District 7 City Councilor Miniard Culpepper on Wednesday painted the issue of reconfiguring Blue Hill Avenue to add center bus lanes in black-and white terms:
When Back Bay residents and motorists complained about a dedicated bus lane down Boylston Street, the city eliminated the lane, yet the city continues to move forward with a dedicated bus-lane plan for Blue Hill Avenue despite the opposition of hundreds upon hundreds of residents and business owners in Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan, he said.
The council agreed with Culpepper to hold a hearing to consider the civil-rights implications of the proposed dedicated bus lanes through predominantly minority neighborhoods – and whether money now planned for the lanes might be better spent on making Blue Hill Avenue safer and more attractive through alternatives to dedicated center lanes such as safer crosswalks and tree planting.
In a 7-6 vote, however, the council agreed with Council President Liz Breadon to assign the hearing on the matter to the Committee on Planning, Development and Transportation, chaired by District 8 Councilor Sharon Durkan, rather than to the Committee on Civil Rights, Racial Equity and Immigrant Advancement, which Culpepper chairs.
Culpepper called for a formal vote to try to override Breadon’s decision, arguing that decades of “disparate public investment” along the thoroughfare makes any questions about possible major changes to it an issue of civil rights, because of the impact on “protected classes” under the federal Civil Rights Act – the people who live and work along it.
He said center bus lanes would actually increase congestion – and asked if anybody could imagine what Blue Hill Avenue with dedicated bus lanes would have been like during Monday’s storm.
In addition to Boylston Street, Culpepper also pointed to Centre Street in West Roxbury as an example of the city caving to white residents. Although the city overrode neighborhood opposition to reconfiguring that street to reduce the number of travel lanes and add bike lanes, he later said he was referring to the way the city worked with the neighborhood to reduce the number of parking spaces that would be lost to the work.
Culpepper was backed by District 2 Councilor Ed Flynn.
“The people in that district and people of color should have the opportunity to be heard on this issue,” Flynn said, adding he feels council discussions about the Blue Hill Avenue reconfiguration should be under “the leadership of a Black man who represents District 7, who is also a civil-rights lawyer.”
At-large Councilor Julia Mejia agreed, saying “there’s a level of mistrust who’s going to facilitate this conversation that impacts Black people.” Also, that “people don’t trust certain situations when they come to this chamber,” she said.
Durkan said she recognizes the need for a “nuanced conversation” on the issue, but said it makes sense to have the hearing before her transportation committee because the city officials involved in the project focus on transportation and road planning and because the rights of people who depend on more reliable, faster bus transportation should be considered as well.
At-large councilor Ruthzee Louijeune agreed with Culpepper that civil rights are vital, but said that given the ongoing effects of centuries of slavery and racism, one could make the argument that pretty much every issue before the council – including schools, and housing – should be handled by the civil-rights committee, which would be overwhelming.
Councilors Breadon, Coletta Zapata, Durkan, Louijeune, Pepén, Santana and Weber voted to keep the issue before the transportation committee. Culpepper, FitzGerald, Flynn, Mejia, Murphy and Worrell voted to have it moved to the civil-rights commission.
