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
- Traffic calming and safety, especially on Hyde Park AveResident asks for meaningful traffic calming, pedestrian and bike safety measures citywide, especially on Hyde Park Ave, noting disadvantaged communities are more affected by traffic deaths.2026–27City-wide
- Enforce current traffic lawsResident asks for enforcement of existing traffic laws to make getting to work, school and recreation easier for people without expensive vehicles.2026–27City-wide
- Bike lanes on Centre and South StreetsResident asks for investment in bike lane infrastructure along Centre Street and South Street, in memory of a planner, for safer streets and transit equity.2026–27Jamaica Plain
- Dedicated cyclist signal phase southboundResident requests a dedicated cyclist phase on the southbound signal to prevent right-hook collisions with cars turning toward the highway.2026–27South Boston
- Retime dangerous intersection signalsResident asks for the intersection to be retimed and possibly given an added signal phase because it is dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists, and they witnessed a crash.2026–27South Boston Waterfront
- Parking-protected southbound bike laneResident suggests making the southbound bike lane parking-protected to stop constant double-parking that pushes cyclists into fast traffic near housing and a route to JFK/UMass.2026–27South Boston
- Protect D Street eastbound bike laneResident asks for a separated or parking-protected eastbound bike lane on D Street, or action against double-parking, which forces cyclists into traffic along the retail stretch.2026–27South Boston Waterfront
- Protect eastbound bridge bike lane into SouthieResident asks for a physical barrier in the existing buffer space of the eastbound bike lane on a bridge into South Boston, where flexposts get destroyed by reckless driving.2026–27South Boston
- Physical barrier for bridge bike laneResident requests a physical barrier rather than paint or flexposts for the bike lane on a bridge linking the Financial District and Seaport, for rider safety.2026–27South Boston Waterfront
- Stop illegal parking in bike laneResident asks for enforcement or redesign to stop illegal parking and rideshare pickups in the bike lane, possibly with a dedicated pickup zone, because cyclists are forced into traffic.2026–27South Boston Waterfront
- 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
- Concrete barriers for a citywide bike networkResident asks for investment in concrete bike lane barriers to build a connected citywide network, making biking safer, especially for young people.2026–27City-wide
- Speed bumps on Welles AveResident asks for speed bumps on Welles Ave between Talbot Ave and Washington Street because cars travel about 40 mph on the wide street, a safety concern.2026–27Dorchester
- More protected, separated bike lanesResident asks for more physically separated bike lanes because street markings do not protect bikers, and separated lanes would encourage new riders and car-free commuting.2026–27City-wideSubmitted in Korean
- Concrete curbs to protect painted bike lanesThe resident asks to upgrade painted bike lanes citywide with permanent concrete curbs that physically separate cyclists from traffic.2026–27City-wide
- Barrier-protected bike lanes on busy roadsThe resident asks for more bike lanes with barriers from drivers on busy biking roads so cyclists feel safer.2026–27City-wide
- Trained volunteer crossing guards committeeThe resident suggests a committee of volunteers trained by the city to serve as crossing guards, to make streets safer after accidents.2026–27City-wide
- More stop signs on Tremont Street, Mission HillThe resident asks for more stop signs on busy streets like Tremont Street in Mission Hill because of frequent car accidents and many children nearby.2026–27City-wide
- Bike lane dividers and more bike lanesThe resident asks for physical dividers on Boston's bike lanes and bike lanes on more streets to keep people safer.2026–27City-wide