BPDA releases progress report on PLAN: South Boston Dorchester Avenue
May 05, 2023
The Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) today released a progress report on PLAN: South Boston Dorchester Avenue (‘PLAN: Dot Ave’ or ‘the Plan’), completed in 2016, and PLAN: South Boston Dorchester Avenue Transportation Plan, which was completed in 2021. This report, which takes the form of a Story Map, is meant to update the community on how approved and constructed development in the study area to-date has contributed to realizing key recommendations of the original land use and transportation plans.
Serving as an update to the community on the Agency’s collective planning efforts, the goal of the progress report is to provide a tool that ensures planning-led development in the study area will continue. It is also a measurement for progress in adherence to that vision. It serves as a framework for project reviewers to evaluate the effectiveness of the Plans to-date.
This progress report illustrates completely planning-led development, showcasing approved development, development that is under construction, and completed development, as well as associated mitigation in the PLAN: Dot Ave study area. Several completed projects are now home to new residents, commercial businesses, and local retail, responding to many of the recommendations in the Plan.
The Land Use section of the report includes the following topics: district character, housing, business opportunities, and height and density. These categories delineate projects that have advanced key recommendations from the 2016 Plan. The Transportation section includes the following topics: intersection improvements, the pedestrian network, bicycle network, transit, and parking and transportation demand management. Status updates on completed and planned transportation system improvements in the study area are included under each section.
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. In South Boston, the South Boston Transportation Action Plan (SBTAP) is an ongoing transportation planning process that will culminate in Fall 2023. There are also neighborhood planning studies moving forward in Charlestown, Downtown, Mattapan, Newmarket and East Boston.