Lower Broadway Busway Planning and Design

How we helped one community outside Boston go from a tactical pilot project to conceptual design and a $22 million RAISE grant for building a dedicated busway.

Everett Transit Action Plan

Everett has long been among the most densely populated and economically diverse municipalities in the greater Boston area. The city’s strong sense of community, relatively affordable housing stock, and proximity to downtown Boston has attracted professionals, tradespeople, and new immigrants. In recent years, the city has taken a uniquely direct approach to development, attracting the Wynn Casino, retail centers, and residential complexes to several defined redevelopment areas. These emerging developments, along with the city’s dense residential population and position in the Boston area, have presented significant transportation challenges. Everett is the only city in Boston’s inner core that lacks direct access to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority rail network and has few and frequently congested roadway connections to surrounding communities. Many of Everett’s residents rely on MBTA buses that are crowded, unreliable, and run infrequently.

In 2015, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the City of Everett engaged Nelson\Nygaard to undertake an innovative planning process to identify actionable short-term investments that could immediately address some of Everett’s transportation challenges. The project team conducted a robust public outreach process, speaking with Everett residents at bus stops and at community events. This effort resulted in a first-of-its-kind bus lane pilot on Everett’s primary transit corridor, Lower Broadway, speeding up travel times for the thousands of residents that rely on buses to get to jobs each morning. The bus lane pilot was so successful that it was made permanent just a few months after its initial implementation.

MassDOT Silver Line Extension Alternatives Analysis

Building on the success of New England’s first bus lane pilot, Nelson\Nygaard managed an effort to assess the feasibility, utility, and cost of various alignment and service frequency options of an extension of the Silver Line, providing high quality transit from Chelsea through Everett and on to Somerville, Cambridge, and/or Boston. Nelson\Nygaard managed the effort and led transit planning, operational analysis, integration with bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, mapping, and played a key role in defining potential BRT alignments.

The effort featured robust community outreach to some of the state’s most diverse populations. Like many Boston area projects, the Silver Line Extension was inherently multijurisdictional, with literally dozens of potential stakeholders, ranging from internal agency departments, state-level agencies, multiple host municipalities, and numerous local stakeholders (businesses, community organizations, neighborhood groups). The effort spanned communities that are often difficult to reach with the traditional public meeting approach. Many residents work long and irregular hours that limit their ability to participate in traditional after-work meetings and engagement activities. The study area also has a high rate of Spanish and Haitian Creole-speaking residents who often don’t participate in public outreach events, likely in part because these events are perceived as not being inclusive to participants who do not speak English. Our team also employed creative and innovative ways to achieve community feedback in a virtual environment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

MBTA RAISE Grant Support

With a locally preferred alternative selected, Nelson\Nygaard supported the MBTA in their application for a Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant to fund the design and construction of a dedicated, separated busway connecting downtown Everett to Sullivan Square. The project will also enhance bike and pedestrian safety and connectivity along the corridor. In June of 2024, the project was selected for a $22.4 million award.

“Expanding bus transit along the Lower Broadway Corridor will be transformational for families in Everett and Boston… Reliable and efficient bus transit is the backbone of a functioning public transportation system. This investment will enhance bus service for the thousands of Everett and Boston riders, many of whom are Black, brown, and low-income and rely on buses to get to work, health care, groceries, and childcare. Just like dedicated lanes allow buses to operate efficiently, this funding is right on schedule.”

- Senator Ed Markey

Conceptual Design on Lower Broadway

Nelson\Nygaard is now leading the conceptual design to make these transformative mobility improvements a reality for Everett and the communities that will benefit from the reimagined corridor. Our team will develop a 15% concept design with an eye toward establishing a final preferred design to advance toward final design and construction.