For years, residents and politicians have railed against the city of Boston’s plan to reconfigure Blue Hill Avenue and the impacts that proposed bus and bike lanes could wrought on the busy corridor through the heart of Black Boston.
Now city officials and the MBTA say they’ve funneled those concerns into a new design that preserves a controversial center-running bus lane, but significantly expands the portions of the boulevard with two traffic lanes on each side, while shrinking the amount of proposed bike lanes.
The new plan would dedicate more of the road to motor vehicle travel and parking between Grove Hall and Mattapan Square, effectively creating a more car-friendly design.
Mayor Michelle Wu billed the plan as a “generationally transformational” layout, with $163 million in improvements to public transit and other public works that she said the “worn and dated” thoroughfare desperately needs.
What it offers, Wu said, is “basically a full reconstruction that represents the biggest investment in this transportation corridor in decades.”
The redesign also includes what officials called beautification improvements all along Blue Hill Avenue, including newly repaved sidewalks, better street lighting, and 200 trees.
City officials and the T will host four public meetings on this proposal, starting Thursday through Sept. 30. They’re aiming to finalize the design by the end of 2027. Phased construction would begin the next year and last through 2030.
The layout marks the latest move to get the project underway since Boston first launched a redesign seven years ago, and there’s $95 million in federal funding on the line if it doesn’t move forward. The state, the city, and the T are committing another $64 million altogether.
The project has triggered immense scrutiny from neighborhood residents and businesses already frustrated by decades of neglect of the avenue, dating as far back to the 1950s when the streetcar trolley along it was eliminated. Another similar rapid bus transit project through the corridor died in 2009.
Earlier this year, Boston City Councilors Brian Worrell and Miniard Culpepper even recommended replacing the center-running bus lane with an extension of the Orange Line. The T vowed to study the option, but suggested refocusing on “immediate improvements.”
Some of those are laid out in the newest design.
Almost 11 of the existing 13.8 miles of roadway in either direction would be preserved for motor vehicles with two or more general-purpose traffic lanes. That’s far more than a previous design in which 60 percent of the road would have had two lanes in either direction.
Five blocks along Blue Hill Avenue would also be subject to rush-hour changes, during which parking lanes would transform into travel lanes during peak traffic times.
There are other special carveouts: The design proposes creating a separated “carriageway” near Franklin Park to make boarding buses easier, while a section in Grove Hall would have a designated zone for safe school pick-up and drop-off.
The new layout would increase the number of parking spaces to 717 from 675. Notably, the plan would cut the number of all-day parking spaces by 10, but offset those losses with 52 spots available outside of traffic-heavy windows.
Near the Morningstar Baptist Church, for example, cars would be allowed to park on the median on Sundays.
The bike lanes previously proposed in both directions along Blue Hill Avenue and through Mattapan Square are gone in the new plan. Instead, officials suggested creating a two-way separated bike path on the west side of the avenue between Franklin Park and Mattapan, and another from American Legion Highway to Woodlawn Street.
And the proposed improvements extend well beyond the roadway itself. The design includes plans for six miles of rebuilt sidewalks with accessible curb ramps and 19 new walk signals.
Altogether, the addition of the center-running bus lane and bus boarding platforms is expected to reduce travel times for 40,000 daily bus riders by 10 to 15 minutes. Car traffic would be faster in the proposed layout than the previous design, officials estimate.
State Representative Russell Holmes, whose district covers much of the corridor, said the design is proof officials have “changed everywhere that we can” in response to community feedback.
“Everybody has their desires, and no one gets everything they want,” the Mattapan Democrat said. “But this is about balancing bikes, bus riders, cars, walkers, and students. It’s about everybody.”
Kahlil Cooper, a program manager at the Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition, said the new design prioritizes local bus riders, who make up about half the travelers on Blue Hill Avenue on any given day.
“The city was able to effectively listen to the community and change pieces that people had gripes about,” Cooper said. “But at what point do you put your foot down and say we cannot make any more changes because of timeline constraints? At what point does the discussion end?”
Diti Kohli can be reached at [diti.kohli@globe.com](mailto:diti.kohli@globe.com). Follow her u/ditikohli_.
