Redesign roads to put people first
A bus-only lane on Massachusetts Avenue in North Cambridge. (Photo: Marc Levy)
Cambridge is in the midst of a generational change in how we think about transportation and how people move on our streets. Currently, Massachusetts Avenue through Porter Square is taking center stage for that change. While some of the loudest debate right now focuses on parking and bike lanes, the outcome is just as critical to the more than 10,000 people per day who ride buses along this part of the avenue but rarely have a voice in the current approach to public engagement processes.
A transformed Massachusetts Avenue must allocate space that prioritizes people over vehicles, as declared in Gov. Charlie Baker’s Commission on the Future of Transportation. Just as important as visible infrastructure changes on the street will be behind-the-scenes operational preparations for new high-frequency, more reliable bus service through the MBTA’s recently launched Bus Network Redesign. The decisions made and the steps taken today will determine how people move on Massachusetts Avenue for decades to come, and how successfully the new bus network can deliver this level of bus service.
The MBTA’s proposed Bus Network Redesign is the culmination of a yearslong process to make bus service better, faster and more reliable. It’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the MBTA’s bus network to meet the needs of people who ride the bus today – not 50 years ago – and to encourage more people to ride in the future. It designates Massachusetts Avenue as a key corridor for high-frequency bus routes, running every 15 minutes or better for 20 hours a day, seven days a week.
The improved routes will connect people to and through Porter Square, from Arlington and Malden, with direct connections to destinations throughout the region. Around Porter Square, this includes the proposed T77 and T96 high-frequency routes. The 83 will also run every 30 minutes or better.
The MBTA’s plan on its own gets us only partway to this vision and to what people who ride the bus deserve. We need municipalities and other roadway owners to do their part by making room for bus priority lanes and improved bus stops. That means hard conversations about how to allocate limited street space – conversations that are already happening in Cambridge, but that have been focused largely on space for bikes and street parking. It’s time for buses and the people who rely on them to become part of these conversations.
Cambridge has already been a leader on bus priority, multimodal streets for walking and biking, and creative placemaking. The city also has some of the region’s – and nation’ – most ambitious goals for climate resilience and sustainability. The redesign of Massachusetts Avenue not just at Porter Square but along the entire corridor, from Alewife Brook Parkway at the Arlington line to the Massachusetts Avenue bridge across the Charles River, is a regional opportunity to demonstrate how a community can put its equity, safety and sustainability goals into action by transforming its most iconic street.
Municipalities, planners and decision-makers are realizing that to tackle congestion, cut climate pollution, improve public health, unlock economic opportunities and bridge racial equity gaps, we need to design streets that prioritize the movement of people. Sometimes that means making hard decisions and big diversions from “how it’s always been.” But with Greater Boston suffering from some of the worst vehicle congestion in the country and our ever-intensifying climate crisis, leaving the status quo in place will only exacerbate our problems.
The sad truth is that so far, despite a decade of talk, Massachusetts is failing to meet its goals for cutting vehicle pollution, reducing road deaths and improving transportation equity. We can’t let opportunities for transformative change pass us by.
To truly fix transportation requires not just a new coat of paint but visionary, people-centered transformation. Delivering real mobility solutions are essential for meeting the goals established by the city, such as the Vehicle Trip Reduction Ordinance, Cambridge Transit Strategic Plan, Envision Cambridge and Cambridge Climate Action Plan, and by the state through the Global Warming Solutions Act and Net Zero Emissions goals.
Making roadways safe, comfortable and accessible for users of all ages, abilities, income and travel modes leads to healthier and stronger communities. Transforming Massachusetts Avenue is an important step toward delivering the modern, reliable transportation network that Greater Boston truly needs and deserves.
Adi Nochur is Senior Transportation Planner at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. Julia Wallerce is Boston Program Manager for the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy.
Dedicated bus lanes have many, many benefits, not just for bus riders. They also reduce traffic, which is a win for drivers. They reduce GHG, which is a win for the planet. This is long overdue.
Umm facts matter…the “dedicated” bus lanes are a long long ways from “dedicated”.
Dedicated would infer the bus could drive in the lane without parked cars vans etc.
So no sorry frank, these are not “dedicated”. The current bus lane has makeshift signs stuck on the plastic pylons “Loading Zone” along with new paint outlining parking for cars vans to park
IN THE DEDICATED BUS LANE.
Wow what progress lol.
PS Adi and Julia I and most completely agree it would could have been wonderful to have “dedicated” bus lanes. We don’t. They are far from it.
We were on the 77 recently trying to “fit” in this new imaginary world frank has dreamed up only for the bus to swerve into the auto lane as there were a # (all it takes is one) of vans cars parked in the dedicated bus lane.
Of course once the 77 went into the auto lane we sat in the parking lot of traffic. I guess that’s a win win in frankd’s book. 😂
Dedicated bus lanes work only if there is a network of them and has a reliable service. So that people can use the network to get from A to D while stopping at B and E on the way back. Putting a dedicated bus lane on a straight road does nothing to entice people onto the bus. Especially if the bus comes every 20 minutes and you have to wait at an open sign post with no protection from weather elements. The dedicated bus lane only adds to the traffic congestion, thereby causing more pollution.
You can visually look at the street and say – oh wow, a dedicated bus lane, we are so cool and so progressive. It does not solve the underlying issue of reliance on cars.
@EastCamb, I agree with you 100% that we need increased bus frequency to make this worthwhile. The MBTA bus network redesign has pros and cons, but one big positive is that they are planning to run buses such as the 1 and 77 much more frequently. I also strongly agree with the need for better weather enclosures (watching people get rained at the new Lechmere bus terminal infuriates me.)
I think one aspect of bus lanes which is under-appreciated is that if the bus can make it through faster, the same number of buses can also provide more frequent service.
@EastCamb one place I think we disagree is that bus lanes on straight roads do nothing to entice riders; ultimately if there is a bus lane network that runs from Harvard Square to Arlington, getting from A to B becomes much more reliable and fast, and people do change what they do when service is better. For example, on Sunday I might not take the 69 bus from East Cambridge to Harvard because it would mean waiting 40 minutes and I might be able to walk to Harvard Square faster. But if I knew getting on at Harvard Square meant a reliable 10 minute wait plus 10 minute ride to the Arlington border, I would know I could count on it and do it.
However, I think the point is well taken from @prc and @EastCamb that buses form a network, and the network needs to be complete and unobstructed.
@prc, the current bus lane is now used for parking during off-peak hours on North Mass Ave, but this could be improved in a final design while maintaining parking. There is a ton more flexibility for what they can design up there once the median is removed, and it is scheduled to be taken out by 2026.
I found out that there’s a dashboard to view historic transit times for many routes which is derived from actual tracking data. For the 77 route from the bus depot to Rt 16, and you can see that there is a visible difference in travel times:
https://dashboard.transitmatters.org/bus?config=77,77-0-12295,77-0-22751,2021-10-01,2022-02-28
The biggest barrier to riding the bus as an occasional user who doesn’t usually carry cash is how hard the T makes it to pay. Why there isn’t an T app that would allow me to tap my phone as I board?
@prc You’re missing the point. We need dedicated bus lanes that are truly dedicated. That is the point.
Studies, here in Boston and Somerville, have shown that dedicated bus lanes speed transit times.
Read this:
Dedicated Bus Lanes Are Making Commutes Faster In And Around Boston, Data Show
https://www.wbur.org/news/2019/06/24/bus-lanes-faster-boston-commutes
and this:
Reimagining the street: How bus lanes speed up the morning commute and why it matters
https://uspirg.org/blogs/blog/usp/reimagining-street-how-bus-lanes-speed-morning-commute-and-why-it-matters
You can make up whatever stuff you like in your own head but data is data and facts are facts.
Here’s more:
Boston Bus Lanes Improving Commute Times and Reliability
Data from the Boston area shows that dedicated bus lanes are helping to get buses moving.
https://www.planetizen.com/news/2019/07/105148-boston-bus-lanes-improving-commute-times-and-reliability
Here’s a study conducted by Cambridge on the Mt Auburn dedicated bus lane. All positive effects and little negative impact on drivers.
https://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/Projects/Transportation/~/media/972CE961CDFC4AA9A2BBB41F986BBD5F.ashx
Facts are facts.
Chris yes agree with you which is why a lot of citizens wanted to wait to do a so called final design rather than drop 1/2billion dollars around the city for plastic pylons and war paint for the bus lanes only for them to be loading / parking spots.
Yes supposedly the parking spots IN THE BUS LANE are only to by used “non peak hours” but reality is delivery trucks use them all the time. Umm there are still businesses along mass Ave and they get make deliveries at least for now.
The city with 1/2b dollars could have purchased an electric car for each citizen added a charging network and been 1st in the world amongst soo many other things.
Instead it’s the 3 stooges; taping signs to plastic pylons and painted bus lanes with the paint already peeling off and small business not recovering.
Looking forward to seeing it completed in 20?? ✅
@prc, could you substantiate that 1/2 billion dollar expense claim? I believe the cost to install the North Cambridge lanes was under 1/2 million.
Hi Chris, for sure not referring to just the n Cambridge section.
Maybe one of the councilors could fill in the details of the entire price tag “build”. But 25 miles are going to be rammed I mean installed over the coming years.
https://www.cambridgema.gov/streetsandtransportation/policiesordinancesandplans/cyclingsafetyordinance
This section of mass Ave which is about to begin was approved for 44m. Using Google maps from season to taste (closing/moving) to berryline (closed) it’s 1.4mi so let’s round up to 2mi.
44m / 2mi = 22m per mile wow that’s a lot of plastic pylons…
So 22m x 26miles of pylons gets you north of 500m dollars. I rounded down cause nowadays things come way under budget (see council “over a barrel” okays additional 49m ugh)
Now I sincerely hope it’s not 500m but I’m shocked mouth open this small section is 44m.
Let’s say it’s 200m – the city could have purchased not 40 not 400 but 4000 model 3s for in city taxi service or low income residents or city councilor cars. You get the point it’s nuts to spend 200m over plastic pylons and as an added bonus listen to but ignore the small businesses clamoring for them to rethink it.
Chris I’m all for moving forward a step but just not needing to take 4 backwards afterwards. After seeing the mess and that’s being nice created in n cam it’s amazing to me moving forward with such reckless abandon.
I truly hope that the city we all call home doesn’t destroy itself in the process.
@prc, but you know that is not a realistic budget number — the 2 mile stretch budgets for utility repairs and partial street reconstruction of two long stretches, as well as full street reconstruction of a couple of blocks in Harvard Square. Those investments are enormous, but they are being made to provide parking for small businesses, not for bike lanes; the bike lanes work with reconstruction or without. As you know, the partial build projects are dramatically cheaper, faster, and easier to adjust.
As far as “reckless abandon” goes, I don’t think that’s accurate at this point. After over a year of debate and many public meetings and votes, most people agreed on the hybrid approach for the Mass Ave 4. Are you on board with that as a good compromise? If not, what does not work for you from it? It is not being rushed, it won’t be complete until 2026, and I think as we’ve discussed on other threads, the city learned many valuable lessons about engagement, sequencing of project changes, and increased accommodations for small business parking.
Re: the model 3s, I would say this — last year there were 2.9 million trips taken on the BlueBike system and 6 of the top 10 stations are in Cambridge. Just think for a second if even half of those trips were substituted by a car or ride share trip. Electric vehicles cannot stop that number of trips from causing enormous traffic, and it would not address the fundamental problem that right now it is not safe or comfortably for people to use sustainable transportation options.
Re: the budget, please be careful not to be hyperbolic and discuss this in good faith and with good data. I will be careful to do the same. Part of the reason the discussion for Mass Ave 4 was so complicated was because so much misinformation had been spread, and we all have a role to play in stopping that.
Finally, I thought you’d mentioned that you no longer live here, is that correct? Just because you said “we all call [Cambridge] home”.
Chris, you seem to have good information. What is the budget for these 25mi of golden roads? Clearly it’s over 100m if these 2miles is 44m. Does anyone know? I must say I’ll feel special riding my bike, 77 and electric car on 44m worth of roads!
Nope we haven’t gone anywhere. We’ve now (since 2020) watched 5 families move not because of this, for other reasons. I think it’s challenging to raise a family in Cambridge for various reasons vs Belmont, Arlington etc. So sorry stuck with prc! 😉
I truly hope it works out great. The 1st impression in n Cambridge was is ugly. Paint already peeling up, pylons gone, makeshift parking signs, slalom course swirling back and forth, police details lights flashing, traffic exploding, business declines etc. It’s hard to imagine the yellow brick road going all the way to oz / h sq. If I didn’t care deeply about the city where my children were born and or moved away correct I wouldn’t bother.
Best of luck!
prc, We’ve been in Cambridge since 1984 at the same address. We’re going to leave and it’s strictly about the these dangerous bike lanes. Driving and walking are far more dangerous than before and it’s time to go.
Maddmann1, we the city of Cambridge have and are losing the core of what makes a community with people like you moving. It’s terribly sad 😢.
All in the name of bicycle safety the establishment will ram it down the citizens throats. Of course disinformationists like frankd cloud the matter with web links as if those are gospel lol. Business increases by removing two out of 4 auto lanes and businesses parking spot. The bicyclists stop all the time and pick up cans of paint Chinese food and the like lol. Geez can’t you already feel the cooler temps since the section of n Cambridge was done. Saved the day Frankd!
We the citizens, business owners, drivers, public bus riders, bikers can see for our own eyes the complete MESS created in n Cambridge. I guess there were lessons learned – well then why not fix it cause it’s even a bigger mess with parking now moved to the “dedicated” bus lanes.
Again sorry to see you go no one other than frankd and his big bike gang I mean lobby could blame you. Don’t look back!
@prc, there are a lot of communities in Cambridge, not just mine or yours. I appreciate that you think differently about these projects than I do, but we are all “citizens” – “cyclists” aren’t some special group of outsiders.
Please also be careful to be respectful of your neighbors like me and frankd. He did cite local data from real sources. I wonder if you would speak the same way if you signed your name on your post -it reminded me of this quote from Alice in Wonderland:
“Please your Majesty,” said the Knave, “I didn’t write it, and they can’t prove I did: there’s no name signed at the end.”
“If you didn’t sign it,” said the King, “that only makes the matter worse. You must have meant some mischief, or else you’d have signed your name like an honest man.”
There was a general clapping of hands at this: it was the first really clever thing the King had said that day.