The Blue Hill Avenue Reconstruction Project will completely reconstruct 3 miles of Blue Hill Avenue from Mattapan Square to Grove Hall as well as Mattapan Square itself. This is a broader community investment to improve safety, accessibility, transit reliability, economic vitality, and neighborhood quality of life for residents of Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan. (Check out this article by the Boston Globe: "Blue Hill Avenue has been neglected for decades. Why should its residents trust officials now?" (June 24, 2026).
The $162 million project combines federal, state, MBTA, and City of Boston funding. Central to the current proposal is a center-running bus lane design, which has become both the defining feature of the project and the source of significant public debate. Although transit improvements are highly visible within public discussions, the majority of project funding is dedicated to pedestrian safety, sidewalks, landscaping, lighting, and streetscape improvements rather than transit lanes alone. Support for the center-running transit lanes are critical to the funding source and is the most sensible design choice for prioritizing people who take the bus.
Some facts about the project:
- Over 50% of people traveling along the corridor during peak periods are riding buses
- About 40,000 bus riders use the Blue Hill Ave. corridor daily
- Existing bus service suffers from severe delays caused by traffic congestion and double parking
- Center-running lanes provide stronger protection from vehicle interference than side-running lanes
- Bus travel times could improve by 10–15 minutes per trip during peak hours, ~40% faster
- Driver delays across the full corridor are projected at only 60–90 additional seconds during peak periods
- Center-running lanes are far more effective than side-running bus lanes because they are self-enforcing and far less likely to be blocked by parked cars or right-turning cars.
This corridor serves a disproportionately transit-dependent population:
- 55% of the riders of Blue Hill Avenue have no access to a personal vehicle
- Riders are more likely than citywide averages to be low-income
- Riders are more likely to use transit more than five days a week
- Bus riders are underrepresented at traditional public meetings because civic participation strongly correlates with socioeconomic status
Safety concerns are another major driver of the reconstruction project.
- A crash requiring an ambulance occurs about every 3 days
- Blue Hill Ave has the concentration of motor vehicle crashes in Boston
- Speeding cars is a significant problem
- There are many dangerous pedestrian crossing conditions
Public Support is greater than you year in the news. A City of Boston survey found that the project was supported by 48% of respondents. 79% of respondents wanted more reliable service that was not delayed by traffic.
Bus Rider Engagement
Check out the City of Boston/MBTA 2023 Public Engagement Report
In spring 2023 and again in spring 2026, LivableStreets Alliance deployed trained volunteer Street Ambassadors to talk with bus riders along Blue Hill Avenue to learn about their experiences riding the bus and provide them with information about the reinvestment and redesign project. Over 600 bus riders were directly engaged during these deployments. Volunteers included individuals who spoke Spanish and Haitian Creole. Street Ambassadors met bus riders at the busiest bus stops along Blue Hill Avenue during weekdays in the morning and evening peak hours as well as weekends. Data was collected by both using a survey to ask questions as well as engaging in more casual impromptu conversations depending on the situation. Information about the project was provided as a postcard-sized handout. The 2026 deployment was conducted in collaboration with the “Vigorous Youth” group, which is a part of the Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition, who also conducted video interviews to be used as short “Reels” for social media with support from TransitMatters.
Check out the videos published by Vigorous Youth!
