Councilors Flynn & Flaherty File for Hearing on South Boston Traffic Master Plan

See Press Release Below:

BOSTON – Boston City Councilors Ed Flynn and Michael Flaherty will be filing a hearing order at next week’s Council meeting to discuss the creation of a South Boston traffic master plan. With South Boston being at the center of Boston’s development boom, transportation and traffic are critical issues that greatly impact both long-time and new South Boston residents alike. The hearing order calls for discussion on the establishment of a traffic master plan for South Boston to assess the neighborhood’s short-term and long-term transportation needs and capacity, so that the city and residents can better understand the potential impact of upcoming developments on traffic and congestion for the neighborhood.

With numerous large scale developments being proposed or approved in South Boston, the neighborhood is absorbing a substantial portion of the city’s housing goals to-date, and will continue to absorb additional growth in the years to come. Notable proposals include 776 Summer Street (the Edison Project), the Mary Ellen McCormack housing development, the Bayside Expo Center, Washington Village, the Fort Point 100 Acre plan, and multiple proposals along the South Boston Dorchester Avenue Corridor. Every major corridor that connects South Boston to the rest of the city now either have proposed or approved developments. These projects will dramatically increase the overall density of and daily trips to the area, while bringing tens of thousands of residents, commuters and visitors to the neighborhood.

While there is an ongoing South Boston Waterfront Strategic Transportation Plan, the plan only accounts for the impact of growth and the respective impacts on various modes of transportation in and out of the South Boston Waterfront. There is currently no master plan that accounts for the impact of other large scale developments on other major transportation corridors of the neighborhood. With the recent creation of an East Boston Transportation Action Committee that aims to reduce congestion and improve street safety that builds on community input, South Boston should have a similar traffic planning mechanism that can assess and address the neighborhood’s transportation needs in the midst of its building boom.

“Traffic and congestion are some of the biggest issues affecting our residents’ quality of life and safety. The amount of development that we are witnessing along major corridors in South Boston will undoubtedly increase traffic in areas that are already experiencing heavy congestion,” said Councilor Flynn.” We need a comprehensive plan to carefully assess the impact of this development boom in terms of traffic and transportation throughout our neighborhood. Thank you to Councilor Flaherty for partnering with me on this hearing order, and I look forward to this discussion.”

“Our residents spend countless hours in meetings about development projects in South Boston and one of the recurring questions we hear is: “Has there been a traffic study for this project and does it take into account other projects happening in the neighborhood?”, said Councilor Flaherty. “Residents deserve to fully understand the cumulative implications of all of these large projects on traffic and pedestrian safety in the short and long term so they can make informed decisions on whether they support or oppose projects.”   

For more information, please contact Councilor Flynn’s office at 617-635-3203 or [email protected], or Councilor Flaherty’s office at 617-635-4205, or at [email protected] .