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Boston's Morning Newsletter
What to know about the Back Bay battle over bike (and bus) lanes
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
If the Celtics didn’t have you sweating last night, today will do the trick. Temperatures may reach 90 in some parts of Massachusetts, and there’s an air quality alert for much of the state starting at 11 a.m.
But first, the news:
Back Bay brouhaha: Boston is slated to begin work this month on a contentious redesign of a mile-long stretch of Boylston Street that runs through Back Bay. The changes include a one-way, separated bike lane from Mass. Ave. to Boston Common, plus a half-mile bus-only lane starting at the Boston Public Library. City officials say the redesign will make the corridor safer for cyclists and faster for bus riders. But the plan also has a fair share of critics raising fears about the redesign’s impact on traffic and businesses.
- Zoom in: With the addition of the bike and bus lanes, general traffic lanes on the one-way street will go from three down to two. And along a 800-foot stretch by the library, a 4-to-7 p.m. weekday bus lane will use one of those two lanes. The redesign will also ultimately remove 88 of the existing 324 on-street parking spots. You can see a rendering of the layout here.
- The case for change: Right now, the roughly 500 cyclists a day that ride down Boylston must pedal with general traffic on the crash-prone commercial street — which is busy with double parking and sees thousands of cars a day. “It is rather dangerous and confusing,” Stacy Thompson, the head of the LivableStreets Alliance, told WBUR’s Sharon Brody. “It’s really the only direct connection from coming off of Mass. Ave. … to the Common. So, it is a very, very important missing link.” The city also says the bus-only lanes will make travel more reliable for 13,000 people who take MBTA or Logan airport buses on a typical weekday.
- The pushback: Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn yesterday called for a pause on the installation plans, arguing the changes “will delay response time for our first responders.” Back Bay’s business association has also expressed concern that the loss of parking could drive customers elsewhere, WCVB reports.
- What does the city say to that? Wu’s office said first responders will be able to use the new Boylston bus lanes. Officials also noted hundreds of on-street parking spots remain on cross streets and surrounding neighborhood streets. The city also plans to add new 15-minute pick-up and drop-off zones for businesses.
- Zoom out: The Boylston Street makeover is just a part of Boston’s plans to add 10 miles of bike lanes over the next few months. You can explore some of the other big projects on the city’s website.
- Meanwhile: Cambridge’s City Council voted last month to postpone kicking off an ambitious bike lane plan for three major city streets. Radio Boston recently spoke to two city councilors about the debate over the project and what’s next.
On campus: Harvard’s two governing boards — the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers — are set to decide today whether 13 students disciplined over protesting in Harvard Yard against the war in Gaza will be allowed to receive their degrees on time this weekend. As WBUR’s Carrie Jung reports, the meeting comes at the urging of Harvard faculty, after the the university’s Administrative Board opted to punish the undergraduate seniors with suspension or probation for their participation in the multi-week pro-Palestinian encampment.
- Harvard’s interim president, Alan Gerber, encouraged administrators to “expeditiously” evaluate disciplinary cases as part of the school’s deal with protesters to take down the camp.
The votes are in: Ipswich residents voted yesterday in favor of removing the historic Ipswich Mills Dam (57% to 41%). The non-binding referendum now shifts the focus to the town’s select board, which has final say on the matter.
ICYMI: Massachusetts officials reported this week the state’s new “millionaires tax” has collected $1.8 billion through the first nine months of the fiscal year — on pace to double initial projections. That money will go into a reserve fund for transportation and education. State House News Service has more here on how it could be spent.
P.S.— Need some help cultivating your green thumb? Join us tonight at CitySpace for a special “plant night” edition of our free Field Trip series. You’ll get a 101 lesson in plant care from Quontay Turner, the owner of Norwood’s Emerald City Plant Shop, along with tips about watering, repotting, propagating and more. Reserve your spot.
