Created by the Columbia-Savin Hill Civic Association
The Problem
Columbia-Savin Hill urgently needs city and state intervention for speed and safety concerns. With many schools, families, and kids in our community, we must calm traffic and improve parks. Let's make the neighborhood safe for everyone, particularly our children.
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Drivers speed throughout Columbia Point and Savin Hill. Morrissey Boulevard, when not full of traffic, is a racetrack. Savin Hill has become a major cut-through for traffic speeding between Morrissey Boulevard and Dorchester Avenue. Drivers speed on Grampian Way, Pleasant Street, Savin Hill Avenue, Sydney Street, and the streets connecting Columbia Road. They run stop signs, fail to yield to pedestrians, and frequently sideswipe cars, signs, and telephone poles. The city’s new “Safety Surge,” which replaces the Neighborhood Slow Streets program, is not scheduled to install speed humps in Savin Hill until 2027 at earliest. The city can and must do better.
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Our streets need help.
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Morrissey Boulevard is not safe for pedestrians. Commenters have called it "one of the more pedestrian-hostile areas of the city" to potential Boston tourists (source). DCR owns fixing it and has not.
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Kosciuszko Circle is dangerous and one of the worst intersections in the City of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The city and state must act immediately to prevent loss of life and property, but have avoided action and responsibility for decades.
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We are missing critical crosswalks near Savin Hill Park to give kids and families clear places to cross into the park. We can’t get crosswalks until we get sidewalks, so we are in a "forever loop" with the city that must be resolved.
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Our parks need help.
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McConnell Park is an increasingly popular late-night gathering spot, with now-frequent noise and safety incidents. The city and state must work together to increase patrols, install gates to limit access after dark, and reinforce existing park rules.
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Savin Hill Park is in poor shape and hasn’t been renovated, with minor exception for some trails, in 40 years. Let’s ask the new District 3 City Counselor to commit to including Savin Hill Park renovation in the next city budget (FY2025).
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How to Stand Up for Columbia-Savin Hill
Neighbors can help by calling 311, reinforcing safe driving, and joining upcoming Safety Committee meetings.
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Call 311 to report speeding and issues in our parks. 311 data help the city decide where to install traffic-calming measures.
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Tweet issues to @BOS311. Include photos and video.
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Download the BOS:311 app to make reporting faster and more frequent.
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Drive the speed limit (25 mph) on our streets, and 15 mph on blind turns. Stop at every stop sign. Let’s reinforce to everyone that our neighborhood is not a racetrack.
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Join the Columbia-Savin Hill Civic Association and attend a monthly Safety Committee meeting to discuss progress and new ideas to address speed and safety issues. Join today by clicking here. Our website is www.columbiasavinhillcivic.org.
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Ask John FitzGerald and Mayor Wu for their opinion on these issues and to commit to funding renovations to our parks.
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For emergencies, don’t hesitate to call 911.
More Ideas?
Our campaign is just getting started. We need neighbors' ideas to improve safety in Columbia-Savin Hill and city-wide. Join the Columbia-Savin Hill Civic Association and attend a monthly Safety Committee meeting to add your ideas to the mix. Join today by clicking here.
Since launching the campaign, we have received a number of great ideas, including but not limited to:
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A data-based campaign to highlight the need for traffic calming measures throughout the city, not just select neighborhoods. Mayor Wu's new Safety Surge, which replaces the Neighborhood Slow Streets program, prioritizes based on opaque criteria.
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Ways to improve the crosswalks throughout Savin Hill with a focus on Pleasant Street, which is particularly dangerous to pedestrians (update: the city has agreed to complete long-planned changes to Pleasant Street).
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Introducing legislation to allow for speed cameras in Massachusetts and working with the city to install them.
Our Progress to Date
With everyone’s help, we’ve made some progress. We have much more to do. Here are a few recent wins:
Speed:
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Big news: The city has agreed to finish the traffic calming measures on Pleasant Street (originally slated for 2022) in 2024.
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The city has agreed to install traffic-calming measures at the intersection of Savin Hill Avenue and Sydney Street. The timeline remains unclear, and the city is moving too slowly.
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The city has agreed to new stop signs on Grampian Way.
Safety:
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McConnell Park: State Police have agreed to patrol the park more frequently at regular intervals.
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McConnell Park: The city and state have installed new cameras to monitor the park after hours.
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McConnell Park: DCR has partially installed a gate to keep cars out after the park closes, though the installation completion remains unclear.
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Ryan Playground: Boston Parks recently renovated the park, adding new lighting and facilities.
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Savin Hill Park: Boston Parks has agreed to new signage to reinforce park rules.
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Savin Hill Park: Boston Parks is installing a new, lower-rim basketball hoop for children.
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Walgreens: Walgreens at the corner of Dorchester and Savin Hill Avenues is now on the city’s “problem property” list for additional police and city attention.
Let's Organize, Dorchester
We want to share ideas and content with other civic groups. Contact us below if you're interested.