Mayor Walsh Announces Chief of Streets Appointment to Advance Boston's Streets Agenda

BOSTON - Thursday, August 6, 2015 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced Chris Osgood as the City of Boston's Chief of Streets. As a member of the Mayor's cabinet, he will work with the City's Public Works and Transportation Departments to lead efforts to improve Boston's basic city services and to create a more sustainable, equitable and efficient transportation network. Osgood currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics - the City's civic innovation team. He will assume his new position on August 24.

"Boston is experiencing unprecedented growth, and with that growth comes the opportunity and the need to modernize our transportation network and make our basic city services the best in the world," said Mayor Walsh. "I am excited for Chris to bring his knowledge of the city and his experience leading innovation in Boston to this challenge."

"I am honored to be appointed to this position and thrilled to work with these great departments," said Chris Osgood. "Together, we'll work hard to design streets and deliver services that work great for all the people of Boston."

The Chief of the Streets will oversee the City's Public Works and Transportation Departments, which plan, design, maintain and manage Boston's streets. The Chief will work to further improve collaboration across those departments and ensure that they have the team and tools they need to best do their jobs. Osgood will also serve as a liaison to the Boston Water & Sewer Commission.

"Boston's Transportation and Public Works Departments collaborate frequently on street related projects that require input from both agencies," said Boston Transportation Commissioner Gina Fiandaca. "Pulling our work together under the umbrella of one cabinet will formalize this process and help to move projects forward more efficiently, benefiting our residents. Chris has actively participated in several BTD initiatives in recent years and I'm excited to have this opportunity to continue to work with him in his new position."

"The Public Works Department has worked very hard to take new approaches and use new tools - such as Citizens Connect and Snow Cop -- to improve City services for Boston residents," said Interim Commissioner of Public Works Michael Dennehy.  "I've worked closely with Chris and his team on many of these efforts, and I look forward to taking those efforts even further for the people of Boston."

Osgood will also support the development and implementation of Go Boston 2030, the City's comprehensive mobility plan. As part of this, he will lead the implementation of the Complete Streets policy and seek new ways to make Boston better for pedestrians, cyclists, drivers and mass transit riders alike.  

Building on current collaborations, Osgood will forge new partnerships with public, private and academic partners to explore how technology, data and design can make Boston's services even better and its streets more vibrant.

In 2010, Osgood co-founded the Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics with current Co-Chair Nigel Jacob. Over the last five years, that Office has launched a series of products in collaboration with other City departments including Citizens Connect, DiscoverBPS and ParkBoston. Prior to that, Osgood served as a Policy Advisor to former Mayor Thomas M. Menino, working on the team that implemented the City's performance management program and rebuilding its 24-hour hotline.  For his work with New Urban Mechanics, Chris was named a Public Official of the Year by Governing Magazine and a Champion of Change by the White House.

Osgood is a graduate of Haverford College and received his Masters in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School. He currently resides in Jamaica Plain.