Bay State Greenway

Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation

As part of a larger land use planning process, the Collaborative conceived of a four-mile long linear park through the East Boston neighborhood of Boston. Running east from Boston Harbor to Belle Isle Marsh and partially following the MBTA’s Blue Line transit corridor, the greenway is a series parks and open spaces connected by a multiuse trail. The greenway serves as an important open space buffer between this thickly settled residential neighborhood of over 40,000 and Logan Airport. Nearly complete, the greenway provides a critical urban recreational amenity that has helped stabilize and grow the East Boston community.

Richard Dimino, Former Commissioner of the Boston Transportation Department said, “With the multi-use trail connecting different neighborhoods, your vision for an East Boston Greenway is a superb example of linear park planning, urban design and how greenways support healthy communities.”

Statewide Pedestrian Plan

Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation

The Collaborative is a key member of a team developing the Massachusetts State Pedestrian Plan, whose goals are to improve accessibility, safety, and maintenance and recommend prudent investments. The plan is examining demographic changes, regional pedestrian planning efforts, and other resources to establish a framework for better integrating MassDOT’s pedestrian guidelines with local infrastructure. The Plan is also inward looking in order to identify strengths and opportunities within MassDOT to improve policies and operational practices that benefit walking. The Collaborative’s comprehensive demographic analysis is being used to support the development of policy-level improvement strategies.

Safe Routes to School Program

Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation

By promoting walking and biking to school, the Safe Routes to School program addresses childhood health and obesity problems as well as environmental issues. This Federal program helps local municipalities build safe walking and biking paths near schools and provides school curriculum and activities to promote walking and biking as a lifelong habit. As part of a team, the Collaborative helped MassDOT plan, design, and implement SRTS projects across in Massachusetts. The Collaborative’s responsibilities included meeting with schools, conducting site assessments, developing and documenting improvement alternatives, as well as managing public outreach and measuring the success of implemented projects.

Statewide Bicycle Transportation Plan

Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation

Massachusetts features a landscape of roadways and paths that are uniquely suitable for bicycling. Building upon its efforts to improve conditions that lead to increased bicycle use, the Commonwealth engaged the Collaborative to develop its Statewide Bicycle Plan. The plan features a strategy for building a network of intercity connections and a set of roadway and facility improvement priorities. The Collaborative produced the first GIS-based comprehensive inventory of on- and off-road bicycle facilities, including those already in place, in development, or planned for the future. The Collaborative’s work on the project also included extensive mapping analysis, geographic information system database development, public outreach and information, and interagency coordination through the Massachusetts Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board.

Josh Lehman, Former Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Manager for the Massachusetts DOT said to the Collaborative, “Thank you for consistently exhibiting creativity in identifying technical approaches, organizing and leading excellent public meetings that produced meaningful results, and for showing flexibility in working with my office our advisory committee.”