The Red Sox and the Boston Planning Department (BPD) are focusing on improving traffic around Fenway Park this coming year.
Representatives of both organizations presented a series of street redesign projects in the neighborhood at a community meeting on October 29. The projects, known as the Fenway Transportation Action Plan, are slated to begin the design process in 2025.
“From the moment you click to buy that ticket to the moment your head hits the pillow the night after that game, the whole thing matters to us,” David Friedman, the executive vice president of the Red Sox’s legal affairs team, said at the meeting.
“No, we don’t run the T. We don’t completely control the streets. But we’re very eager to figure out how to make your exit and entry work better, and if you’re in the neighborhood, how to not have this place completely gridlocked.”
The redesign will focus on Kenmore Square, Brookline Avenue, and Van Ness Street, which all face serious congestion problems during games or concerts held at Fenway Park.
“It’s a really dynamic area,” Nick Schmidt, a senior transportation planner in the BPD, said at the meeting. “With that dynamism comes a lot of activity, and a lot of congestion,and a lot of safety problems, frankly. A lot of the streets, especially in our design area, have the highest crash rates in the city.”
Schmidt said the BPD would release a “story map” in the coming months that would outline the biggest problems for each street and the department’s priorities for fixing them, which would then open to resident feedback. Friedman said the Red Sox were working closely with the city to support the design project, including by contributing data where possible.
Residents at the meeting encouraged the Red Sox to promote the T as a means of getting to and from events, which Friedman said they would consider.
The meeting also covered updates to Fenway Park concerts, which many residents have voiced concerns about. Friedman said the Red Sox had worked with a city commission and a third party to put together a study monitoring sound emissions from the 12 concerts held this past year, which would be released soon.
Some
residents said that the loud noise late at night was intolerable, while
others reported that the bass from the Fenway Park speakers made their
buildings physically vibrate.
“I
cannot tolerate your concerts,” one resident said at the meeting. “Our
building does vibrate. I cannot escape the bass from your concerts.
There are ways that you can mitigate some of the noise and some of the
vibrations, so I think the Red Sox could do something to make my life
less miserable. But 12 nights a year, I don’t want to be in my home.”
Friedman
did not say how many concerts Fenway Park is planning for 2025 but said
that visitors could expect some popular repeat acts. So far, one
concert has been announced.