Opponents of the plans in a city-and-state proposal for the modernization of the Blue Hill Avenue corridor have written a letter to the Trump administration asking for the withdrawal of roughly $80 million in federal money that has been tabbed to pay for a controversial center-running bus lane within the larger project.
A federal transportation spokesperson told The Reporter on Monday that “USDOT has received the letter and is reviewing it.”
One of the most strident opponents of the bus lane, former Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, was among those who announced their lobbying effort at a press conference in Roxbury last Friday (June 12) in front of the Bruce Bolling Building. Others speakers included Louis Elisa, president of the abutting Garrison Trotter Neighborhood Association, and Reggie Stewart, chair of NAACP Boston’s Environmental and Climate Justice Committee.
“Understand the extraordinary moment we are in right now when a predominantly Black community…throws up their arms after not being heard for five years and comes together and decides to appeal to the Trump Administration for protection,” said Wilkerson, who was joined by a handful of other Black activists who object to a center-running bus lane on Blue Hill Avenue.
Wilkerson, Stewart, and Elisa wrote the letter to US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy urging him to eliminate the funding that would allow construction of the center-running bus lane in the Boston project. They said the letter was accompanied by a petition signed by 2,600 residents who also oppose the project.
Elisa said the effort is not onlyto stop the project, but also to appeal to the Trump administration for a “reset” to discuss old, broken promises of “comparable replacement” made after the 1990s dismantling of the elevated Orange Line. All three speakers said the community wants a return to rail service – not rapid buses – along the avenue corridor.
The former elevated Orange Line path ran down Washington Street in the South End, to Nubian Square and terminated at Egleston Square, but the new line was moved farther west into Jamaica Plain in the 1980s.
Said Stewart: “We have seen a continuous pattern of racist governance of the Black community. That is why we have taken the step of asking the secretary of the US Department of Transportation to withdraw funding for the Blue Hill Avenue project.
“This isn’t a ‘left’ or ‘right’ position,” he added. “This is about whether government will listen to the people when they say ‘no.’…Unfortunately, the responsible course of action is to now stop the project.”
The mayor and her office didn’t directly address the group’s letter, but said in a statement:
“The City is working closely with community leaders, residents, and the MBTA to deploy federally awarded funds to make much-needed improvements to Blue Hill Avenue, beautify the roadway, speed up commutes, and expand opportunities for small businesses along the corridor.
“Designs for the roadway improvements will continue to evolve during the ongoing community process.”
