‘Haven’t seen it this bad ever’: Boston residents raise concerns over sudden street changes

BOSTON, Mass. — While crowds went door-to-door in Boston on Halloween night, Arlington Street residents raised concerns about overnight changes to their busy road.

Kelly Heafi and Will Maslach reached out to Boston 25 Thursday and said there were multiple near-accidents throughout the day because of the sudden changes.

“I haven’t seen it this bad ever,” said Heafi.

The changes by the city of Boston are part of their Arlington Street project. (Connect Downtown: Arlington Street | Boston.gov)

Their website explains, “We are repaving Arlington Street and taking the opportunity to make it safer for all users, improve accessibility, and create a new, low-stress bicycle connection between the Back Bay and South End.”

Crews overnight painted lines for a new parking lane and a parallel bike line – connecting Back Bay to the South End. The addition made the once three-lane stretch of road just two lanes.

“This block was three lanes up until last night,” said Heafi. “It became two lanes, and there’s really no signage up… So, I’ve seen people driving in the expected three lanes, then merging at the last second when they see a parked car.”

Heafi told us she saw multiple close calls with drivers and pedestrians in her Arlington Street home Thursday. She claims cones were only put up Thursday afternoon.

She continued, “I Also saw a lot of pedestrians in this bike lane because I don’t know if it’s really established it’s a bike lane, and cars coming pretty close.”

Will Maslach also lives on Arlington Street, and told Boston 25 he was nearly hit on his way to work Thursday morning.

“At the crosswalk up at that intersection, a car had not realized that was parking,” he explained. “He came into that third lane and almost ran the red light, and almost hit in me the parking lot.”

Maslach added, “On Halloween like today, if that was a kid, that would be especially scary.”

According to their website, the city’s next step is to implement further signage, barriers, and markings to differentiate each area for drivers in the coming weeks.

Heafi and Maslach called for the city to provide more warning for drivers who may not be aware of the overnight changes.

Heafi finished, “Even one sign up that says traffic change I think would draw some attention to it.”

Boston 25 reached out to the city regarding the concerns, but have yet to hear back.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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