Street & sidewalk repair
Fixing and maintaining roads, sidewalks and curb ramps so they are smooth and accessible.
Residents consistently ask the City to fill potholes, repair and level broken sidewalks, and add accessible curb ramps, with a focus on safety for seniors and people with disabilities.
Theme grouped and summary written with AI from this theme's resident ideas.
169 ideas across three cycles
| Cycle | Ideas | Share of all ideas | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–25 | 55 | 4.5% | 12 of 20 |
| 2025–26 | 59 | 4.9% | 8 of 20 |
| 2026–27 | 55 | 4.2% | 12 of 20 |
Needs that keep coming back
Fill potholes and repave rough streets
Residents across all three cycles ask for potholes to be filled and damaged streets repaved, citing vehicle damage, crashes and risks to cyclists and pedestrians.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
Repair uneven and broken sidewalks
Cracked, uneven, root-lifted and brick sidewalks are described as trip and fall hazards, especially for older adults, wheelchair users and families with strollers.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
Accessible curb ramps and crossings
Residents ask for repaired and added curb ramps and accessible crossings, noting that ramps are of little use next to broken sidewalk.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
Tree roots and tree pits that damage sidewalks
Residents ask for fixes where roots lift sidewalks or trees narrow the walking space, including permeable paving and no trees planted mid-sidewalk.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
Priority for seniors, schools and underserved areas
Residents ask that repairs go first to places used by older adults and children, such as senior housing, schools and Chinatown, and to neighborhoods that feel overlooked.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
2024–25
Ideas centered on sidewalk repair and accessibility, with calls for citywide sidewalk audits and master plans, help converting private ways to public streets, and pothole fixes.
2025–26
Many near-identical ideas from Chinatown asked for repairs to cracks, potholes and uneven streets near senior housing and schools, alongside broad pothole and street repair requests.
2026–27
Sidewalk repair in front of Chinatown shops and near key destinations was prominent, along with many short citywide requests to fix roads and potholes, plus new asks on snow clearing and repair scheduling.
New in 2026–27
New or growing asks include city-run sidewalk snow clearing, scheduling road work at low-disruption times, permeable paving over tree roots, and prioritizing repairs near senior centers, bus stops and business frontages.
Funding so far
No winning project in this theme was funded by resident vote, so recurring asks for pothole repair, sidewalk repair, curb ramps and fixes to tree-root damage have not yet been addressed.
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
- Public Works
- Boston Transportation Department
Suggested with AI; not an official assignment of responsibility.
Ideas in Street & sidewalk repair
6 ideas
2024–25: 2 · 2025–26: 4 · 2026–27: 0 (of 169 in this theme)
- Reopen Barnes Ave sidewalk to Orient Heights stationFund low-cost access improvements, such as reopening the Barnes Ave sidewalk that connects directly to Orient Heights station, to improve transit access for largely minority neighborhoods.2025–26East Boston
- Repair streets and reduce litterResident asks the City to repair damaged streets and clean up the trash on the streets, to reduce pollution in the community.2025–26East Boston
- Improve street conditionsResident asks for better street conditions, saying it would benefit everyone, especially people in overlooked or lower-resource areas.2025–26East Boston
- Fix sidewalks in East BostonResident asks to improve the appearance and condition of East Boston by repairing its sidewalks, for the benefit of people of all backgrounds.2025–26East Boston
- Improve roads and sidewalks in East BostonImprove roads and sidewalks for all East Boston residents.2024–25East Boston
- Repair bumpy roads in East BostonFix bumpy East Boston roads so drivers can drive safely and avoid damaging their cars.2024–25East Boston