Pedestrian & bike safety
Consistent prioritySafer streets for people walking and biking through traffic calming, crossings, signals and protected bike lanes.
Residents consistently ask for physically protected bike lanes, safer crossings and signals, slower residential streets, and more space for people walking.
Theme grouped and summary written with AI from this theme's resident ideas.
324 ideas across three cycles
| Cycle | Ideas | Share of all ideas | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–25 | 157 | 12.9% | 1 of 20 |
| 2025–26 | 53 | 4.4% | 10 of 20 |
| 2026–27 | 114 | 8.6% | 3 of 20 |
Needs that keep coming back
Protected, separated bike lanes
Residents want bike lanes with real barriers or physical separation, on specific corridors and as a connected citywide network, instead of paint alone.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
Safer crossings and better-timed signals
People ask for raised, well-marked or signalized crosswalks, longer walk times, and fixes at dangerous intersections such as Cleveland Circle and Union Square.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
Speed bumps and traffic calming on local streets
Residents on residential streets report speeding, crashes and hit parked cars, and ask for speed humps, raised crosswalks and similar measures, often citing children and seniors.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
Enforcement and safety education
Residents ask for enforcement against red-light running, texting and blocked lanes, plus campaigns teaching drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to share streets safely.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
Pedestrian-priority streets and plazas
People ask to close or pedestrianize streets such as Newbury Street and Hanover Street, or give them more space for walking and gathering.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
2024–25
The largest and most varied set of ideas, with many hyper-local speed bump requests (especially Norwell Street), many pedestrian overpass and underpass proposals across Hyde Park, Roslindale and Dorchester, and requests for bike connections.
2025–26
A smaller set of ideas focused on protected or raised bike lanes, longer pedestrian signal times and crosswalk fixes, with an equity framing about residents without cars and Black and brown neighborhoods.
2026–27
Dominated by requests for raised, concrete-protected bike lanes (especially in Allston-Brighton) and physical barriers in place of paint or flexposts, along with signal retiming and protection against illegal parking in bike lanes.
New in 2026–27
Newly prominent are requests for sidewalk-height raised bike lanes with concrete barriers, enforcement and 311 reporting of lane-blocking cars, more crossing guards, and quick-build temporary curb extensions and planters.
Funding so far
No winning resident-vote projects relate to this theme, so every recurring ask (protected bike lanes, safer crossings and signals, traffic calming, enforcement and education, pedestrian-priority streets) has yet to be addressed by a winning project.
Projects are linked to themes by matching each project's description to the themes; this is not an official City classification.
No winning project has addressed this theme yet.
Departments that often lead this work
- Boston Transportation Department
- Public Works
Suggested with AI; not an official assignment of responsibility.
Ideas in Pedestrian & bike safety
17 ideas
2024–25: 8 · 2025–26: 4 · 2026–27: 5 (of 324 in this theme)
- Protect and resurface bike lane near CommonResident wants the bike lane around the Common and Public Garden protected by more than paint or flexposts and resurfaced, since it is a key connector in the bike network.2026–27Back Bay
- Physical barrier to protect cyclists at Boylston turnResident asks for a quick-build concrete barrier to stop left-turning cars from clipping cyclists waiting at the light on Boylston, where turning cars create crash risk.2026–27Back Bay
- Commonwealth Ave cycle track, crossings and Newbury closuresResident asks for permanent light exhibitions, a two-way cycle track in the median and safer crossings on Commonwealth Avenue, plus weekend and holiday car closures of Newbury Street.2026–27Back Bay
- ADA-accessible Comm Ave Mall crossingsResident asks to reduce vehicle crossings of the Comm Ave Mall and add raised crosswalks so the park path is accessible to all pedestrians and ADA compliant.2026–27Back Bay
- Make Newbury Street a full-time pedestrian spaceResident asks to pedestrianize Newbury Street full time, with retractable bollards for morning deliveries, to protect vulnerable road users, reduce emissions and support businesses.2026–27Back Bay
- Close Dartmouth St during Open Newbury StreetResident proposes a pilot closing Dartmouth Street between Copley Square and the BPL on Open Newbury Street days because of heavy foot traffic and driving alternatives.2025–26Back Bay
- Protected bike lane on Mass AveResident asks for a protected bike lane on Massachusetts Avenue to keep people who cannot afford cars from being killed.2025–26Back Bay
- Year-round Sunday Open Newbury StreetResident asks the city to extend Open Newbury Street to a year-round Sunday event, funding road closure barriers and operating costs, to improve outdoor mobility and business opportunities.2025–26Back Bay
- Contraflow bike lane on Dartmouth StreetResident asks for a contraflow bike lane on Dartmouth from St James to the Southwest Corridor entrance, because no safe route currently connects Back Bay to the Corridor.2025–26Back Bay
- Protected bike connection on Dartmouth StreetThe resident asks for a bike-friendly connection between the Charles River Esplanade and the Southwest Corridor on Dartmouth Street, since existing lanes are unprotected and one-directional.2024–25Back Bay
- Raised crosswalks on Comm Ave mallResident asks for raised crosswalks between each block of the Commonwealth Avenue mall to make it more accessible and pedestrian friendly.2024–25Back Bay
- Physically protect Mass Ave east-side bike laneResident asks for physical separation of the unprotected bike lane on the east side of Mass Ave, which cars constantly park in.2024–25Back Bay
- Make Newbury Street pedestrian priorityResident asks to make Newbury Street pedestrian-priority at all times, limiting vehicles to deliveries during off hours, as in other major cities.2024–25Back Bay
- Mid-block crosswalks along Commonwealth Mall pathResident asks for mid-block crosswalks aligned with the Commonwealth Mall path so pedestrians aren't directed to corners to cross.2024–25Back Bay
- Upgrade Comm Ave bike lanes in Back BayResident asks to upgrade the Commonwealth Avenue bike lanes so they integrate better with the mall and are more separated from vehicles.2024–25Back Bay
- Protected southbound bike lane on Arlington or ClarendonResident asks for a protected bike lane on Arlington or Clarendon Street for southbound travel from Back Bay, since no equally safe route exists compared with Berkeley Street.2024–25Back Bay
- Pedestrianize Newbury Street like Montreal's Mont-RoyalResident proposes turning Newbury Street into a pedestrian street, modeled on Avenue Mont-Royal in Montreal.2024–25Back Bay