How to show up for yourself as a bus rider on Blue Hill Ave

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Read more about the project on the MBTA’s website: Blue Hill Avenue Transportation Action Plan

1: Attend one of the upcoming public meetings on Blue Hill Ave

 There will be 2 “town hall” style meetings, where community members will each have the floor for a few minutes to speak about what they think of the redesign:

Sept 10, 6:30–8:00 PM — Mattapan, Morning Star Baptist Church (1257 Blue Hill Ave)

Sept 30, 6:30–8:00 PM — Grove Hall, Albert D. Holland School of Technology
(60 Washington St)

What can you include during your time?

Your name, what neighborhood you live in, and how you travel along the corridor. For example,

 ‘Hi, I am Matt, I live in Mattapan and use the 16 bus every day to get to work’

What problems do you have with your bus ride? For example,

 ‘I get to work late because my bus gets stuck in traffic’,

‘The bus is so infrequent, if I miss the bus I won’t have another bus for 20 mins’,

‘My bus is so crowded’, ‘Sometimes I have no idea when the next bus will show up’

Share what a center-running bus lane would mean for your bus ride:

• 10-15 minutes shorter from Mattapan to Grove Hall during rush hour

• Buses that you can trust to arrive on time

• Not having to wait in bumper-to-bumper traffic

• Less crowded buses

Then, if you feel inclined, offer your support for the project. For example,

‘I support this project because it will reduce my commute by 10-15 mins'

‘I support the pedestrian improvements in the project because we need to make our streets safe’

 

There will also be 2 “open house” style meetings, where you can learn about the redesign, ask questions to project staff, and give feedback about the new design:

Sept 14, 6:00–7:30 PM — Perkins Community Center (155 Talbot Ave)

Sept 22, 6:00–7:30 PM — Mattapan, Mattapan Branch Library (1350 Blue Hill Ave)

What questions do you have about the project?

What’s important to you about how the redesign gets done?

Start here:

• Will my bus stop be changing?

• Will a bus lane cause more traffic?

• Would center-running bus lanes make it easier or harder to board the bus?

• Will the construction process hurt businesses?

• How will parking change on my block?

• What other improvements are you making to Blue Hill Ave.?

 

2: Can’t come to a meeting? Send an email to the Mayor, the City Council, and the MBTA

Dear Blue Hill Ave Project Team,

My name is [name], I live in [neighborhood], and I’m asking you to redesign Blue Hill Ave with a center-running bus lane so that I can have a faster, more reliable commute and a safer experience crossing the street.Buses on Blue Hill Ave deserve just as much priority as cars, as over half of the people on the road during rush hour are on an MBTA bus. Currently, buses are very hard to depend on, as less than half of the 22 and 28 buses arrive on time. Buses are also always caught in traffic: between Grove Hall and Harambee Park, the average speed for buses is 3.5mph. Getting to Forest Hills, Mattapan, or Nubian on the bus should not require waiting a long time on the curb not knowing when the bus will come and then sitting in traffic for 10 minutes.

[My personal connection to Blue Hill Ave and what I hope to see come out of the redesign] 

Thank you,

[Your Name]

3: Post on social media that you’re a bus rider who relies on Blue Hill Ave buses