Issue #197 - March - LivableStreets Alliance

Shaping the Future of Columbia Road: What We Heard

five vertical photos on a blue background. the photos show community engagement events for the columbia road transportation action plan

LivableStreets leads the community engagement team for the City of Boston’s Columbia Road Transportation Action Plan project. The entire project team has been working hard for the last 10 months to collect community feedback on how to improve transportation along Columbia Road.

Most recently, we worked with members of the project’s Community Advisory Team and colleagues from BTD, Toole Design, Dorchester Bay EDC, and Fairmount Indigo CDC Collaborative to host focus groups for key stakeholders along Columbia Road.

Between January and March 2025, Columbia Road Community Advisory Team members and project team members led a series of focus groups. The goal of these meetings was to explore ideas for the future of Columbia Road and gather input from key road user groups — including pedestrians, green space supporters, elderly residents, and youth groups. These meetings gave the project team a valuable chance to hear directly from over 100 community members about their vision for Columbia Road.

What stood out: Street crossing safety and more green space emerged as the top two priorities across all groups. Traffic, bus delays, and the need for better bus service closely followed as key concerns. Click here to read more about the project.

Join us at the State House for a Day of Action!

LivableStreets is proud to support T4MA’s Day of Action on Wednesday, April 2, from 10 AM to 12 PM at the State House. Join T4MA and partners as we meet with legislators to advocate for crucial transportation investments in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget. This is a great opportunity to network, learn about the legislative process, and make your voice heard. Register now at t4ma.org/take-action.

Thanks for having us, TransitMatters!

three women sit at a table as panelists. on the left is Makayla Comas, a Black woman with close cropped hair, interim co-executive director of LivableStreets. in the middle is Ashli Molina, a woman of color with long, dark, slightly wavy hair; Ashli is the MBTA Deputy Director of Bus Technology. Ashli appears to be speaking. on the right is Dot Fennell, a white woman with shoulder-length, dark blonde hair. Dot is the Co-Founder & CEO of RideCargoB.

This month, our Interim Co-Executive Director Makayla and Board Member Ashli Molina had the opportunity to speak at Transit Matters' Women in Transportation Panel. We’re incredibly grateful to our friends at Transit Matters for hosting such an inspiring and uplifting conversation. It was a fantastic event, and we’re excited to continue supporting and attending more of their initiatives. If you're interested in learning more about their upcoming events, be sure to visit their calendar!

ICYMI: Social Media Announcement

LivableStreets is no longer active on X/Twitter. Find us instead on Bluesky, Instagram, or Threads! More links at linktr.ee/streetsboston.

OPPORTUNITIES

Full-Time

Metro North Housing Corp
- Executive Director
Abundant Housing Massachusetts
- Director of Development
Boston Harbor Now
- Manager of Corporate and Foundation Relations
- Harborwalk Manager

Part-Time & Internships

Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy
- Curatorial and Communications Intern
- Social Media and Digital Marketing Intern
MAPC
- Transportation Intern
Boston Harbor Now
Emerald Necklace Conservancy
- Weekend Visitor Center Associate

Other opportunities

MAPC
- Reimagining the Region Scholarship

As a policy, LivableStreets will only advertise opportunities that include salary or compensation information. Have an opportunity to advertise? Send it to [email protected].