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
324 ideas
2024–25: 157 · 2025–26: 53 · 2026–27: 114
- Clear crosswalks and bike lanes in Nubian SquareResident asks for clearly painted, even crosswalks and bike lanes in Roxbury, especially Nubian Square, to support residents' commutes.2024–25Roxbury
- Protected bike lanes on Washington StreetResident asks for protected bike lanes on Washington Street to Forest Hills, to provide safer and more equitable transportation access.2024–25Roslindale
- Crosswalk with warning lights at Foster and Rogers ParkResident asks for a pedestrian crossing with warning lights at Foster Street and Rogers Park Ave, where many people cross and drivers have poor visibility around the curve.2024–25Brighton
- Safer crossing at Chestnut Hill Ave and Comm AveResident asks for longer crossing times, a wider protected waiting area at the B line stop, and ideally an overhead crossing, to improve pedestrian and transit rider safety.2024–25Brighton
- Non-police traffic directors at peak hoursResident proposes hiring non-police traffic directors at peak times to manage blocked intersections and unsafe bikes, scooters and pedestrians, as New York does, while also creating jobs.2024–25City-wide
- Speed humps on Foster StreetResident asks for speed humps or another speeding solution on Foster Street near Rogers Park, where speeding and curves with poor visibility endanger pedestrians and children.2024–25Brighton
- 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
- 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
- New crosswalk on Amory StreetResident asks for a new crosswalk on Amory Street aligned with the Southwest Corridor Park entrance and the south side of Cornwall.2024–25Jamaica Plain
- Connect Commercial Street and Causeway bike pathsResident asks to extend the Commercial Street bike path so it connects to the existing path on Causeway Street.2024–25North End
- 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
- Bike and pedestrian underpass at sharp path turnResident asks for an underpass for bikes and pedestrians to reduce conflicts at a sharp turn along the path.2024–25Allston
- Safer bike connection toward Jamaica Plain at the pondResident asks to fix a gap where bikes heading toward JP can only use an unprotected painted lane on a road with speeding cars because bikes are prohibited at the pond.2024–25Jamaica Plain
- Bike and pedestrian paths along the parkwayResident asks for pedestrian and bike paths through the parkway so it works more like a park than a driveway.2024–25West Roxbury
- Better walking and biking link from Morton to American LegionResident asks for improved pedestrian and bike connections between Morton and American Legion, which are hard to travel between on foot or by bike.2024–25Mattapan
- Add safe pedestrian crossing at marked spotResident asks the City to find a safe way to add a pedestrian crossing at the marked location.2024–25Dorchester
- Remove barriers to pedestrian circulation in neighborhoodResident asks the City to work with property owners and tenant groups to remove barriers to walking through the area.2024–25Roxbury
- Connect Somerville path into CharlestownResident asks for a better connection between the new path to Somerville and Charlestown, particularly a way to cross Alford Street.2024–25Charlestown