MBTA

Boston Continues to Adapt Amid Orange Line Shutdown

The city has taken steps like adding tents to shuttle stops, adding more bike parking and adjusting bus lanes as the "transit emergency" continues

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The city has taken steps like adding tents to shuttle stops, adding more bike parking and adjusting bus lanes as the “transit emergency” continues.

Ten days into the Orange Line shutdown, the city of Boston is making changes to help commuters get through the rest of it. 

The city’s chief of streets outlined some of the changes on social media and NBC10 Boston took a ride around the city to check them out.

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Starting in Jamaica Plain, more cones are blocking off parking spots to help the shuttle buses make wide turns. There are also more police details to help direct traffic. 

At Government Center, tents have been set up to keep riders in the shade and out of any rain. At Community College, a sidewalk was repaired to help with shuttle accessibility. 

The city has also added priority bus lanes on Sudbury and Staniford streets, which are both crucial to the northern shuttle route. However, there were still plenty of people driving in the bus-only lanes on Monday.

"People do that all the time and on these roads, it’s like bumper cars," Orange Line rider Leslie Nerette said.

Nerette said he has noticed the roads are getting busier since the shutdown began. To avoid the traffic, a lot of commuters have started riding bikes instead. For that reason, city officials are adding more bike parking to the streets.  They are also bringing in 500 more BlueBikes after a record amount of rides during the first week of the shutdown. 

"I think that’s great. I’m always happy for more transport options, especially when it comes to making bikers safe," commuter Anthony Gavazzi said. 

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