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Jamaica Plain Centre / South Transportation Action Plan

We're advancing efforts to improve safety, connectivity, and placemaking on Centre and South streets in Jamaica Plain. We're focusing on the stretch between Hyde Square and Forest Hills Station.

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The City of Boston's Transportation Department (BTD) is leading this transportation action plan. Over the next year, we will work with the community to identify opportunities to:

  • Improve safety for all who walk, bike, take transit, and drive on Centre and South streets
  • Intentionally balance the needs of all uses and users, mostly using the existing width of the street between curbs
  • Enhance the public realm, providing opportunities to comfortably and safely visit and linger in the area

During Fall 2024, we're hard at work issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a consultant to help us with planning, design, and engagement. We'll spend most of 2025 having initial conversations with the community about your experiences and ideas. We'll take a deep dive into the existing conditions of the streets, making sure we understand how things work for the people who use them every day. We'll use this feedback to start to create potential options for the way the streets could be designed to better serve all its uses and users.

PROJECT GOALS

Contact: Transportation
Ensure safe travel every time

In 2015, Boston committed to Vision Zero, aiming to eliminate traffic fatalities and severe injuries on City Streets. Centre Street is on the City's "High Crash Network" for people biking. This project will increase safety for all users, first and foremost.

Balance the needs of all users

We ask a lot of Centre and South streets. For example, riders of the 39 bus, a key bus route with the fourth most riders in the MBTA system, experience frequent delays due to traffic congestion. This project will use planning, design, and engineering to balance the needs of all who rely on the streets.

Support the community through place-centered design

Centre and South Streets form the beating heart of one of the most vibrant commercial districts in the City. This project will use transportation planning to support placemaking and community development.

TIMELINE

Contact: Transportation

We know we've worked with the community on this street before. The 2011 Centre and South Streets Jamaica Plain Streetscape and Transportation Action Plan was a comprehensive look at the streets. Now, we're ready to update our past efforts.

  1. Hire a consultant: The City is working hard to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP). By Fall 2024, we'll have issued the RFP. It'll take a couple months to fully get a consultant on board to help us with planning, design, and engagement.
  2. Initial community engagement and existing conditions analysis: We'll spend most of 2025 doing a deep dive on the streets. We'll ask about our project design principles. We'll ask you about how you use Centre and South Streets. We'll make sure we haven't missed anything in our understanding of existing conditions.
  3. Street redesign vision: Our team will provide many ways to get involved in this process to redesign Centre and South streets. We expect many different designs may be evaluated, and we'll ask for your help in balancing tradeoffs in design. The process of developing a vision and design concept will begin in earnest later in 2025.

GET INVOLVED

Contact: Transportation

We're interested in hearing from you! As soon as we have more information on all the different ways you can get involved, we'll update this section. For now, you can provide your email using this form, and we'll share information about public meetings and other project-specific details as we have them. 

PROJECT MATERIALS

Project Materials
Contact: Transportation
 

related initiatives

Contact: Transportation
2011 Streetscape and Transportation Action Plan

We'll be building on the earlier Streetscape and Transportation Action Plan effort from 2011.
Route 39 Transit Priority Corridor

We're planning improvements to the Route 39 corridor to reduce transit delay and enhance safety.
Curb Use Guide & Action Plan

We are implementing flexible curb management strategies to increase access and adapt to changing demands.
Vision Zero Boston

Vision Zero Boston is our commitment to focus on proven strategies to eliminate fatal and severe traffic crashes.
Squares and Streets (Planning Department)

A new initiative focusing on housing, public space, small businesses, arts, and transportation along main streets.
Egleston Square Redesign

We are planning safety improvements for all road users traveling through the Egleston Square area.
Green Street, Seaverns Avenue, and Gordon Street Bike Lanes

We added bike lanes and speed humps to Green Street, Seaverns Avenue, and Gordon Street.
Boylston Street (Jamaica Plain) Bike Link

We added a contraflow bike lane and speed humps for a bicycle connection between the Southwest Corridor and Centre Street.
Eliot Street Better Bike Lane

We added a contraflow bike lane and speed humps on Eliot Street between the Jamaicaway and Centre Street.
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