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
- Enforcement against texting drivers and crosswalk violationsResident asks for more resources for street safety, such as tracking technology and substantial fines for drivers who text or fail to stop at crosswalks, to protect seniors and children.2025–26City-wide
- Hire more parking enforcement officersResident asks the city to hire more Boston Transportation Department parking enforcement officers because drivers ignore limits, making use of scarce street parking less equitable.2025–26City-wide
- Raised crosswalks along Southwest Corridor bike pathResident asks for raised crosswalks at all street intersections along the Southwest Corridor path to make biking feel safer, especially for lower-income residents without cars.2025–26Jamaica Plain
- Signal upgrades, road repair and cleaning for seniorsResident asks for improved traffic signals near senior areas, pothole repairs on busy routes, ADA-accessible sidewalks, and more frequent trash and leaf cleanup with more public bins.2025–26ChinatownSubmitted in Chinese
- Trees, crosswalks, bike lanes and buses for livable streetsResident asks for more trees, crosswalks, better road design, bike lanes and buses, especially in poorer and historically Black neighborhoods with less tree cover and worse sidewalks.2025–26City-wide
- 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
- Expand road diets citywideThe resident asks for road diets across the city, saying Black and brown neighborhoods are left out of bike lane and Vision Zero efforts.2025–26City-wide
- Beautify and make main streets walkableThe resident asks to beautify main streets such as Washington Street and make them walkable places.2025–26Dorchester
- 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
- Make streets transit, bike and pedestrian orientedResident asks for speed bumps, bike lanes and raised crossings so people can get around safely without a car, improving safety and equity in lower-income and Black and brown neighborhoods.2025–26City-wide
- Better bike access to river and Watertown bridgeResident asks for improved bike access to the river and to the bridge to Watertown.2025–26Brighton
- Protected bike lanesResident asks for protected bike lanes so everyone can ride a bike.2025–26City-wide
- Safer, separated bike and pedestrian pathsResident asks for safer bike and pedestrian paths, with the bike path separated from other traffic.2025–26City-wide
- Cycling superhighways across the cityResident asks for high-quality cycling superhighways like those in London, to benefit cyclists, pedestrians, motorists and businesses and reduce car-centric design.2025–26City-wide
- Protect Seaport Boulevard bike lanes with barriersResident asks for physical barriers on Seaport Blvd bike lanes so cyclists are safer and cars cannot park illegally in them.2025–26South Boston Waterfront
- Connect bike network and prioritize non-driver safetyResident asks the City to connect the bike network and prioritize safety for pedestrians, wheelchair users and cyclists, since many households have no car.2025–26City-wide
- Safer crosswalks at Flora and Walter StreetsResident asks for improvements to crosswalks near the Arboretum at Flora and Walter Streets, where cars ignore crossings and many people, including schoolchildren, cross.2025–26Jamaica Plain
- More traffic and emergency signs on streetsResident asks for more traffic or emergency signs on streets.2025–26City-wide
- More accessible parking spots and better enforcementResident asks for more handicap parking spots and stronger enforcement of existing ones, including by police where there are no parking enforcement officers, to give disabled people equal access.2025–26City-wide