BPDA releases guide to South Boston’s transportation planning and development review process
Apr 11, 2023
The Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) and Boston Transportation Department (BTD) today released A Guide to South Boston’s Transportation Planning and the Development Review Process. This guide will help residents better participate in the South Boston Transportation Action Plan (SBTAP) and the processes for proposed development projects in their neighborhood.
Guided by Go Boston 2030, the SBTAP will advise on future transportation planning and development proposals in the area, as well as solve current transportation issues to improve travel. This guide is being released in advance of the next public meeting to give residents a chance to review the guide ahead of time. At the public meeting, the SBTAP project team will present on the kinds of interventions used to improve safety and comfort on City streets, and how these improvements are planned for and implemented by the City, with the support of new private development.
As the BPDA begins drafting preliminary recommendations through the SBTAP, this guide will serve as a helpful tool for community stakeholders to continue conversations around transportation goals, infrastructure, and access. This guide covers topics such as: pedestrian, biking, and vehicle safety; the current transportation needs in the South Boston neighborhood; how planning work focuses on making the transportation network safer and more reliable; and how the community can participate in shaping recommendations.
This guide is part of a larger BPDA initiative to build a more inclusive planning process and ensure plans reflect the perspectives of a diverse group of stakeholders. It seeks to explain and illustrate government processes and equip residents, workers, and small business owners with planning concepts so they are able to better navigate and participate in planning initiatives.
The BPDA will host a public meeting on May 9, 2023, to go over this guide and answer any questions. The presentation will be given jointly by members of the BPDA’s Development Review and Transportation Planning teams, as well as the BTD Active Transportation Team. Please register ahead of time for the meeting at this link. There will be Spanish interpretation services provided at this meeting, as well as a fully translated guide which can be found at this link. Following this public meeting, the SBTAP project team will present recommendations to the neighborhood at a public meeting next fall.
The BPDA is leading an unprecedented number of planning studies in Boston’s communities, each guided by Imagine Boston 2030, the first city-wide master plan in 50 years aimed at guiding growth. There are neighborhood planning studies moving forward in Charlestown, Downtown, Mattapan, Newmarket and East Boston.