Brookline presents $29M Washington Street complete‑streets plan, consultants seek public feedback

Town staff and consultants on April 2 presented an initial design update for the Washington Street Complete Streets rehabilitation, a corridor project programmed at about $29 million on the Boston Region MPO TIP (FY28) that aims to reconstruct the roadway, expand sidewalks, add sidewalk‑level separated bike lanes, improve MBTA bus operations and preserve street trees.

Consultants from TyneBond described project goals: full‑depth road reconstruction, replacement of heaved sidewalks and non‑ADA ramps, separated bicycle facilities adjacent to parking in many locations, upgraded drainage, improved transit stops and pedestrian‑scale streetscape elements. The team said the corridor is constrained by a roughly 60‑foot right‑of‑way and that the design process must balance competing needs—safety, bike facilities, parking and tree canopy.

Parking tradeoffs and outreach: staff said the section from Beacon Street to Cypress Street currently contains about 126 on‑street parking spaces; recent refinements now show approximately 72 spaces in that segment under current concept plans (versus 37 earlier shown in a DRC meeting). Consultants and staff said they have identified additional modest opportunities to recover spaces by reworking buffer widths and identifying unhealthy trees or marginal curb spaces, and committed to post updated parking plans on the project website and in outreach materials.

Process and schedule: the team described the design review committee (DRC) process with representatives from transportation, bike and pedestrian advisory committees, Commission on Disability, merchants and the senior community; staff committed to adding Washington Square merchant and senior‑center representation. The project is still in pre‑25% design; MassDOT preliminary/25% review and the required MassDOT design public hearing are anticipated in 2025, with construction advertised in FY28 (estimated advertisement in early 2028) pending state and MPO reviews.

Funding and constraints: staff emphasized the project is largely construction‑funded through federal and state sources (construction funding programmed via the Boston region MPO TIP) and that the town’s role includes design, permitting and any non‑participating (town‑funded) enhancements. Consultants noted MassDOT and MBTA technical requirements for bus stop geometry and intersection control evaluations that shape final design decisions.

Board requests: Select Board members asked for an intersection‑by‑intersection safety explanation and suggested quickly publishing updated parking counts and safety‑audit findings. Transportation staff agreed to accelerate DRC outreach and publish materials; the team also agreed to conduct outreach with small business development to learn lessons from a Washington Square merchant that recently closed.

No vote was taken; the presentation served as a project update and public‑engagement milestone. The project team will return with updated plans, additional DRC meetings and a MassDOT design public hearing when preliminary design is ready for formal submission.