Blue Hill Avenue redesign to focus on bus service, safety, public space

Boston is asking residents for suggestions and other feedback as it undertakes the first phase in a major redesign of Blue Hill Avenue, one of the city’s more famous roadways. The first phase is focusing on a three-mile stretch from Mattapan Square in Mattapan to near Grove Hall in the Roxbury-Dorchester borderlands.

“We want to hear your thoughts on transportation, public space, and safety throughout the corridor,” a city webpage on the redesign says. “Whether your trips are made on foot, by bike, by car, or on a bus, we want to hear from you.” Residents can fill out a quick survey to aid the city in the redesign.

The redesign is focusing on those three areas: transportation (bus service in particular), safety, and public space. The first might be the most pressing as the 28 bus, which lurches along Blue Hill for more than three miles as part of its route, is the most heavily ridden Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus in Boston.

And the second—safety—will likely lead to upgraded or new sidewalks, city officials have said, with the third—public space—likely resulting in new playgrounds, benches, and plazas. The redesign could also include new bike lanes and other infrastructure that goes beyond servicing vehicular traffic.

Interestingly, this is the second attempt in about a decade to improve Blue Hill. The state oversaw the last one, which collapsed amid skepticism from local leaders and residents, per the Globe’s Diamond Naga Siu. Stay tuned.