BOSTON – At this week’s Boston City Council hearing, Councilor Ed Flynn filed an order for a hearing to discuss infrastructure changes and repainting of Summer Street to reflect that the bus lane pilot ended in September 2024. It has been over 8 months since the Summer Street Bus Pilot has ended, however, the painting on the street and solid white lines still remain. Despite the Pilot having long been over, many constituents remain confused about its status due to “Bus Only” still being painted at Summer Street and Dorchester Avenue near the United States Postal Service (USPS) office. In addition, there is confusion among neighbors on social media regarding whether potential MBTA regulations aimed at bus lane enforcement, with fines up to $125, will be applicable to Summer Street, even though the Pilot ended in September of 2024.

In the Fall of 2023, Boston Transportation Department (BTD) made street design changes for the Summer Street Multimodal Corridor Pilot to include a bus and truck lane between South Boston and South Station, with signs and paint that were visibly placed on the street in September 2023. However, due to a lack of clear communication- residents and civic organizations, the South Boston Elected Officials, and the Greater Boston workforce were all unaware that the official launch of the Pilot subsequently took place in December 2023.

Prior to installation, an overwhelming number of residents and stakeholders in South Boston called attention to the potential for unintended consequences of the Pilot and its overall fit for the entire corridor at community meetings, including serious concerns on the impacts to the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Conley Terminal, the Flynn Marine Industrial Park, and surrounding hotels and businesses. While Councilor Flynn repeatedly informed the city that while the already existing one block stretch of Bus Lane between South Station and the Federal Reserve was helpful to move our workforce through what was a known bottleneck of traffic, extending this down the entire corridor would create the exact problems the City was trying to alleviate. In short, repeatedly warned for years it would be a solution in search of a problem.

During the Pilot, residents continued to provide significant feedback regarding increased unpredictability on the road and traffic times, along with the creation of areas of congestion that did not previously exist. This included traffic backing up while waiting for turns at Summer Street and D Street in several directions, as well as blocked intersections.

In September 2024, the City announced abruptly that the Summer Street Bus Lane Pilot had ended due to it not working as intended, and that the bus lane had only improved peak bus trips by 15-30 seconds.

But even today, residents still call attention to the older traffic lights coming from the ground at the corners of Summer Street and D Street, or Summer Street and Dorchester Ave, that are now “bike lane lights.” Residents have noticed that when the bike lane light turns green to provide lead time for cyclists, drivers will instinctively start to move because they see a green light where it’s always been. Neighbors have witnessed fender benders or Commercial delivery trucks drive into the crosswalk during a red light due to this confusion, or distracted driving on their phones, when the bike light turns green. To date, there has been no public education or awareness campaign around that issue.

“Eight months after the Summer Street Bus Lane Pilot ended, both residents and visitors remain unsure of the rules of the road as we have yet to repaint the lines, remove the words “Bus Only” in the street, or whether new MBTA regulations and fines will be applicable to Summer Street. In the interest of restoring predictability on the road, public safety, and public awareness, it is critical that the City both update the community and make these infrastructure changes so that everyone is aware the Summer Street Bus Lane Pilot ended last fall,” said Councilor Flynn.

For more information, please contact Councilor Flynn’s office at 617-635-3203 or [email protected].