As some neighborhood opposition to plans for a Blue Hill Avenue bus-only lane simmers, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley says she hasn’t taken a position on what she called a “city matter.”

Pressley and Congressman Stephen Lynch, who each represent parts of Boston, helped land $15 million for massive changes to Blue Hill Avenue, an economic corridor that runs from Warren Street in Grove Hall down to Mattapan Square. Minority-owned businesses, schools, and places of worship line the avenue. The $15 million, which would cover just a fraction of the planned overhaul, is coming through a US Department of Transportation grant program.

The funding would help support a dedicated bus lane and bike lanes while reducing the number of lanes for cars. Some parking spaces could also be eliminated to make room for the bus lane. The price tag could reach $60 million, if not more, and construction could start sometime in the next few years.

But the idea of a center bus lane has drawn grumbles from some. A similar effort to tap federal funding for dedicated bus lanes in 2009 collapsed after local lawmakers, hearing opposition from some corners of the community, pulled their support.

The Greater Mattapan Neighborhood Council has historically had reservations about the bus lane, and during a recent forum involving candidates for the Second Suffolk Senate district, which includes Blue Hill Avenue, the four major contenders sounded skeptical notes. Dianne Wilkerson, who is making a bid to return to her old state Senate seat, called the proposal “stupid.”

Related: Center lane plan for Mattapan draws flak from top state Senate candidates

In community meetings, city transportation officials have pushed the bus lane proposal as a key part of the Blue Hill Avenue overhaul. The officials said they are committed to engaging all community voices as part of the plan, which includes discussion of the center-lane bus. They’ve also noted that the corridor has not been redesigned since the 1950s when a center-running streetcar lane was removed.

Asked about the bus lane, Pressley said she is taking City Hall’s lead when officials there see federal grants for projects they’re interested in. “All I’m doing is fighting for the resourcing,” she said.

“What my office continues to push, as we do with any infrastructure or any visioning project that’s going to have an impact on people’s lives, is that there be a robust community process, a true partnership, and that we center equity in that,” she said. “Because we know there have been previous federal projects and redesigns where people have felt equity was not centered and all it did was perpetuate many of those inequities and disparities. And, certainly, we don’t want that.”

Ultimately, she said, how the federal funds are spent “will come down to this process, which we’re trying to, again, although it’s not our role, to be present at these meetings, to conduct our own sort of informal oversight to make sure there continues to be a robust community process where equity is centered.”

Pressley reiterated that she hasn’t taken any formal positions on the bus lane. “We’ve not been that granular,” she said. “What we did was just work with the city on advocating and lobbying for the funds to be secured and now what we’re doing is just doing our best to have a staff presence or principal presence as I can when I’m in town, at the various meetings, to just hear from the community what they want.”

Lynch’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Jarred Johnson, executive director of the advocacy group Transit Matters, voiced support for the bus lane, saying it will ultimately benefit the corridor. “The center-running bus lane is an essential part of the project and actually makes the project better for both riders and drivers by removing the conflict with turning vehicles,” he said in an email.

“And in talking to riders and pedestrians around Egleston Square, they appreciate the fact that the center stations made it easier to cross the streets and they appreciated that the bus ran faster because it wasn’t having to dodge cars parking or turning vehicles.”

A City Hall spokesperson said officials are committed to “thoughtfully engaging community voices and doing things differently” as part of the plans for Blue Hill Avenue. “We are working to implement a block-by-block engagement approach, in partnership with community leaders and residents, that will center the community’s vision for Blue Hill Ave. and guide our work.”

The debate over the bus lane has echoes of a 2009 battle, when James Aloisi was Gov. Deval Patrick’s transportation secretary. Officials at the time pitched a hybrid-electric Silver Line bus route known as “28X,” which would have used $117 million in federal funds.

In an interview this week, Aloisi said the city is making the “right move” with its push for a center bus lane, which he contended will improve the lives of everyone who uses Blue Hill Avenue.

“With all due respect, we’ve been listening to folks for 13 years,” he said. “The test of a really good idea is whether it can survive the public debate and scrutiny for 13 years. And it has.”

Aloisi attributed the opposition to the center bus lane to a resistance to change that can be seen in communities across the country. “You find this constant issue of sometimes the loudest and most persistent negative voices to transit improvements are coming from neighbors who don’t use the system and fear change.”

Aloisi said there is the legitimate concern about improvements triggering displacement of people from their homes, but city and state officials can address those through zoning and tenants’ rights policies to ensure that won’t happen. He noted that in 2009, transportation officials were under pressure to spend federal money, so they didn’t have time to address those issues then.

“The city is fully engaging the people in this conversation,” Aloisi said. “The time comes when you either say you’re going to make progress or you’re not. But the city to its credit has gone through a very careful process.”