BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — What may have had good intentions on paper did not go well in practice. Car traffic in the Back Bay may be a bit easier to navigate with the subtraction of a bus lane on Boylston Street in the coming weeks.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced on Wednesday that the bus lane has not be performing as intended— the main problem being that drivers were not adhering to the “bus only” rule. Plenty of people were driving, and even parking, where buses were meant to go.
While some riders thought phasing out the bus lane was a drastic step, others felt like there wasn’t much there to begin with.
“They didn’t even care about the pavement…there’s a big old bump in the middle,” Pete, a bus rider, told WBZ NewsRadio. “Broken roads, and then buses… nah.”
While traffic congestion has always been present, the bus lane showed some promising results after first being installed during the 2022 Orange Line shutdown.
The plan was for the bus lane to stick around while more bike lanes were added, but for the sake of driver safety, the City felt we were better off with it.
Mayor Wu did not note a specific removal date, only that it will happen in the weeks ahead.
WBZ NewsRadio’s James Rojas (@JamesRojasMMJ) reports.
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