Walsh announces new bus, bike lanes, says city still working on sidewalk expansion and restaurant patios

Mayor Walsh today announced a new program called Healthy Streets to get more people biking and riding the bus - with plans to figure out how to let restaurants add new outdoor seating.

Walsh said the city is laying new bike lanes to connect downtown with the city's existing bike lanes in the South End and the Back Bay, by using traffic barrels and signs on:

• Arlington Street between Beacon Street and Stuart Street
• Beacon Street between Charles Street and Berkeley Street
• Boylston Street between Arlington Street and Washington Street
• Charles Street between Boylston Street and Beacon Street
• Columbus Avenue between Clarendon Street and Stuart Street
• Court Street between Congress Street and Tremont Street
• State Street between Atlantic Avenue and Congress Street
• Tremont Street between Court Street and Shawmut Avenue
• Shawmut Avenue between Tremont Street and Marginal Road

The city is also working with the MBTA to create dedicated lanes for the Silver Line on Washington and Essex streets and to lengthen and mark off bus stops in several locations:

• Maverick Blue Line Station on the median island in Maverick Square
• Blue Hill Avenue at Morton Street and Woodhaven Street (inbound)
• Massachusetts Avenue at Hynes Convention Center Station (outbound)
• Broadway Station
• Congress Street at Haymarket Station
• Warren Street at Whiting Street and Moreland Street
• Route 39 Bus Stop at Fenwood Street
• Broadway at L Street (inbound)

Walsh said 264 restaurants in Boston have expressed interest in adding patio seating to make up for the lost of inside seats. He did not have specifics of where the space would come from, for example, by carving out temporary sidewalk space out of street asphalt, but said the city will have a plan ready by the time the state announces restaurants can re-open their dining spaces.

Walsh pleaded with neihborhood residents not to get all NIMBY on these proposals but to instead give them a chance and be patient. He noted nothing Boston is doing or might do is revolutionary; cities around the world have done it.