This really is a great event every year and if you register early enough, you get a free Boston Bikes t-shirt. Get with the program if you can! Registration link is HERE.
Category: Bikes
BTD Open Houses: Roslindale Transportation Action Plan & Hyde Park Ave
Mark your calendar for two upcoming Boston Transportation Department (BTD) open houses this May!
Roslindale Transportation Action Plan Open House
Tuesday May 13th, 6:00 – 7:30pm @ St. Nectarios Greek Orthodox Church
BTD will be introducing the project, sharing what they’ve heard, and asking for some initial feedback. There’s no formal program and no need to stay the whole time. Come any time to meet the planners, learn about the project, and share your thoughts! See the flyer for the event.
Hyde Park Ave Multimodal Corridor Open House #3
Wednesday May 21st, 6:00pm – 8:00pm @ Boston Teachers Union School
Come listen and provide feedback on the latest design concepts for Hyde Park Ave.
Soft Open Alert – Roslindale Gateway Path Phase 1!
We here at WalkUP Roslindale have been advocating and organizing around the Roslindale Gateway Path since our inception almost a decade ago and, thanks to the sustained leadership and partnership of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, the Arboretum Park Conservancy, LivableStreets Alliance, the Tufts University Department of Urban and Environmental Planning, Rozzie Bikes, Hubluv, the Solomon Foundation, and of course the City of Boston (especially the leadership of Mayor Michelle Wu as well as the Parks and Recreation Department, the Department of Public Works, and the Transportation Department), we now have the first tangible result of those efforts – the Phase 1 extension from the terminus of the Blackwell Path at South Street alongside and then under the MBTA Needham Line tracks to a brand new and fully fledged Arboretum entrance on Arboretum Road. This is a great step forward in providing better access to this Emerald Necklace jewel to/from this part of Roslindale. It’s long overdue and very welcome, and we will continue to advocate for the rest of the path going forward, so that improved access can be achieved at Archdale Road and at the Roslindale Village Commuter Rail Station. We also urge everyone to mark your calendars for Saturday, 19 July 2025, when the formal grand opening celebration will be held. We’ll share details on that as they become available. Many thanks to all of the players who made this possible!
Our most recent summary piece on the full path can be found here: Roslindale Gateway Path.
Tell the City What Street Safety Means to You by This Friday 3/7
UPDATE: View WalkUP Roslindale’s letter to the administration.
Mayor Wu’s administration has announced a sudden 30-day “Review” of safety and transit improvements that have been implemented in the past three years. This could signal a pivot away from multimodal infrastructure & safe streets (Boston Globe, Streetsblog Mass, Boston Better Streets). It is critical that we all tell the city how much we appreciate the improvements, and how we use this infrastructure every day and rely on it for our safety.
There are good people who work in the administration who probably want to keep the safety improvements they’ve helped build over the past three years, but the people they’re hearing from are those who want it dismantled; our officials need to hear from people who use and support it in order to justify keeping it, and they need to hear by this Friday, March 7th.
In your message, we suggest highlighting 1-2 specific improvements and how you use them and how they how they have affected your life. Here are maps of the City’s bus improvement projects, bike network, and road safety projects for reference.
We recommend emailing the mayor, BTD officials, and city councilors by clicking here.
Tour de Streets to support LivableStreets Alliance – 21 Sept 2024 – BE THERE!!!
This is the same day as Roslindale Porchfest, but it’s earlier (running roughly from 10 am to 2 pm), so you can definitely do both! LivableStreets Alliance have been a great partner for WalkUP Roslindale over the years, including most significantly on the Roslindale Gateway Path and the morning and evening peak period bus lanes on Washington Street between Forest Hills and Roslindale Square. TDS is always a great time, including an organized walk and two bike rides starting from and ending at the Allston Speedway, but this year will be especially poignant and important as long-time LSA executive director Stacy Thompson is ending her run with the organization. If you know Stacy at all, you know that she has been a tremendously effective advocate in this space and it will be great to give her a proper thanks for all that she has done. SIGN UP HERE and, if you’re interested, feel free to join the WalkUP Roslindale team. Thanks!!!
Go Boston 2030 ReVisioned! TAKE. THE. SURVEY!
We’re coming up on 8 years after the initial adoption of the city’s Go Boston 2030 transportation plan and our friends at the Boston Transportation Department are now soliciting input on an update they’re calling “Go Boston 2030 ReVisioned.” As their webpage states:
Go Boston 2030 has guided the City of Boston’s transportation investments since its launch in 2017. More than half of the projects in the plan are already completed or in design. Now, Go Boston 2030 ReVisioned is an opportunity to evaluate our progress, and stake our path toward Boston’s transportation future.
To put a finer point on things, BTD sees 3 main components for the update:
COMPONENT NUMBER 1 – ARE WE MAKING PROGRESS? // UPDATED DATA AND METRICS
The plan’s targets include improving safety, expanding access, and reducing emissions. Go Boston 2030 ReVisioned will create a webpage where we’ll report annually on our progress.COMPONENT NUMBER 2 – ARE WE INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE? // PROJECT EVALUATION AND IDENTIFICATION
Some Go Boston 2030 projects are complete, some are still in design, and some have yet to start. Go Boston 2030 ReVisioned will track existing projects and identify new ones that advance our goals.COMPONENT NUMBER 3 – ARE WE MEETING BOSTONIANS’ NEEDS? // FOCUSED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Two years of city-wide community engagement informed Go Boston 2030. Go Boston 2030 ReVisioned will conduct focused community engagement to reach underrepresented communities.
Check it all out and TAKE THE SURVEY on their webpage. It only takes about 7 minutes!
UPDATE: Partial Orange Line Shutdown Incoming – Monday through Thursday – 18 to 21 March 2024 PLUS BostonBikes Convoy
In contrast to the full shutdown back in 2022 that, in hindsight, was sadly much less than met the eye, the MBTA are doing a partial shutdown of the line from Jackson Square to North Station for the next four days – Monday through Thursday, the 18th through the 21st of March 2024. Our friends over at Streetsblog MASS have the details, emphasizing that this is part of the ongoing, largely successful thus far, year-long effort to eliminate all slow zones on the core rail transit system. The major highlights are as follows:
- There will be free shuttle bus service that will make stops at all of the stations between Jackson Square and Back Bay, so that riders can take the Commuter Rail toward South Station.
- Shuttles will also stop at Copley station so that riders can take the Green Line toward North Station.
- The fare gates will be open at both Jackson Square and Back Bay stations, signifying free fare. There will also be free fares at Copley station heading inbound/eastbound.
- The Commuter Rail will be free between Forest Hills, Ruggles, Back Bay, and South Station.
- Plan extra time in commutes to anticipate longer than normal wait times for trains.
We’ve bolded the free Commuter Rail option because Ruggles is ideally situated right in the middle of the shuttle portion of the closure and it’ll be a free ride from Forest Hills all the way into South Station for the period of the shutdown. That really looks like the best overall alternative transit-based travel option. We also want to note that Boston Bikes have been leading bike commuting convoys on the Mondays of this month, starting at 8:00 am at Adams Park in Roslindale Square with stops at Green Street (8:20 am) and Jackson Square (8:30 am) before ending at City Hall Plaza. The return trip in the afternoon starts at 5:15 pm from City Hall Plaza and retraces the morning’s inbound route in reverse. So, see you all there at 8:00 am tomorrow at Adams Park and we’ll see if we can get Boston Bikes to sponsor convoys for the following 3 days of the shutdown. Stay tuned! UPDATE: Boston Bikes have agreed to lead the convoy again tomorrow, Tuesday the 19th, but that will be it for this week.
Gratifying coverage for our friends over at Rozzie Bikes
The Sunday Boston Globe has a lovely article about our friends over at Rozzie Bikes and some of their bicycle advocacy compatriots who have been supplying bikes, free of charge, to new arrivals in our region. Whatever one’s priors, the work they’ve been doing is both note and praiseworthy. We especially appreciate that our long-time steering committee and now board member Alan Wright is prominently featured, along with absolute Rozzie Bikes stalwart and all-around great guy Ron Beland.
It’s also worth noting here that we here at WalkUP and at Rozzie Bikes are advocates for, respectively, walking/transit and biking, don’t do so as “special interests” but as people who simply try to do these things on a regular basis and want our neighbors and visitors to our neighborhood to have the opportunity to do so safely and comfortably because we think these are good things and ways for everyone to move away from access that’s solely based on consuming space and natural resources in a way that beggars us, our neighborhoods, and our planet’s ability to sustain us. It isn’t about us but about the thing we’re promoting.
BTD Better Bike Lanes PLUS: Engagement Opportunities for Poplar Street Improvements (with Spanish translation)
The Boston Transportation Department is seeking feedback on design and implementation of new street safety infrastructure, including a contraflow bike lane on the close-in portion of Poplar Street from Washington Street to Sycamore Street and speed humps from there out to Canterbury Street. See the flyer below. Thanks!
Fall 2022 Gateway Path Update UPDATED with Spanish Translation
We receive frequent questions about progress on the Gateway Path, which will connect Roslindale Square to Forest Hills through the Arnold Arboretum on a nearly straight path, creating a safe green connection between JP and Roslindale and improving park access for points in between. The idea for this project helped catalyze WalkUP Roslindale’s formation early in 2015, and continues to be one of our highest priority initiatives.
To that end, please check out this detailed and recently updated presentation showing progress to date and plans for the future.
In addition, Saturday, Oct 15, 2022 is the Arboretum’s annual Crabapple and Maple festival. From 10am to 4pm, the section of South Street from Bussey St (Poplar Gate) to the Archdale Arch will be closed to traffic. The Gateway Path will be showcased at a display on South Street near the Archdale Arch. We’ll be tabling to show design plans for the the path, the boardwalk, and possible new options for pedestrian and bicycle access at the Arch entrance. We hope to see you there!
EN ESPAÑOL
Recibimos muchas preguntas sobre el progreso del Sendero de Entrada (Gateway Path), el cual conectará a Roslindale Square con Forest Hills a través del Arnold Arboretum por medio de un sendero casi derecho, creando una conexión verde segura entre JP y Roslindale y mejorando acceso al parque para los lugares entre medio. La idea para este proyecto ayudó a catalizar el empiezo de WalkUP Roslindale a principios del 2015, y continúa siendo una de nuestras iniciativas de prioridad más alta.
A ese fin, por favor vea esta presentación detallada y recién actualizada mostrando el progreso hasta la fecha y planes para el futuro.
Mas alla, sabado, Oct 15, 2022 es el Festival Anual del Arboretum de Manzanas y Arce (Arboretum’s annual Crabapple and Maple festival). Desde las 10am a 4pm, la sección de South Street desde Bussey St (Poplar Gate) hasta Archdale Arch estará cerrada al tráfico. Habrá una exhibición en South Street cerca de Archdale Arc para mostrar el Sendero de Entrada (Gateway Path). Tendremos una mesa para mostrar los planes de diseño para el sendero, paseo elevado, y nuevas posibles opciones para acceso peatonal y para bicis en la entrada de Arch. ¡Esperamos verte allí!
Translator: Grecia White.