The Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) and the Boston Transportation Department (BTD), in conjunction with other city departments, have released the North Station Area Mobility Action Plan (NSAMAP) Draft Final Report.
You may recall some of our previous NSAMAP posts that highlighted the multimodal transportation plan affecting the area around North Station and the Bulfinch Triangle. The plan consists of short-term action items to be accomplished in 1-5 years and long-term action items to be implemented in 6 years or more.
Through public meetings, pop-up sessions and online polls, community members were able to weigh in on their biggest concerns and vote on project prioritization. Read on to learn about some of the resulting NSAMAP action items.
Canal Street Pedestrianization
Thousands of commuters use Canal Street everyday traveling to and from North Station. Hub on Causeway and the new Bulfinch Crossing development will only increase the amount of pedestrian traffic, making future Canal Street comparable to Downtown Crossing’s Winter Street. Because of this, a new street design is being considered to prioritize pedestrians, while also providing for commercial delivery. (Ed: It’s also not a coincidence that “Open Canal Street” is happening on Saturday, July 8th.)
Lomasney Way / Nashua Street / Martha Way Improvements
New traffic signals have been proposed to improve the intersection of Lomasney Way and Nashua Street as a short-term action item. Looking farther down the road (pun intended), a protected bike lane is in the cards for Nashua Street, attracting cyclists away from Martha Road. This long-term plan would connect Lomasney Way bike lanes to the Connect Historic Boston lanes, extending down Nashua Street to the Esplanade.
Bus Lanes to Ease Congestion
On the short-term action list is a North Washington Street bus lane. The new North Washington Street bridge will include an inbound bus lane that will continue onto North Washington Street to Haymarket MBTA station. This will encourage more people who drive to take the fast bus and more passengers who get off at Medford Street to stay on the bus to Haymarket.
On the long-term action list is a priority bus lane between South Station, the Seaport and North Station. This would benefit the Commuter Rail system, the Seaport to North Station private shuttle system, and provide new opportunities for MBTA bus service. The North Station to South Boston Rapid Bus is also a priority in the Go Boston 2030 plan.
These are just a few of the many recommendations in the NSAMAP. Read the full document here.
Want to submit a comment? Email Josh Weiland at Josh.Weiland@Boston.gov, or visit the City’s website at bit.ly/nsamap2016_BPDA. The comment deadline is July 10, 2017.
To much construction all at once, nothing seems right I think a lot of errors have been made throughout the who City of Boston especially at North Station, the bridge that is to begin the new school the North End itself, not good.