Forest Hills residents are telling Mayor Wu’s Streets Team
The City of Boston is planning to repave three blocks of Hyde Park Avenue without even pretending to address speeding, reckless driving, or pedestrian safety on the corridor.
After seven years of studies and public meetings, all the City can muster is three blocks of new asphalt and a fresh coat of paint. No attempt to slow cars down. No attempt to make Ukraine Way safer for pedestrians. Not even a pretense of helping bus or bike riders.
They won’t even acknowledge their own proposals to make the corridor safer.
New asphalt isn’t a safety plan. New asphalt is an invitation to drive faster.
Take actionIt leaves the basic problems in place: dangerous driving, long crossings, and no safe route for cyclists.
In their own words
Residents describe a street they avoid, endure, and fear. These writers gave permission to share their words.
Write to City leaders“Hyde Park Ave is far and away the worst stretch of road I travel on.”
“I have stopped biking to work because it is so dangerous to get to the bike path.”
“When cycling I feel the need to go on the sidewalk because of the lack of bike lanes and recklessness of the drivers.”
“The Hyde Park Ave side of the street is a terrible place to be a walker, pedestrian, bus rider, or even a driver. It is not a safe corridor!”
“The best time and most cost-effective way to create safer streets is BEFORE and DURING repaving work, NOT afterwards.”
“I and so many other people I know are afraid to cycle in Boston. Hyde Park Avenue is a particularly challenging road.”
“There is no infrastructure that supports safe crossing, and cars feel free to speed up to an unreasonable extent due to the open plan design.”
“I seriously feel it is a life-risking choice to ride my bike on that stretch of Hyde Park Ave.”
“Every day on my way to the station I see cars speeding, cars running red lights, cars blocking pedestrian lines of sight, and cars moving erratically.”
“I avoid going in the southwest direction on Hyde Park Ave because the crossings are not safe for a pedestrian.”
“Sometimes I bike on the sidewalk because I fear for my life.”
“Please don’t just pave over this problem. We need a new commuting infrastructure first.”
“I am afraid to let my kids ride bikes to Forest Hills because of the speeding cars and curvature in the road.”
“As a senior citizen who lives to walk Hyde Park Avenue is dangerous.”
“I cross this road every day to get to work.”
“Please actually implement safer streets ideas for our biking community. I am tired of being so afraid.”
“The safety of pedestrians near the bus turn-in is paramount.”
“Repaving without improvements will condemn our neighborhood to a dangerous street for years to come.”
“We currently only use the sidewalks in that area because it is not safe to use the road.”
“I want to stay in this apartment for a long time and if these safety concerns aren’t addressed before repaving then that will affect my quality of life here significantly.”
“It functions as a literal highway with no space for cyclists and no crosswalks with signals for pedestrians.”
“In every one of those modes, this stretch of Hyde Park Avenue is frightening.”
“Repaving alone risks increasing car speeds without protecting anyone.”
“I also regularly walk with my kids to Forest Hills T stop.”
Take action
Tell City leaders what a safer Hyde Park Ave would mean for you and your family—and to repave it only once they’ve taken our safety into account.
The receipts
The record starts long before 2019. But the pattern since then is unmistakable: studies, meetings, promises, and safer designs—then delay, retreat, and a plan that leaves the danger in place.
Before 2019–2023
Boston studied traffic, walking, and biking conditions along Hyde Park Avenue. The MBTA studied Route 32 bus stops, and the regional planning agency analyzed congestion and bus operations.
The City began a corridor-wide project and developed a preliminary design with bus priority and bike lanes. After a public open house, the work was put on hold during the pandemic.
Officials resumed outreach using the 2019 design as a starting point. In October 2023, the project became part of the Southwest Boston Transit Action Plan.
2024–April 2025
The City surveyed riders, visited businesses, held office hours, and attended community events. Residents participated again, but still had no concrete proposal to review.
Neighbors met with Councilor Ben Weber and asked for basic near-term safety measures: better signs, daylighting, and safer crossings.
Glenn Inghram was killed by an MBTA bus while crossing at Tower Street. A letter and vigil called for immediate and lasting changes; the City promised signal improvements.
Roughly 110 people attended two City open houses advertised as draft-design meetings. No designs were shown. Residents again asked for protected bike space, a road diet, traffic calming, and better transit.
An open letter demanded safety and transit improvements in 2025—and an end to meetings without proposals. In April, about 50 residents led their own safety walk to document what needed to change.
May 2025–August 2026
The City presented two resurfacing options. Hundreds of residents and many businesses backed the three-lane alternative as an imperfect but meaningful step. By July, officials said neither option would happen.
Eleven City Councilors backed a hearing on the delays. Dozens of residents testified, but City officials offered no substantive update.
The Mayor said some safety improvements might accompany fall repaving, but rejected major changes to the street and suggested dedicated bus and bike lanes were inappropriate because of car traffic.
Officials told residents a traffic-pattern consultant had been hired—but that no major project was expected beyond repaving.
The City’s current plan keeps four lanes and adds paint, signs, and better sight lines for drivers. It omits the earlier safety designs and makes no changes at Ukraine Way.