Nathan Eckstrom decided that after he and his son nearly got hit by a dump truck speeding down Hyde Park Avenue, it was time to organize neighbors to improve the safety of the Forest Hills area.
Eckstrom started by organizing a safety walk with city councilors and 70 residents back in 2023.
This Saturday, April 25, join Eckstrom, fellow neighbors, as well as city councilors, and Boston Transportation Department (BTD) personnel, for a safety walk to push for improvements to the Hyde Park Avenue/Washington Street corridor.
While residents have fought for safety improvements — they just haven’t materialized — and sadly Glenn Inghram was killed by an MBTA bus while crossing Hyde Park Avenue near the Forest Hills MBTA station in October 2024.
Neighbors organized a petition signed by more than 700 people to support changes to Hyde Park Avenue. He said the city promised safety improvements, and the BTD presented a plan which received overwhelming support at a community meeting in May 2025
“Following the meeting, the plan disappeared and the Mayor’s representative explained that the changes would happen as soon as the election was over. We’ve been waiting for six months and the city has not responded to any requests for more information about the status of the plan,” said Eckstrom.
Eckstrom said that current City Councilors Enrique Pepen and Ben Weber have been working hard to support the community’s efforts to improve safety in the area.
“We’re organizing on April 25th to draw attention to this dangerous roadway and ask the city what happened to the planned safety improvements,” said Eckstrom.
Organizers will meet inside the Forest Hills MBTA station at noon and then walk to businesses to ask business owners to sign letters of support for street safety improvements.
