McBride Street
The Public Works Department plans to reconstruct sidewalks on McBride Street. We will add a contraflow bike lane with that project.
McBride Street is a relatively flat route between the Southwest Corridor Bike Path and South Street while other parallel streets are hillier.
Our proposal is to add a westbound (towards South Street) contraflow bike lane on McBride Street, making it a two-way connection for bicyclists while keeping it one-way eastbound for vehicles. This will make the street an easy way for neighbors in southern Jamaica Plain to get to and from the Southwest Corridor Bike Path.
The reconstruction project will include accessible curb ramps and new sidewalks.
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Still have questions? Contact:
Transportation
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1 City Hall Square
Room 721Boston, MA 02201-2026
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EventsWhy McBride Street
- The Public Works Department plans to reconstruct the sidewalks on McBride Street as part of regular maintenance activities. We can use this opportunity to create a more comfortable connection to the Southwest Corridor and southern Jamaica Plain.
- People are already biking contraflow on McBride Street. 1 in 4 bicyclists on McBride Street ride contraflow.
- Vehicle volumes are moderate and speeds are too high. We can make the street safer and more comfortable by adding speed humps and a raised crosswalk.
Everyone in Boston deserves safe streets
This project is part of a bold plan for transforming Boston's streets to better serve people walking, rolling, and riding bikes. Over the next three years, we will expand our bike network so that 50% of residents will be a 3-minute walk from a safe and connected bike route.
What sidewalk material do you want?
The current sidewalks on McBride Street are asphalt. To rebuild them with concrete, state law requires us to follow the Betterment Process.
McBride Street residents must start the Betterment Process if they want concrete sidewalks instead of asphalt. Starting the Betterment Process would push construction to 2024.
If they successfully complete the process, property owners on McBride Street will be assessed a tax based on the length of their sidewalk frontage. The assessment typically costs between $500 and $1,000* per property. Payments can be made immediately or spread out over 10 years or longer. (* These amounts are preliminary and subject to change.)
How the Betterment Process Works
- Petition. Residents lead a petition process and acquire signatures from property owners. Residents must acquire signatures from 51% of McBride Street property owners to begin the Betterment Process.
- Community meetings. The Public Improvement Commission hosts community meetings. A waiting period follows.
- Final vote. The Public Improvement Commission hosts a final vote. A majority of property owners must vote in favor of Betterment.
- Construction. Sidewalks on McBride Street are rebuilt in concrete in 2024.
Do you want to start the Betterment Process? Email pic@boston.gov
Contraflow bike lanes
DIRECT ROUTES, BETTER ACCESS
One-way streets help manage the flow of vehicles. We might want to allow people to bike in both directions on one-way streets that:
- Provide access to a major destination, park, or trail access point, and/or,
- Help bicyclists avoid an obstacle, like a major hill or busy street with less comfortable biking conditions.
Contraflow bike lanes are a well-established design tool. They have seen decades of use around the U.S., the Boston area, and globally.
On moderate-volume streets like McBride Street, we can add contraflow bike lanes with paint and signage. The lane is positioned so that bicyclists ride on the right side of the street in the direction they are traveling, just like on two-way streets.
Proposed changes
Cross section options
We plan to:
- Reconstruct the sidewalks on McBride Street between South Street and Boynton Street.
- Continue sharing information with you about sidewalk materials and the Betterment Process.
- Build a raised crosswalk between Boynton Street and Lee Street.
- Add speed humps on McBride Street between Lee Street and South Street. Our speed humps preserve emergency response times.
- Add a contraflow bike lane going westbound (towards South Street). In the eastbound direction (towards Boynton Street), we'll add shared lane markings. McBride Street will remain one-way eastbound for motor vehicles from South Street to Boynton Street.
- Add signage on McBride Street and side streets approaching McBride Street indicating that two-way bike travel is allowed.
- Continue talking with you about the configuration of the bike lane and parking.
What do you like about these ideas? What are your questions? Email us at better-bike-lanes@boston.gov or join us at an upcoming event.
Neighborhood context
There are other bike lane projects happening in Jamaica Plain this year. These projects will help you to connect from the Southwest Corridor and Emerald Necklace paths to daily destinations on Centre Street, South Street, and points in between. Learn more about other projects in your neighborhood:
Project updates
UpdatesWe hosted two open house meetings to share more information and hear your feedback about bike projects in Jamaica Plain. You were invited to drop in anytime between 6 and 8 p.m. Both open houses had the same content. We offered Spanish interpretation at both.
- Wednesday, May 3. Margarita Muniz Academy, 20 Child Street
- Thursday, May 11. Mary Curley School, 493 Centre Street
Thank you to everyone who attended and shared their thoughts with us. We look forward to continuing to work with you to get the details right.
We sent a follow up email to the project email list on May 16, 2023.
View the boards (English):
- We posted flyers on front doors on McBride Street. We also posted flyers on light posts near the Southwest Corridor Park and on South Street.
- We sent an email to the project list about upcoming in-person and virtual events.
- We hosted virtual office hours every other Wednesday. You shared your feedback on Better Bike Lanes projects. We also corresponded with you via email.
- We posted flyers on front doors on McBride Street. We also posted flyers on light posts near the Southwest Corridor Park and on South Street.
- We mailed 115 postcards to households on Eliot Street and the blocks nearby.
- We hosted virtual office hours every other Wednesday. You shared your feedback on Better Bike Lanes projects. We also corresponded with you via email.
- We hosted virtual office hours every other Wednesday. You shared your feedback on Better Bike Lanes projects. We also corresponded with you via email.
- We began planning for spring and summer 2023 outreach and community conversations.
To build on her commitment to create safe streets for all modes of transportation, Mayor Michelle Wu and the Boston Transportation Department (BTD) announced a 9.4 mile expansion of bike lanes providing key connections within the City’s existing bike network and the launch of a Citywide design process to bring safer streets to every neighborhood. To do this, Boston is expanding Bluebikes to accommodate rising demand, designing traffic-calmed streets by building speed humps and raised crosswalks, and hiring more staff to aid in the design process.
The announcement was covered by local news outlets.
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Still have questions? Contact:
Transportation
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1 City Hall Square
Room 721Boston, MA 02201-2026
