Today, we sent a comment letter to BTD expressing our support for a modest extension of the Washington Street dedicated bus/bicycle lane from Albano to Poplar Street. Our full letter is below, also available in PDF form. If you’d like to support the bus lane extension as well, please drop in on BTD’s coffee hours at the Square Root Café next week.
October 21, 2022
BY ELECTRONIC MAIL ONLY (matthew.moran@nullboston.gov)
Boston Transportation Department
One City Hall Square, Room 721
Boston, Massachusetts 02201
Attention: Matthew Moran, Transit Team Director, Policy & Planning Division
RE: EXTENSION OF WASHINGTON STREET BUS LANE IN ROSLINDALE
Dear Mr. Moran:
I write on behalf of WalkUP Roslindale in strong support of BTD’s plan to extend the inbound bus/bicycle lane on Washington Street from Albano Street to Poplar Street. This area experiences heavy traffic at peak times, impeding bus traffic and thus adding unfairly to the commute time for thousands of mass transit riders. We believe the benefits of reducing bus delay substantially outweigh the very small impact on a handful of parking spots for a small portion of the day, and hope this change can be implemented expeditiously as a small step toward a more sustainable transportation system for the City of Boston.
We further encourage BTD to explore extending the bus lane (both morning inbound and afternoon outbound) further down Washington Street, at least up Metropolitan Hill to West Roxbury Parkway. Finally, Hyde Park Avenue serves another critical Roslindale bus route (#32), and would similarly benefit from a dedicated bus/bicycle lane.
Sincerely,
Adam J. Kessel
Chair, Transportation Committee and Board of Directors Member
Resident @ Roslindale, on behalf of the WalkUP Roslindale Board
Cc: Councilor Ricardo Arroyo, District 5; Uju Onochie, Roslindale ONS liaison
About WalkUP Roslindale
WalkUP Roslindale, which takes its name from the international movement to foster “Walkable Urban Places,” is a non-profit organization of residents and local business owners dedicated to making Roslindale the most walkable neighborhood in Boston. We advocate for a dynamic, livable streetscape and we support positive changes to our public and private built environment that strengthen walkability and other forms of active mobility as means toward better personal and public health, safety, social capital, economic development, and environmental sustainability. We are led by a board of directors and have nearly 1,000 additional supporters. More information about WalkUP Roslindale and our initiatives can be found at www.walkuproslindale.org. We recognize that no single group of people can be said to speak for our entire neighborhood – instead, please take these comments as representing the collective support and opinions of our board resulting from our mission and principles.