The city is reconstructing sidewalk pedestrian ramps and making traffic safety improvements at the intersection at Walnut Street to improve mobility and slow traffic traveling on Mount Vernon and Chestnut streets, according to Boston Transportation Department officials.
Rob Whitney, president of the Beacon Hill Civic Association board of directors, said the work is the result of an agreement between the city and the nonprofit.
“The city is raising the intersection [at Mt. Vernon and Walnut streets] to cause traffic to slow down, and to make it more accessible to people with mobility disabilities,” Whitney said. “We’ve met with the city on the initial ramps they’re putting in, as well as the design issues.”
Whitney said the traffic problem in the area has been further exasperated in recent years due with the increasing popularity of ride-share services like and Uber and Lyft, as well as the GPS navigation app Wazes. “We’re very concerned about excessive speeds of cars on Beacon Hill,” he added. Meanwhile, Whitney said, “We look forward to continuing discussions with city in regard to work they’re planning on doing in the neighborhood over the next several years.”