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An issue SourceLine follows · mattapan, Dorchester and Roxbury along Blue Hill Avenue

The future of Blue Hill Avenue: center bus lanes or rail

The future of Blue Hill Avenue: center bus lanes or rail

The City of Boston and the MBTA plan to rebuild about three miles of Blue Hill Avenue between Mattapan Square and Grove Hall. The plan puts two lanes in the middle of the street for buses and emergency vehicles, moves bus stops onto platforms in the median, and adds crosswalks, signals and sidewalks. It is estimated at about $163 million, with federal grants expected to pay for more than half, and construction would begin no earlier than 2028.

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Residents and their councilors are divided. Mayor Michelle Wu and supporters say the lanes would cut bus travel time and bring a bus every few minutes. Councilors Miniard Culpepper and Brian Worrell, whose districts the avenue runs through, oppose the center lanes and want the city to study an Orange Line branch to Mattapan. Others worry about businesses during construction, parking, and the plan to close 9 of the 19 bus stops. Councilor Enrique Pepén supports the project and says it could make room for rail later. For many residents the question reaches back to the promise of equal or better service made when the elevated Orange Line left their neighborhoods.

Here is every Council vote on the question so far and how each councilor voted.

Weigh inWhere you stand, and why, goes to your representatives
2votes on the record on this issue
13members of Boston City Council decide thisWho decides
OpenNo vote date is set yetWeigh in now
The latest recorded vote on this issue, October 21, 2026
Yes8
No2

Official record of Boston City Council.

Add your voice, your neighbors add theirs, and the count goes to the people who decide before they vote.

More on this issue

CityBoston City CouncilPassed Oct 21

Who decides this

  • Ruthzee LouijeuneAt Large Seat 1Voted yesCallEmail
  • Julia M. MejiaAt Large Seat 2Voted yesCallEmail
  • Erin J. MurphyAt Large Seat 3Voted yesCallEmail
  • Henry SantanaAt Large Seat 4Voted yesCallEmail
  • Gabriela Coletta ZapataDistrict 1Voted noCallEmail
  • Edward M. FlynnDistrict 2Voted yesCallEmail
  • John FitzGeraldDistrict 3No vote on recordCallEmail
  • Brian WorrellDistrict 4Voted yesCallEmail
  • Enrique J. PepénDistrict 5No vote on recordCallEmail
  • Benjamin J. WeberDistrict 6No vote on recordCallEmail
  • Miniard CulpepperDistrict 7Voted yesCallEmail
  • Sharon DurkanDistrict 8Voted noCallEmail
  • Liz BreadonDistrict 9Voted yesCallEmail

Whole board: passed 8 to 2, Oct 21

Latest vote, Oct 21: The council voted 8 to 2 on the ordering the MBTA general manager to appear before the Council. It passed. The issue is still open.

See who decides at every level, and the laws behind it ›

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