptych of images showing a satellite view of a city intersection overlaid with a sketch layout of a city street: left is a 2024 iteration of the plan and right is the 2026 plan. Both versions show red bus lanes in the middle of a wide street. The right version (2026) has more car lanes and one less bike lane.

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 01/09/2026

Happy Birthday to America’s Oldest Subway: mass.streetsblog.org/2026/09/01/h...

A wide walkway in a leafy park in downtown Boston. At the end of the walkway is the steeple of a large church with a taller skyscraper beyond; on the right is a street lined with mid-rise buildings in a mix of architectural styles.

A black-and-white image of a major excavation pit in a 19th-century city. In the background is a tall church, and on the right edge are a row of tall multi-story masonry buildings. In the foreground are several horse-drawn carts descending an earth ramp into a massive, deep hole. On the left is a park with mature trees. In the middle distance, in the hole but in front of the church, is a tall wooden bridge spanning the pit.

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 24/08/2026

@cambridgemass.bsky.social is legally required to complete a connected network of protected bike lanes by the end of this year. We took a ride around the city last week to check up on its progress, with new bike routes underway on River Street and Broadway: mass.streetsblog.org/2026/08/24/e...

A map of Cambridge and Somerville highlighting bike lane projects completed and under construction. Red dashed lines on Broadway (center) and River Street highlight projects under construction now.

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 12/08/2026

Fed Up With Blocked Bike Lanes? ‘Bike Bureau’ Wants to Let City Hall Know It mass.streetsblog.org/2026/08/12/f...

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 24/07/2026

Not even the @boston.gov City Council President can get her calls returned from Mayor Wu's streets cabinet. I guess it's nice to know it's not just us? Story here: mass.streetsblog.org/2026/07/24/b...

Text from a Streetsblog article:

Breadon also revealed that, even as the City Council president, she can’t get her calls returned from the Boston Transportation Department’s current leadership.

“Over the past four months I’ve sent five separate emails to the streets cabinet, asking for the re-installation of bike lane buffers in our neighborhood,” said Breadon. “I have yet to receive a response. This status quo is unacceptable.”

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 21/07/2026

@ridebluebikes.bsky.social availability is very thin around the closed @mbta.com Red Line stations this morning

A map of Bluebikes stations around Davis and Porter Squares showing several stations with no bikes available, and others with only one bike available

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 16/07/2026

Several hundred mourners are already here for the vigil in honor of Louisa Gag, and City Hall Plaza is still filling with new arrivals

A large crowd of people many of whom are wearing yellow in front of Boston City Hall

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 23/06/2026

This chart of transit agency ridership in Mass. clearly illustrates the effects of fare-free policies. You can tell which year an agency adopted fare-free operations by looking for the sharp increase in ridership:

A line chart showing "MA transit agency ridership as a percentage of pre-pandemic average annual ridership". The x axis shows years from 2019 to 2025. The y axis shows percentages from 0% to 150%. Six colored lines generally follow a S-shaped curve across the chart. All the lines start at 100% in 2019, then decline to 50 to 75 percent in 2020. After that, the lines for the MBTA (not fare free), Cape Cod RTA (fare-free since June 2025), Pioneer Valley RTA (fare-free since Nov. 2024), and Lowell RTA (fare-free since Dec. 2024) climb slowly and steadily, reaching 75 percent to 100 percent of their 2019 levels in 2025. Two other lines – for the Brockton RTA (fare-free since December 2023) and Southeastern RTA in Fall River/New Bedford (fare-free since Jan. 2024) rise slowly until 2023, then spike upwards in 2024, reaching around 150% in 2025. The MeVa (Lawrence/Haverhill) line spikes up in 2023 and again in 2024 before plateauing around 150% in 2025. MeVa went fare-free in March 2022. The tallest line, for the Worcester RTA, which has been fare-free since 2020, hits 125% in 2022 and plateaus above 150% in 2024 and 2025.

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 11/06/2026

Editor's note: this replaces an earlier, now deleted post that erroneously referred to "Shannon" Durkan (screenshotted below). Apologies for the error, especially to Councilor Durkan

Screenshot of a deleted post with a typo: "City councilor Shannon Durkan warns that the amended budget will 'undoubedly result in layoffs'"

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 06/05/2026

Key detail from Monday's @streets.boston.gov budget hearing: officials hyped up more paving projects, but also revealed that there will be a huge decline in sidewalk repairs this year. The city fixed 14 mi. of sidewalk in 2024; this year, they tell us to expect 1-2 miles.

Screen shot of an article: Heading: "More asphalt, fewer sidewalk repairs"

"In a slide deck presentation at the beginning of the budget hearing, city staff revealed that they aim to re-pave about 45 miles of streets and re-build 75,000 square feet of city sidewalks this year.

"That latter number sounds impressive, but in fact, it would cover only about 1.4 miles (7,500 feet) of a single 10-foot-wide sidewalk, in a city with over 800 miles of streets.

"In the Streets Cabinet’s 2025 budget presentation, Gove’s predecessor, former Chief of Streets Jascha Franklin-Hodge, reported that the city had repaired more than 14 miles’ worth of sidewalks in 2024."

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 25/03/2026

Hell of a time for a big city mayor to cancel a shovel-ready, federally-funded transit project:

Chart titled "Massachusetts weekly average retail gas prices per gallon" with the y axis spanning $0 to $4 and the x axis spanning from early January to March 25. A blue line charts prices, which are steady around $2.99 to $3.02 until March, then then line rises steadily to $3.07 on March 1, $3.47 on March 8, $3.65 on March 15, and $3.84 on March 22.

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 20/03/2026

We're working on a story about the intersection of Park Drive and Boylston Street in the Fenway area, where a truck driver killed Brookline librarian Paula Sharaga in 2019. If you regularly walk or bike through that intersection, please send us a DM or email christian[at]streetsblog.org.

Pedestrians and an older person riding a bike crowd a sidewalk alongside an MBTA bus next to a white-painted "ghost bike" leaning against a traffic light post.

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 06/03/2026

Other FTA Capital Investment Grants announcements buried in last month's spending bill 🧵 $100M each for @bart.gov Silicon Valley Ph. II and @caltrain.com extension to Salesforce TC; $307M for @mta.info 2nd Ave. Subway Ph. 2 to Harlem; $700M for NY/NJ Hudson Tunnel

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 15/12/2025

Situational awareness for @mbta.com riders: Cubic, the company setting up the T's new fare payment system, is also a military contractor with a "strategic partnership" with a Trump-aligned AI company that uses data to facilitate ICE raids. Details here: mass.streetsblog.org/2025/12/15/w...

A text snippet reading:

"Massachusetts law (Chapter 161A, section 5(s)) also requires the T to keep personal data confidential.

But those laws are only as good as the governments who enforce them. And this feels like an appropriate place to report the fact that Cubic, the vendor that's setting up this new fare system for the T, is also a major military contractor that sells technology and equipment to militaries in the U.S., Australia, Canada, and Israel.

Cubic also just announced this month a "strategic partnership" with Palantir, the Trump-aligned AI company that provides extensive data services to facilitate Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.

The MBTA insists that our data is safe. "In addition to technical safeguards, the..."

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 21/11/2025

For an indication of how choreographed @massdot.bsky.social and @mbta.com board meetings are, here's Phil Eng, running his first meeting as MassDOT Secretary, while a staffer off-camera tells him to read from "page four of your script, Secretary."

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 19/11/2025

Paying With Their Time: Increasing Traffic Congestion Erodes Benefits of Boston’s Fare-Free @mbta.com Buses - mass.streetsblog.org/2025/11/19/p...

A map of Boston showing the proportion of Black residents by census tract in shades of green; Roxbury and Mattapan in the southern part of the city have the darkest shadings. Overlaid on top is a map of the "pokiest" 10 slowest bus routes in the MBTA in 2024, most of which converge in the center of the map around Ruggles and Nubian Square in Roxbury.

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 02/11/2025

We’re out at the JP #openstreets event all day today, come say hi on Centre St. at the corner of Chestnut Ave. in Jackson Square!

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 10/10/2025

MA #climate law requires "all state agencies" to plan for "net zero" emissions by 2050. But MassDOT's environmental filings for the Cape Cod bridges indicate that it will miss that target by a dangerous margin. Read our report here: mass.streetsblog.org/2025/10/09/c...

A bar chart headlined "not net zero" with a subheadline reading "Existing and forecasted climate-heating pollutants from all highways and local roads within 5 miles of the Cape Cod Canal. Source: Cape Cod Bridges Program Environmental Impact Report, Appendix 4.14". The bar chart shows two boxes representing greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 (left) and in 2050 (right). The right bar is slightly smaller, representing a 17 percent decrease. The y axis runs from 0 to 600,000 tons. The height of the left bar is 489,186 tons and the height of the right bar is 405,729 tons. A red dotted line from the left bar to the bottom of the right bar indicates the path to "net zero" emissions as required by law.

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 29/09/2025

Editor's note: this is a revised version of an earlier post that incorrectly stated that Hoboken was in NY (screenshot below). We've deleted that erroneous post per our corrections policy.

Screenshot of a deleted post that incorrectly reads "Hoboken NY will this week start using cameras to ticket drivers who block bike lanes, bus lanes, and loading zones in its downtown." Hoboken is in fact in New Jersey

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 10/09/2025

Early results indicate that @mayorwu.boston.gov is on track to beat challenger Josh Kraft, who made his opposition to bus and bike lanes a major theme of his campaign, by a huge margin in today's preliminary election. #mapoli (1/2)

Screenshot of partial election results, as of 10:10 p.m., in the Boston Sept. 9 preliminary runoff election for mayor. Incumbent Michelle Wu leads with 69.3% (12,523 votes) followed by challengers Josh Kraft (4,692 votes, 26%), Robert Capucci (502 votes, 2.8%) and Domingos DaRosa (351, 1.9%).

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 05/08/2025

It used to be a circle, per the 1899 Olmsted parks plan:

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 05/08/2025

Gov. Healey’s Environmental Bond Bill Would Surrender Dept. of Conservation ‘Parkways’ to State Highway Agency - mass.streetsblog.org/2025/08/05/g...

A map of the cities north of Boston, with Boston Harbor on the right, highlighting in pink 7 roadways: Everett St. and Charles River Dam Rd. near the Charles River in Boston (lower edge), Mystic Ave., Fellsway, and Revere Beach Parkway, which form a triangle in the center of the map around the Mystic River, the Lynnway in Lynn at upper right, and Ravine Road in Stoneham and Melrose, at the upper center edge of the map.

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 09/07/2025

Drivers are flocking to their newly-available extra lane on North Washington Street this afternoon – read all about it here: mass.streetsblog.org/2025/07/08/a...

Google Maps screenshot of the North End showing heavy northbound traffic on North Washington Street between Haymarket and the Bill Russell Bridge

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 08/07/2025

Balanced For Now – But Beacon Hill Is Putting the T Back On the Edge of Another Fiscal Cliff - mass.streetsblog.org/2025/07/07/b... #mapoli

A bar chart showing four different budget proposals from (from left) Gov. Healey, the House, the Senate, and the final enacted budget, whose bars add up just below the level of a dotted line showing the MBTA's anticipated FY2026 spending levels.

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 07/07/2025

Following a @boston.gov paving project, all street markings, including dedicated bus lanes for some of @thembta’s highest-ridership bus routes (111, 92, and 93) - are gone from North Washington Street. We’re trying to find out when, or if, the bus lanes are coming back - stay tuned.

A wide city street with fresh asphalt and no painted lane markings. In the background are several high-rise buildings

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 30/06/2025

A Common Story: Traffic Engineers Pit Safety Improvements Against Parking In Woburn Center Project mass.streetsblog.org/2025/06/30/a...

A chart shows how much land in Woburn Center is buried under asphalt and concrete pavement (about 9.5 acres) compared to buildings (7.5 acres) and the green space of the town's central common (just 0.5 acres). The left side of the image shows an aerial view of the area around the Town Common, with a 150-meter circle around the central Civil War Monument highlighted. A pie chart of the right side shows the proportion of that circle that's paved vs. building area vs. green space.

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 17/06/2025

Legislature’s Fair Share Budget Compromise Gets @mbta.com Closer to A Balanced Budget #mapoli mass.streetsblog.org/2025/06/17/l...

A bar chart showing four different budget proposals from (from left) Gov. Healey, the House, the Senate, and the House-Senate supplemental budget compromise.

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 21/05/2025

State data show that Tesla sales in MA have plunged 29 percent in the first 4 months of 2025 vs. the same period of 2024. More details here: mass.streetsblog.org/2025/05/21/p... #mapoli #teslatakedown

A bar chart titled 'Tesla Drags Down Massachusetts EV sales' with a subtitle that reads 'Massachusetts electric vehicle rebate applications for the first four months of 2024 vs. the first four months of 2025. Source: Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, mor-ev.org/statistics'; Two stacked columns in red (for Tesla sales) and blue (for non-Tesla EV sales) sit side by side: the left column represents sales for Jan-April 2024 and the right column for Jan-April 2025. The left column is taller, and the red portion (for Tesla) makes up about 2/3rds of the column height. The right column is slightly shorter, and the red and blue portions of the column are almost evenly split.

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 12/05/2025

#MassDOT is still paying state employees to provide content for X, the right-wing social media platform. Here's an interesting example of how that's working for them: Last Friday, the agency posted this announcement for a public hearing in Springfield... (1/2)

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 29/04/2025

MassDOT Is Filling Gaps In the Border to Boston Trail - 6 trail projects are in the design or construction stages, including a new car-free bridge over the Mystic River and a protected bike path through downtown Lynn: mass.streetsblog.org/2025/04/29/m...

An overview map of the Border to Boston trail network, stretching from Newburyport in the north (upper right) to Boston in the south (lower center). Gaps in the trail network are designated in red dotted lines for projects in progress and gray dotted lines for conceptual future trail projects.

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 26/03/2025

New @mbta.com regional rail maps with the New Bedford/Fall River line going up in South Station bus terminal this morning

Workers hang new transit maps on the wall of a hallway under a sign for commuter rail and transit lines

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 16/01/2025

We put together an animated GIF to show how @massdcr.bsky.social has revised its plans to redesign Murray Circle on the Arborway over the past 5 years. Read the latest here: mass.streetsblog.org/2025/01/15/s...

An animated GIF showing an aerial overhead view of three versions of the same intersection in sequence. The first frame labelled "existing conditions" shows a large rotary in the middle of a leafy residential neighborhood. The second frame labelled "2022" plan shows a large multi-lane, four-way intersection in place of the circle. The third frame labelled "2025 plan" shows a larger intersection with several more lanes leading into it, moved slightly towards the upper-right corner of the image.

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 14/01/2025

Congesting pricing has only existed for one week and it's already resulted in massive time savings for thousands of drivers on major bridges and tunnels leading into Manhattan, per @mta.info data:

Table showing "travel times into the CBD improved on all AM peak Hudson River and East River crossings". The table below has columns for each crossing, crossing length (in miles), post-congestion-pricing travel times from Jan. 8, pre-congestion-pricing travel times from January 2024, and the year-over-year percentage change.
Lincoln Tunnel (EB): 1.5 mi, 4:14 travel time in 2025, 6:59 in 2024, a 39% improvement;
Holland Tunnel (EB): 2.1 mi, 4:27 now, 12:48 before, a 65% reduction;
Hugh Carey Tunnel (WB): 1.8 mi. 4:23 now, 5:47 before, a 24% reduction;
Brooklyn Bridge (WB): 1.5 mi, 4:02 now, 5:38 before, 28% reduction;
Manhattan Bridge (WB): 1.5 mi., 3:16 now, 3:37 before, 10% reduction;
Williamsburg (WB): 1.9 mi., 4:30 now, 6:51 before; 34% reduction;
Queens Midtown Tunnel (WB): 1.5 mi, 3:33 now, 5:50 before, 39% reduction;
Queensboro Br (WB): 1.4 mi., 4:02 now, 6:01 before; 33% reduction

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 12/12/2024

We want your feedback: take our reader survey to let us know what kinds of stories you'd like us to cover in 2025. www.surveymonkey.com/r/FD6JMXY

A photoshopped close-up of a "How's My Driving" bumper sticker amended to read "How's My Streetsblogging?"

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 06/12/2024

"It is not quite complete, but it will be a total game changer for people commuting out of Watertown/Brighton," Jacobsen told StreetsblogMASS.

A truck passes a bike lane separated from the traffic lane by a row of plastic flexible-post bollards. The pavement is wet with falling snow, which is beginning to accumulate in the planting areas of the adjacent sidewalk.

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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 15/10/2024

Eyes on the street: the @CityOfBoston is installing new separated bike lanes on three streets in the Allston and Brighton neighborhoods this fall. mass.streetsblog.org...

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