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mass.streetsblog.org
StreetsblogMASS
@mass.streetsblog.org
3.4K followers 260 following 640 posts
Connecting people to information about how to improve walking, biking, and transit across the Commonwealth
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mass.streetsblog.org
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."
November 21, 2025 at 5:26 PM
mass.streetsblog.org
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.
November 19, 2025 at 3:11 PM
mass.streetsblog.org
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!
November 2, 2025 at 3:01 PM
mass.streetsblog.org
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.
October 10, 2025 at 2:34 PM
mass.streetsblog.org
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
September 29, 2025 at 2:30 PM
mass.streetsblog.org
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%).
September 10, 2025 at 2:14 AM
mass.streetsblog.org
It used to be a circle, per the 1899 Olmsted parks plan:
August 5, 2025 at 7:09 PM
mass.streetsblog.org
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.
August 5, 2025 at 6:26 PM
mass.streetsblog.org
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
July 9, 2025 at 7:24 PM
mass.streetsblog.org
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.
July 8, 2025 at 3:56 PM
mass.streetsblog.org
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
July 7, 2025 at 7:59 PM
mass.streetsblog.org
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.
June 30, 2025 at 12:10 PM
mass.streetsblog.org
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.
June 17, 2025 at 5:57 PM
mass.streetsblog.org
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.
May 21, 2025 at 2:00 PM
mass.streetsblog.org
#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)
Screenshot of an X.com post from MassDOT reading "On 5/14, at 6:30PM, #MassDOT will hold an in person public information meeting for the Springfield "The X" Reconstruction of Sumner Ave. at Dickinson St. and Belmont Ave. Location: 46 Oakland Street, Forest Park Middle School Auditorium, Springfield" A truncated URL at the bottom of the text post reads "mass.gov/event/lynn-rehab..." An image below the text shows the MassDOT logo with an aerial view of the X intersection in Springfield. A timestamp reads 4:01 pm May 9, 2025: 5,565 Views.
May 12, 2025 at 7:53 PM
mass.streetsblog.org
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.
April 29, 2025 at 7:29 PM
mass.streetsblog.org
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
March 26, 2025 at 2:25 PM
mass.streetsblog.org
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.
January 16, 2025 at 6:20 PM
mass.streetsblog.org
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
January 14, 2025 at 2:38 PM
mass.streetsblog.org
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?"
December 12, 2024 at 9:05 PM
mass.streetsblog.org
"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.
December 6, 2024 at 8:30 PM
mass.streetsblog.org
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...

October 15, 2024 at 7:32 PM