Boston Mayor Michelle Wu met with a group of Forest Hills area residents inside the MBTA station on Saturday to discuss how to make streets safer.
Wu apologized that changes haven’t happened yet after her administration had previously met with residents during the last several years. She said the project is on her personal radar, and that she passes through the Forest Hills area at least one time day, one way or another (bus, train, car).
Wu said the city needs to communicate with the MBTA to make changes on its property such as cutting back hedges, changing the flow of where buses enter and exit, and changing angles of where buses enter and exit. She also questioned whether there should be a parking lot on the lower level on the Hyde Park Avenue-side. She said making that parking lot into a residential apartment building would change the area.
Wu starts speaking at 33:25
Wu said she’d like to examine how Ukraine Way is used — currently as a two-way two-lane road — and whether that should be changed.
Wu said she doesn’t support making Hyde Park Avenue into a three-lane road because it would significantly cause more vehicle congestion. She knows there’s a desire for protected bike lanes, and said there are tradeoffs when spaces are used in different ways.
A resident said that the area is lacking enforcement of driving laws, particularly with bus drivers sometimes running lights and nearly hitting people. Wu said that Boston Police do enforce driving laws around the train station, but it can’t be done all the time. She mentioned other options, such as traffic enforcement officers on bikes, or a Toronto-model of civilian transportation employees helping direct people through intersections during rush hour, and directing vehicular traffic.
She said big picture next steps include meeting with the T to make changes around the station, both for the short term (cutting hedges), and long term (changing entrances/exists/angles).
City Councilors Enrique Pepen and Ben Weber were also present and spoke, and have advocated for residents, and for safety changes to be made.
Weber starts speaking at the 29:15 mark, and is followed by Pepen.
