Speak up For a Car-Free Northern Ave. Bridge!
Last year, Boston unveiled several concepts for rebuilding and reopening the Northern Ave. Bridge, including one option for a car-free pathway. However, the City is now suggesting it will settle for a design that adds cars and private shuttle buses to the bridge, too.
On Monday, join us in urging Boston to build a bridge to a more sustainable city, not a car-choked past!
Northern Avenue Bridge Project Community Meeting
Monday, June 3, 2019
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
District Hall, Assembly Room
75 Northern Avenue, Boston, MA
We’re pleased that each of the city’s designs includes some form of separated bike facilities. However, building a wider bridge to carry vehicle traffic will cost significantly more of our limited public funding for infrastructure. The Seaport also has great potential to shift to having more people on bikes, with completed or planned protected bike facilities nearby and a high concentration of bike share stations.
The bridge closed to cars in 1997 (and to all users in 2014 due to unsafe conditions) and it would be a mistake to bring motor vehicle traffic back now. Creating more space for cars will inevitably create more traffic due to induced demand, which would run counter to this project’s goal of improving mobility in the cramped, congested Seaport. Instead, the City should be encouraging alternative and sustainable modes of transportation.
Together with our allies, LivableStreets Alliance and WalkBoston, we are advocating for:
- A people-first space that is open only to pedestrians, cyclists, and emergency vehicles.
- The City to present full information about the cost of the different options so the public can make decisions about how public funds are spent.
- Public input to be given the highest priority in determining the use and design of the bridge.
This is the second and final community meeting about this project. With the design still up for debate, don’t miss your chance to push for a car-free Northern Ave. Bridge!
If you cannot attend the meeting Monday night, you can emailTeam@NorthernAveBridgeBos.com and CC: Chris.osgood@boston.gov,ed.flynn@boston.gov, info@bostoncyclistsunion.org.
You can also sign up to get updatesabout the project and give feedback once designs are shared.