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Description
The Boston Transportation Department needs your help to make Boston an easier city to navigate for everyone. On this episode of Commissioners Corner, Host, Najya Mawasi and Transportation Commissioner Gina Fiandaca discuss how BTD has been implementing your ideas to improve traffic flow in the City of Boston while keeping our streets safe.
A
A
B
A
B
I
like
to
say,
Boston,
Transportation
Department
keeps
people
moving
and
that's
our
mission.
You
know.
Last
a
couple
of
years
ago
we
released
go.
Boston
2030,
which
is
the
city's
long-term
transportation
plan,
really
provides
a
framework
and
a
vision
for
how
we
think
about
moving
around
in
the
future.
Mm-Hm
and.
A
B
B
B
Well,
you
know
people
were
really
engaged.
Okay
and
I
think
that
was
what
was
so
inspiring
about.
The
whole
campaign
is
that
folks
really
welcomed
the
opportunity
to
get
involved
because
I
don't
think
anyone
who
never
asked
them
before
how
they
want
to
get
around
in
the
future
and
what
their
vision
is
for
transportation.
So
we
went
out
to
all
the
neighborhood's
we
heard
from
6000
people
that
way
impressive.
A
B
Went
out
and
we
took
all
that
information
back
and
we
launched
visioning
sessions
in
our
neighborhoods.
We
went
out
on
the
weekends
we
went
out
during
the
day
we
went
out
at
night.
We
wanted
to
make
sure
that
we
engaged
a
lot
of
populations
that
don't
normally
show
up
to
community
meetings
on
a
weeknight
in
their
neighborhoods.
We
were
downtown,
we
were
out
in
the
neighborhoods
and
from
that
we
distilled
that
down
to
58
projects
and
policies
that
form
sort
of
the
vision
framework
for
for
go,
Boston,
2030.
A
B
Have
vision,
zero
was
launched
in
2015
by
Mayor
Walsh,
and
that
is
an
international
effort
to
eliminate
serious
traffic
crashes,
that
that
result
in
fatalities
and
serious
injuries,
and
it's
a
very
much
a
people
oriented
a
program
in
an
approach
and
it
performs
really
our
public
safety
philosophy
for
the
transportation
department
mm-hmm.
So.
A
B
Well,
vision:
zero
has
a
task
force
that
was
appointed
by
the
mayor.
It
includes
representatives
from
all
of
our
public
safety
agencies,
including
the
Boston
police
department
and
EMS
emergency
medical
services.
Those
are
key
partners
for
us,
as
well
as
folks
from
the
advocacy
community,
our
medical
community,
our
university
and
our
educational
communities
and
our
neighborhood
groups,
and
really
the
the
hallmark
for
vision.
Zero
has
taken
a
data-driven
approach
to
sort
of
these
interventions
that
can
make
our
roadways
safer,
mm-hmm.
A
B
B
So
the
speed
limit
in
Boston
was
35
30
miles
per
hour
through
the
mayor's
initiative
and
a
lot
of
hard
work
with
with
some
great
partners
who
really
advocated
for
this.
On
our
behalf,
we
were
able
to
pass
legislation
that
lowered
the
speed
limit
to
25
miles
per
hour
in
the
city
of
Boston.
So
all
of
the
roadways,
the
speed
limit
is
25
miles
per
hour
unless
it's
posted.
Otherwise,
now.
B
B
And
the
Talbot
Norfolk
Triangle,
okay,
this
year,
we've
got
two
locations
in
Cartman
square.
We've
got
some
in
Dorchester
Mattapan.
So
what
we're
doing
right
now
is
really
doing
those
community
engagement
walks
with
the
neighborhood
groups.
They
were
selected
for
the
program
next
step
for
us
is
we
go
out
and
we
actually
walk
the
area
with
our
engineers
and
our
planners,
so
we
can
get
a
real
good
feel
for
what
the
issues
are
and
how
we.
A
B
So
go
Boston
2030,
but
really
it
takes
a
sort
of
the
public
engagement
process
and
it
forms
the
frame
refer
for
our
approach
and
what
we
heard
from
folks
is
that
they
want
to
be
able
to
get
around
their
neighborhoods
in
a
safe
way.
They
want
great
pedestrian
access
to
public
transit,
they
want
equitable
public
transit
and
they
really
want
to
be
feel
safe
on
our
streets.
So
with
that
said,
we
launched
neighborhood
slow
streets,
which
is
where
vision
z-ro
takes
an
approach
where
we
could
redesign
corridors
or
specific
intersections
to
make
those
specific
locations.
B
Safer.
Neighborhood
slow
streets
really
engages
the
community
to
tell
us
what
are
the
neighborhood
streets
and
the
districts
within
your
neighborhood
that
you
would
really
like
us
to
come
in
and
redesign
with
you,
so
they
submit
an
application.
We
take
into
consideration
the
proximity
to
parks
and
schools
or
in
hospitals
or
CVS.
A
B
We
certainly
do
blue
bikes
is
the
city's
public
bike
share
system
and
we
launched
this
program
with
our
partners
in
cambridge
and
somerville
in
Brookline
this
year
and
the
bikes
are
blue
because
they're
sponsored
by
Blue
Cross
and
Blue
Shield.
Okay,
all
right
so
earlier
this
summer,
all
of
the
bikes
were
swapped
out
they're
brand
new
bikes.
We
were
adding
30
stations
to
the
network.
A
A
B
B
Areas
that
we
went
out
to
our
neighborhoods
again
we're
big
on
public
engagement,
so
we
launched
some
sort
of
information
sessions
earlier
this
year
all
throughout
the
summer,
and
we
heard
from
folks.
Where
do
you
need
these
blue
bags?
So
what
does
it
cost
to
rent
a
blue
bike?
Blue
bikes
are
amazingly
affordable.
It
is
$99
per
year
for
the
membership
on
an
annual
basis,
or
you
can
pay
by
the
month
on
that.
B
B
A
A
A
B
That
know
if
you've
been
to
Franklin
Street
recently
you'll
see
a
sea
of
green
out
there.
We
have
turned
Franklin
Street
into
a
pedestrian
Plaza
and
we
call
that
our
public
realm
initiative,
and
that
was
a
partnership
with
them.
They
Downtown
Crossing
business
association
and
millennium
properties.
We
took
the
the
street
we
painted
it
green,
we
put
flex
posts
out
to
protect,
protect.
B
A
B
That's
a
program
that
we're
really
proud
of,
we
went
out
to
the
community
in
Roslindale
and
we
identified
the
corridor
on
Washington
Street
from
Rosendale
Square
to
Forest
Hills,
as
particularly
congested
on
the
am
commute
so
in
the
morning
hours
and
most
of
the
people
travelling
along
that
corridor
are
on
the
bus.
So
we
wanted
to
find
a
way
to
improve
that
experience.
B
Last
December,
we
went
out
there
and
we
decided
to
pilot
a
bustling.
We
partnered
with
the
MBTA
on
this,
and
we
count
off
a
travel
lane
in
the
morning.
So
we
fired
the
neighborhood,
we
removed
the
parking
in
the
parking
lane,
we
combed
off
the
Delaine
and
we
made
it
an
exclusive
lane
for
buses.
So
essentially
what
we
did
was
we
doubled
the
roadway
capacity
on
the
am
commute,
so
cars
had
their
lane.
B
Buses
had
their
lane
and
cyclists
could
use
the
bus
lane
as
well,
and
what
we
found
was
that
it
really
improved
the
operations
of
the
bus
really
improved
the
experience
for
the
riders
on
that
bus.
So
we
went
out,
we
did
it
again.
We
collected
some
data
from
the
MBTA.
Should
we
want
to
make
sure
that
you
know
what
we're
doing
out?
A
B
You
know
I
have
to
give
a
lot
of
credit
to
the
Transportation
Department's
operations,
folks
because
they
were
out
there
at
4
a.m.
every
single
day
to
make
sure
that
that
Lane
was
clear
and
eventually
you
know
we
were
able
to
work
with
the
MBTA
to
get
the
lane
striped.
So
now
it's
red
all
the
pavement
markings
are
in
place.
So
it's
really.
A
A
B
We've
got
20
new
positions
that
we
are
looking
for.
Folks,
for
we
want
people
to
join
our
vision,
zero
team.
We
want
people
to
join
our
transit
team
so
that
we
can
plan
more
of
these
bike
lanes
and
bus
lanes
and
really
improve
our
collaboration
with
the
MBTA
and
the
transit
folks,
so
that
we
can
really
build
out
those
connections
to
our
transit
system
that
people
need
we're,
also
hiring
mobility
team
and
we're
hiring
some
folks.
B
A
B
Well,
Boston's
really
been
on
the
cutting
edge
of
autonomous
vehicle
testing.
For
a
long
time
now
we
have
had
a
partnership
with
some
technology
providers
going
back
a
couple
of
years
now,
new
tana
me
and
optimus
ride.
They
operated
in
the
Seaport
District
and
we
took
a
very
strategic
approach
to
how
we
would
roll
out
the
testing
for
autonomous
vehicles.
Okay
and
safety
was
always
our
number
one
priority,
and
the
providers
really
welcomed
that
into
the
testing
protocol.
B
A
Are
are
you
ready,
thank
you
so
much
Commissioner
feeing
doctor.
Thank
you.
If
you
would
like
more
information
about
boston
transportation
plans
or
if
you
are
interested
in
job
opportunities
at
boston
transportation
department,
please
visit
boston,
gov
forward,
slash
transportation
or
email,
the
department
at
BTD
at
boston,
gov
or
call.