The City of Boston Streets Cabinet staff held a virtual public meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 11, to discuss the city’s Dartmouth Street Safety and Mobility Project, which includes plans for a proposed bike lane on Dartmouth Street between Copley Square and the Charles River Esplanade, as well as immediate, short-term changes at the intersection of Dartmouth and Stuart streets.
The city intends to create a new two-way, separated bike lane on Dartmouth Street in concert with the repaving of Dartmouth Street between Back Street and Commonwealth Avenue. Some ramps in the project area will be rebuilt this year while others will require engineering plans and therefore be rebuilt in a future construction season, said Julia Campbell, the city’s deputy chief for infrastructure and design.
There will be no reduction to the number of general traffic lanes on Dartmouth Street as a result of the project, which, Campbell said, also offers an opportunity to change signal timing to improve safety and efficiency.
Expected construction impacts will include a temporary reduction in travel lanes, as well as possible impacts to pedestrian access.
Additionally, ‘quick-build’ work is set to get underway this fall at Dartmouth and Stuart streets, including adding new striping and installing flex-posts to narrow slip lanes to slow turning drivers. The crosswalk would also be reduced there to 16 inches from the current length of 30 inches.
Next year, more permanent changes will be implemented in the area of Dartmouth and Stuart streets, including repaving Stuart Street between Huntington Avenue and Dartmouth Street (not including the section on the MassDOT bridge).
The city will also then explore the effectiveness of narrowed slip lanes and make any necessary adjustments, as well as look at adding a separated bike lane and adjusting signal timing, along with exploring the potential for slip-lane closures.
Meanwhile, National Grid intends to replace gas mains beneath Back Bay streets next year, including one on Dartmouth Street between Commonwealth Avenue and Boylston Street. After the conclusion of this work, the city will then repave Dartmouth Street between Commonwealth Avenue and Boylston Street and finish installing the bike lane. (National Grid’s work won’t delay the city’s plans for north of Commonwealth Avenue, said Campbell.)
According to the city, the Dartmouth Street Safety and Mobility Project was informed by Go Boston 2030 – Boston’s citywide transportation plan, which identified Dartmouth Street as a possible location for a bike corridor – as well as from community feedback solicited at last year’s Berkeley Street Better Bike Lane project, which also pointed to Dartmouth Street as a potential location for a bike lane.
Rep. Jay Livingstone, who was on hand for the meeting, agreed with these findings, saying, “I personally think Dartmouth Street is a much safer path for bicyclists and pedestrians”
In contrast, Tracy Campion, a real estate broker for the past 39 years, as well as a Dartmouth Street resident, voiced her strong opposition to the proposed Dartmouth Street bike lane.
Campion said she was “heartbroken by what [the city’s] plans are to do to this beautiful boulevard” and added that bikes and bike infrastructure are “destroying” the Back Bay neighborhood.
“We have bike lane on other side…and I don’t understand why you have to come in and do this,” said Campion. “We don’t need it. I’m just totally shocked by what’s happening in our city.”
And while the city has asserted that proposed design would preserves the most street parking of any of the alternatives explored and keeps parking on one side of Dartmouth Street, some Back Bay residents in attendance lamented that the project would inevitably result in the loss of some spaces in the neighborhood.
Despite an imminent start date, Campbell responded that the city is still listening to community feedback on the project.
“It’s not a done deal – that’s why we’re having this conversation,” said Campbell.
Visit boston.gov/dartmouth-street to learn more about the Dartmouth Street Safety and Mobility Project, including the schedule and sign-ups for virtual office hours. Comments can also be emailed to [email protected].