EverettBRT

Located five miles from downtown Boston, Everett is home to multiple bus routes that carry 10,000 people each day down Broadway, the city’s main thoroughfare. With more growth and jobs predicted in Everett due to rapid development including the Encore Boston Harbor resort, Everett leaders are seeking new solutions that allow people to commute in and out more efficiently.

Everett and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) partnered on a 2018 pilot project that enhanced the city’s existing dedicated bus lane along the southbound side of Broadway with additional BRT features.

Most notably, Everett became the first community in Massachusetts to test subway-like level boarding for buses, a BRT feature that allows people in wheelchairs or with strollers or carts to get on and off the bus more easily, safely, and quickly.

Photo_6553779_DJI_179_jpg_6728616_0_2020101915820_photo_original.JPG — **Reimagine Broadway: The Everett Transportation Revolution**

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To promote the launch of the dedicated lane, BostonBRT created a video titled “The City of Everett Rolls out the Red Carpet” showcasing the crews working through the night to paint 1.5 miles of Everett streets red in preparation for the morning commute and to celebrate all those working behind the scenes toward a better bus experience.

The City of Everett Rolls out the Red Carpet. Crews work through the night to paint 1.5 miles of Everett streets red in preparation for the morning commute. This will give residents a key element of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), The Dedicated Bus Lane. When they wake up, thousands of bus riders will experience their commute without traffic delays. We celebrate all working behind the scenes toward a better bus experience.

RESULTS

Surveys showed more than four in five bus riders approved of elevated platforms tested along Everett’s dedicated bus lane, with 81% support for making the platforms permanent.

Survey respondents cited reduced waiting times as well as improved boarding and exiting, particularly for people with mobility challenges and with young children in strollers.

The level boarding platforms have been so successful that the City will be rolling out three more of them at bus stops along upper Broadway in the fall of 2019. In addition, plans are underway to expand the dedicated bus lane to Lower Broadway and implement an additional lane in the opposite direction.

But Everett isn’t stopping at bus lanes and platforms. In June 2019, Mayor DeMaria announced his vision for Gold Standard BRT on Broadway within five years.

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