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Lower Roxbury Transportation Study

We're guiding investments in Lower Roxbury's streets. 

The City of Boston is working to enhance biking and walking for neighborhood residents. We met you in nine locations over seven months in 2019 and 2020 to hear what you love in Lower Roxbury and where you envision changes to your streets.

Last summer, we heard a lot of support for the changes we proposed in response to your priorities. We incorporated your feedback and are excited to share the final design plans

Upcoming events

Events

View the Final Design Plans

View an overview map of the final design plans for changes to the locations we've prioritized together. 

Check out an overview of the final design plans!

A Closer Look

New Crosswalk on Harrison Avenue at Lenox Street

2022-06 Lenox and Harrison improved crossing

RAISED CROSSWALKS ON Northampton Street AT HARRISON AVENUE

2022-06 Northampton and Harrison improved crossing

New Crossing island on Washington Street at Thorndike Street

2022-06 Lenox and Harrison improved crossing

NEW CROSSING ISLANDS ON Washington Street aT Lenox Street

2022-06 Northampton and Harrison improved crossing

2022-06 Tremont and Northampton Crosswalk

NEW CONTRAFLOW BIKE LANE ON NORTHAMPTON STREET

2022-06 Northampton Street Contraflow Bike Lane Section View

View the Northampton Street design

NEW CONTRAFLOW BIKE LANE ON SHAWMUT AVENUE

2022-06 Northampton Street Contraflow Bike Lane Section View

View the Shawmut Avenue design

New RAISED Crosswalk AT HAMMOND STREET

Final Design for Shawmut Avenue and Hammond Street

 

New RAISED Crosswalk AT THE GROCERY STORE, NEW CROSSWLALKS AT CAMDEN STREET, AND CURB EXTENSIONS AT LENOX STREET

Final Design for Shawmut Avenue between Ramsay Park and Camden Street

 

Ask us questions!

MEET WITH US DURING OFFICE HOURS

You can talk with a member of the project team one-on-one. We will be available between 3 and 7 p.m. every other Wednesday. Sign up for a 15-minute phone call or virtual meeting.

Make an appointment

SEND A NOTE

You can mail your questions to us at:

Boston Transportation Department

ATTN: Infrastructure & Design Team

1 City Hall Square Room 721

Boston MA 02201

Types of changes in the final design plans

Below are some types of changes we used in our final design plans to make it safer and more enjoyable to travel on Lower Roxbury streets.

Crosswalk graphic

CLEAR CORNERS

Parking is prohibited ahead of a crosswalk or intersection. Drivers are more likely to see approaching vehicles or people crossing the street. This reduces the likelihood of crashes at intersections.

Raised crosswalk

CROSSING ISLAND

A crossing island allows people to pause while crossing multiple travel lanes. Crossing islands can also slow turning traffic by ensuring that drivers cannot “cut” turns quickly.

Crossing island

Curb extension

A curb extension extends the sidewalk out into the parking lane. This makes crosswalks shorter and improves visibility of people crossing.

Signal timing change

Raised crosswalk

Raised crosswalks slow drivers and make crossings more comfortable for people using wheelchairs and mobility devices.

Crosswalk 'daylighting'

'T' Intersections

Reshaping wide or irregular intersections to look more like a “T” improves visibility and shortens crosswalks.

Curb management

CONTRAFLOW BIKE LANES

Contraflow bike lanes allow people to bike in both directions. We would not change the street direction for people driving.

OUTREACH ADVISORY GROUP

We are working to co-create next steps together with Lower Roxbury residents and stakeholders. 

We've convened an outreach advisory group to help us communicate with and engage communities in Lower Roxbury. The group meets quarterly. You can access all meeting notes and materials below. For more information, email jennifer.rowe@boston.gov.

 

Flow chart of the planning process

DATE TIME MATERIAL
Thursday, October 28, 2020 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. October 28 presentation

October 28 meeting notes
Thursday, December 3, 2020 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. December 3 presentation

December 3 ideas generated

December 3 meeting notes 
Thursday, March 4, 2021 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. March 4 presentation

March 4 meeting notes 
Thursday, June 24, 2021 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. June 24 presentation

June 24 meeting notes
Thursday, September 23, 2021 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. September 23 presentation

September 23 meeting notes
Thursday, December 16, 2021 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. December 16 presentation

December 16 meeting notes
Thursday, March 17, 2022 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. March 17 presentation

March 17 meeting notes
Thursday, May 19, 2022 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. May 19 presentation

May 19 meeting notes
Thursday, August 18, 2022 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. August 18 presentation

August 18 meeting notes
Thursday, December 1, 2022 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. December 1 presentation

December 1 meeting notes
Thursday, March 23, 2023 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. March 23 presentation

March 23 meeting notes
Thursday, June 7, 2023 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. June 7 presentation

June 7 meeting notes
Thursday, September 22, 2023 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.

September 21 presentation

September 21 meeting notes

Thursday, January 11, 2024 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. January 11 presentation

January 11 meeting notes

Study area

The project area is bounded by, but does not include Columbus Avenue, Massachusetts Avenue, and Melnea Cass Boulevard.

Map of Lower Roxbury study area

Project updates

Updates

We held a series of "Ideas on the Street" pop-ups at locations around Lower Roxbury to ask your thoughts about the neighborhood. We asked people what they love about the neighborhood and where they find joy. We also asked people to envision the future of their streets in Lower Roxbury.

285 comments

We gathered 285 comments from residents and visitors of all ages.

 

DATE START LOCATION
Saturday, August 17 12 – 3 p.m. Shawmut Avenue, adjacent to Ramsay Park
Wednesday, August 28 8 – 11 a.m. Southwest corner of Washington Street at Lenox Street
Friday, August 30 4 – 7 p.m. Northeast corner of Harrison Avenue at E. Lenox Street
Sunday, September 1 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Southwest corner of Tremont Street at Camden Street
Wednesday, September 4 8 – 11 a.m. Northeast corner of Tremont Street at St Cyprians Place
Friday, September 13 4 – 7 p.m. Southwest corner of Tremont Street at Hammond Street

EVENT brochure

Community members shared 297 ideas for how to improve transportation for people riding the bus, walking, biking, and driving or parking. 

Bar chart showing the number of ideas related to each mode of transportation

We heard many comments about improving safety for people walking and biking. We also heard a lot about improving bus service, accessibility, and walkability in the neighborhood. 

The number of comments received about frequently-heard topics

Photograph of a person commenting

  • "Better wayfinding and markers related to neighborhood history: Frederick Douglass, Melnea Cass, MLK, Eustis St, and Harriet Tubman House."
  • "Crossing is dangerous and difficult on foot because of conflicts with cars."
  • "Smoother roads for biking and skateboarding"

Photograph of a person commenting

  • "Blind people have a hard time crossing the street. We need countdown timers with sounds at intersections."
  • "The Silver Line is good."
  • "We need another crosswalk on Washington Street at Ball Street."

Photograph of a person commenting

  • "Frederick Douglass Way has no stop sign at the corner of Tremont—can we add a stop sign?"
  • "You want enough space for kids to play and ride bikes."
  • "Bumpy sidewalks on Tremont near Melnea Cass. Elderly people stay inside because the sidewalks are bumpy and hazardous."

Map, photographs, and quotes of places people love in Lower Roxbury (the Southwest Corridor Bike Path, Carter Playground, Bessie Barnes Community Garden, Slades, Peoples Baptist Church, Tremont St, Ramsey Park, Mandela Homes, the Silver Line, and Rosie's Place)

We hosted a series of open houses. We aimed to share what we'd heard about what you love in Lower Roxbury — and how you envision your streets. 

DATE TIME LOCATION
Tuesday, October 15 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Mandela Homes
Monday, October 28 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Peoples Baptist Church
Monday, November 4 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Camfield Estates
Thursday, January 30 6 – 7 p.m.  St. Stephen's Church (Youth Group)
Sunday, February 2 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.  St. Stephen's Church (Coffee Hour)

We attended summer events

In spring 2021, we launched a new round of engagement to confirm neighbors' priorities and make sure we hadn't missed anything. We hosted three virtual public meetings with Spanish interpretation in June 2021.

You can review:

En español:

We created a survey and distributed printed copies Camden Lenox.


Here are the seven locations we’ve prioritized together. 

Ring icon

 Potential to improve crosswalks or add new crosswalks.

Blue square icon

 Potential for two-way travel for people biking (not driving).

Postcard

We proposed changes to several streets and corridors in the study area. To get the word out to community members, we hosted a series of pop-up events on different street corners in Lower Roxbury. At the events, we aimed to share proposed changes with community members and answer questions. We heard what residents liked and how they felt about any trade-offs. 

We gathered 101 comments. We heard a lot of enthusiasm for the proposed changes, especially safety improvements for people crossing the street and people walking. Additionally, we found that two of the proposed raised crosswalks on Shawmut Avenue are clear favorites: in front of the grocery store and at Hammond/Ball Street. 

Comments we received: 

  • 24 discussed safer crossing or walking
  • 17 proposed new crosswalks
  • 13 were about slower and safer driving
  • 12 mentioned safer biking

Read all the comments

General feedback we heard: 

  • Support for making it safer to walk
  • Enthusiasm for raised crosswalks on Shawmut Avenue
  • Desire to slow vehicular speeds
  • Desire to retain as much parking as possible
  • Appreciation for proposed safety improvements at intersections that have been community priorities
  • Excitement about the proposed safer bike connections
DATE START LOCATION
Friday, June 24 4 – 7 p.m. Harrison Avenue and East Lenox Street
Wednesday, June 29 7:30 – 9:30 a.m. Northampton Street and Tremont Street
Saturday, July 9 12 – 2 p.m. Shawmut Avenue adjacent to Ramsay Park
Monday, July 11 7:30 – 9:30 a.m. Washington Street and East Lenox Street
Wednesday, July 13 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. Hammond Street and Tremont Street
Thursday, July 21 7:30 – 9:30 a.m. Tropical Foods

EVENT FLYER

FLYER FOR BUSINESSES

June Postcard

July Postcard

In February, we shared final design plans for the project. We hosted a series of pop-up events on different street corners in Lower Roxbury. At the events, we aimed to share the final design plans with community members and answer questions. We also mailed postcards to over 8,000 households in the project area. 

We had approximately 60 conversations, heard a lot of support for the changes, and gathered 25 specific comments. There was a lot of excitement about safer crossings and safer bike routes. We answered clarifying questions about how contraflow bike lanes and curb extensions slow down traffic and make streets safer for all users. We listened to more stories of crashes and near-crashes, difficulties crossing the street, and discomfort felt riding next to drivers going at high speeds. Finally, we received suggestions for how to continue getting the word out about the project before construction. 

DATE START LOCATION
Monday, February 6 4 – 5 p.m. Tremont Street and Hammond Street
Wednesday, February 8 9 – 10 a.m. Washington Street and Lenox Street
Saturday, February 11 1 – 2 p.m. Shawmut Avenue adjacent to Ramsay Park
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