Grove Street Improvements Coming Soon

The Boston Transportation Department (BTD) has heard Grove Street area residents pleas to help curb speeding and make the area a safer place. By the end of October, there will be new crosswalks, pedestrian ramps, better signage, as well as two speed display signs installed in the Grove Street area.  

The BTD expects the improvements to Grove Street to enhance both pedestrian and traffic safety.

Earlier this year, Grove Street residents attended a chaired by West Roxbury's City Councilor Matt O’Malley. A resident expressed the neighborhood’s concerns regarding traffic on Grove Street between Washington Street and the Dedham line. Due to this, BTD Commissioner Thomas Tinlin and BTD Engineering Director John DeBenedictis met with residents to walk along the street and observed the problems firsthand.

“It was terrific to spend an afternoon walking Grove Street with residents and discussing traffic issues with them,” said BTD Commissioner Thomas Tinlin via press release. “All involved agreed that traffic speed, traffic volume, and truck traffic were contributing to safety concerns. I am pleased to announce that a plan to correct this problem has been designed and agreed upon, and it is now in the process of being implemented.”

A traffic study completed by BTD’s Engineering Division showed that in a 24-hour period in March of this year, a total of 8286 vehicles traveled on Grove Street, according to the BTD. Survey stats revealed that 83.6% of the vehicles were driven higher than the 30 mph speed limit. With that in mind, BTD created a number of traffic safety measures:

• Two new crosswalks are being installed, one at the intersection of Grove and Stimson streets, and one at the intersection of Grove and Birchwood streets.
• A total of four pedestrian ramps, and accompanying signage, are being installed on either side of the new crosswalks.
• Two speed display signs are being installed, one directed at southbound traffic on Grove Street between Stimson and Jeshurun streets, and one directed at northbound traffic on Grove Street between Jeshurun and Birchwood streets.
• New pavement markings are being painted on Grove Street to better define the 11 ft. travel lanes in each direction.

Work for these improvements recently started and is expected to be completed by the middle of October.