Residents came out Thursday night to protest the most recent proposal for a redesign of Blue Hill Avenue, which would create a lane in the middle of the road for buses.
Last week the city of Boston unveiled its plan for the road, which stretches through Mattapan, Dorchester and Roxbury. But on Thursday night, outside the first listening session the held by the city and MBTA seeking feedback from the community, several residents came out to say they don’t want that kind of traffic pattern change.
The concern for many residents is that getting on the bus would involve crossing the street, which feels dangerous.
“We are rejecting the idea that it has to go through a center-run bus lane. People don’t want it. They don’t think it’s safe,” said John Smith-St. Cyere, a lifelong Dorchester resident, in an interview Friday.
On Thursday night both Boston City Councilor Miniard Culpepper joined Smith-St. Cyere in a protest outside the listening session in hopes of sending a message that this proposal is not the solution.
Culpepper said that he thought the group made its point effectively.
The project does include beautification of the area, new street lights and sidewalks — things most residents want. But when it comes to a center bus lane, which would involve crossing two lanes of traffic, they flat out say no.
“We are not against the project completely,” said Culpepper. “We want the beautification and the safety. We want all of that to happen. But we don’t want to make it even more dangerous than it is now.”
The city and MBTA, which proposed this plan, say it’s not only safe, but will make it more efficient for car, and cyclist travel as well. The plan includes separate bike lanes protecting riders, as well as better sidewalks and street crossings to protect pedestrians.
“This important project in partnership with the city will deliver much-needed improvements to the residents and businesses along the Blue Hill Avenue corridor,” said Phillip Eng, the MBTA general manager and the state’s interim secretary of transportation, in a statement.
Mayor Michelle Wu also stands by the plan, saying that it will improve the safety of all of the residents and businesses in the area.
“This is a true once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver on improvements that will enhance the quality of life and economic opportunity for our residents, small businesses, and community,” Wu said in a statement.
Both promise that they are looking forward to continued feedback from the community in order to improve the plan before construction starts.
But Culpepper contends that this area has been promised MBTA train access for decades, and that implementing this center bus lane won’t get them the access they have been promised for generations. And he said it’s too expensive to invest in something the community doesn’t want.
“It’s a lot of money not to make sense. And it’s a lot of money to make Blue Hill Ave un-safer than it is now,” said the councilor.
While the city has not made public a cost estimate for the plan, as its still in its planning phases, the city says funding is supported by a U.S. Department of Transportation grant administered by the Federal Transit Administration, along with money from the city and MBTA.
“The community is saying we don’t want this, and the community is not being unreasonable. We shouldn’t have anything rammed down our throat that is not safe for us,” said Culpepper.
Smith-St. Cyere says he travels on Blue Hill Avenue multiple times a day for work. He says he feels a responsibility to the next generation to fight so that they won’t have to live with dangerous streets.
“We’re going to keep, keeping on because it’s bigger than just us. Like this is something that our kids are going to have to live with,” he said.
There are more listening sessions scheduled throughout the month of September, and residents who are against the plan promise to continue to showing up.
