Boston has apparently made no progress on recommendations from its 30-day review of streets conducted three months ago, which was designed specifically to address the lack of proper community engagement in the construction of bike and bus lanes throughout the city.
The nine-page review issued specific recommendations for a number of streets issues around Boston, such as revisiting pedestrian timing on Boylston Street or implementing new curbside parking regulations on Tremont Street and noted that it would continue reaching out to neighborhood groups.
When asked what next steps the city had taken in accordance with the review, a spokesperson acknowledged The Boston Guardian’s request for comment but did not respond to it, despite multiple attempts to reach them.
The
study was completed this past April, as a response to residents
expressing frustration with the lack of transparency around bike and bus
lane installations. It was conducted by the departments of
Transportation and Basic City Services.
“We
heard consistent feedback that project communications and community
engagement were inadequate, that decisions seemed predetermined, and
that processes too often did not achieve consensus, contributing to a
loss of community trust,” the study stated. “Many believed neighborhood
feedback was not weighed as heavily as others when decisions were made.”
But
some community groups in areas covered by the study said they had not
been contacted, despite consistently expressing a desire to talk to the
city about streets projects in their neighborhoods and even voicing
specific complaints. Leaders said they wanted to be included to provide
the local expertise the city’s study claimed to be looking for. Now,
three months later, they say there has been no update.
“There’s
been no significant contact between the city and people in the Back Bay
about whatever changes they would like our opinion on,” NABB Chair
Martyn Roetter said. “I just don’t know whether it’s a matter of
confusion or incompetence, but it’s very hard to figure out how to deal
with the city at this point.”
Roetter
pointed to a number of streets issues that had arisen in the Back Bay
over the last month, including people parking in a stretch of a one-way
bike lane on Beacon
Street
and patio dining overlapping with a bike lane in front of the Lolita
restaurant on Dartmouth Street, that he would have liked to discuss with
the city to get some clarity.
“We continue to make suggestions, but there’s not really any increased responsiveness that we've discovered,” Roetter said.
“I guess they’re all consumed with trying to make sure they get reelected this year.”
The
streets review also recommended that neighborhood working groups be
formed to have a structured venue for resident feedback, and even
suggested some city departments that could be tapped to run or
participate in such working groups.
“The
goal of this is to ensure voices are heard from neighborhood residents
and the local business community and should have appropriate
representation from each,” the study stated.
Because the city did not
respond to multiple requests for comment, it’s unclear whether the
formation of these groups has been set in motion.