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
8 ideas
2024–25: 7 · 2025–26: 1 · 2026–27: 0 (of 324 in this theme)
- Extend Mass Ave protected bike lanes southResident asks to extend protected bike lanes on Massachusetts Avenue as far south as possible for safety, less driving and reduced speeding.2025–26Fenway
- Speed up bike path under Park AveResident asks the city to expedite the planned bike path extension under Park Ave to fix a dangerous intersection.2024–25Fenway
- Bike ramp from Esplanade to southbound Mass Ave BridgeResident asks for a ramp connecting the Esplanade to the southbound Mass Ave Bridge sidewalk so bikers avoid crowded sidewalks or crossing the busy road.2024–25Fenway
- All-way pedestrian signal at Park Drive and RiverwayResident asks for an all-way pedestrian signal at Park Drive and Riverway so people can cross fully without long waits at the median.2024–25Fenway
- Redesign Kenmore Square for walking and bikingResident asks for a redesign of Kenmore Square prioritizing pedestrian and bike safety and new public spaces, since it is currently dominated by car space.2024–25Fenway
- Tighten curb radius at Park Dr and Buswell StResident asks to tighten the curb radius at the Park Drive and Buswell Street intersection to make it safer.2024–25Fenway
- New pedestrian bridge over Muddy RiverResident asks for design of a new pedestrian bridge across the Muddy River at the marked location.2024–25Fenway
- Two-way bike lane on Aggaziz RoadResident asks for a two-way bike lane on the wide one-way Aggaziz Road, since the shared sidewalks are too crowded with pedestrians for biking.2024–25Fenway