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Blue Hill Avenue Transportation Action Plan

bus driving down blue hill avenue

As part of our Better Bus Project and Bus Transit Priority programs, we're partnering with the City of Boston on the Blue Hill Avenue Transportation Action Plan, which will redesign the corridor between Warren Street in Grove Hall and River Street in Mattapan Square.

We’ll be working on this project’s design from 2024 to 2026. Sign up below to be informed about upcoming opportunities to participate.

About Blue Hill Avenue

Blue Hill Avenue runs through Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan, and serves 10 bus routes with some of the highest ridership in our system.

During the week, more than 40,000 people ride buses on Blue Hill Avenue every day. Collectively, they lose 3,056 hours weekly stuck in traffic.

Community Benefits

  • Improved traffic safety along the avenue
  • Faster, more reliable, and more comfortable service for riders with new transit connections
  • Enhanced pedestrian safety with better visibility at crossings
  • Improved pedestrian accessibility
  • Improved climate resilience with green infrastructure throughout the corridor
Photorealistic rendering depicting future upgrades to Blue Hill Avenue from an aerial view
Rendering of the draft project design depicting transit and multimodal upgrades at the intersection of Blue Hill Avenue and Walk Hill Street (November 2024)

Project Features

  • Dedicated spaces for people walking, biking, driving, and taking public transit
  • Center-running bus lanes to support current and future bus service
  • Bus boarding platforms with bus shelters, real-time information screens, better lighting, security cameras, emergency call boxes, new seating, and accessibility upgrades
  • Roadway resurfacing
  • Traffic signal upgrades to prioritize buses
  • At least 14 new crossing signals, providing pedestrians with 40% more opportunities to safely cross the street
  • Crossing distances shortened by about 25% on Blue Hill Ave and by an average of 19 feet on intersecting streets
  • Repaired sidewalks with at least 185 curb ramps upgraded to meet accessibility standards
  • At least 150 new trees along the avenue
  • Over 100,000 square feet of additional public space with opportunities for better street lighting, benches, bike parking, and public art

Community Feedback

Between May and July 2024, we collected feedback through over 600 surveys and events such as pop-up and youth workshops and open houses.

We asked community members along Blue Hill Ave about the following to inform our next steps during the project design phase:

  • Bus platform locations
  • Pedestrian safety
  • Parking
  • Green infrastructure
  • Biking

You can learn more below about upcoming opportunities to share your feedback on the latest draft design.

We Want to Hear from You

Join us in person at any of three Community Open Houses where we'll discuss our latest draft design. You can talk to the project team, ask questions, and share your feedback on the design.

You can also review the draft design and provide your feedback online using our interactive story map. Check back soon for translations of the story map in more languages.

View the story map

Upcoming Events

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Past Events

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Resources

Download the resources below in your preferred language.

More Information

Send questions or comments to betterbusproject@mbta.com.

To learn more and sign up for project updates, please visit the City’s Blue Hill Avenue Transportation Action Plan page.  

Building a Better T

As part of our $9.6 billion, 5-year capital investment plan, we're renovating stations, modernizing fare collection systems, upgrading services for our buses, subways, and ferries, and improving the accessibility of the entire system.

Learn more

Better Bus Project

View all projects

Bus Transit Priority

View all projects

Building a Better T

As part of our $9.6 billion, 5-year capital investment plan, we're renovating stations, modernizing fare collection systems, upgrading services for our buses, subways, and ferries, and improving the accessibility of the entire system.

Learn more

Better Bus Project

View all projects

Bus Transit Priority

View all projects