Improve safety and neighborhood convenience by establishing Bennington Street between Day and Orient Heights Squares as a Complete Street

"East of Day Square, Bennington Street doubles in width, encouraging frequent speeding and use by regional drivers accessing Route 1A or cutting through the neighborhood to avoid the regional highway system. In 2019, over 70 percent of all vehicle trips on this portion of Bennington Street started or ended outside of East Boston; 40 percent came from a municipality that does not border East Boston. Over one-third of all crashes on Bennington Street between 2016 and 2018 involved a person walking or biking (30 out of 81 crashes). Four fatalities have occured [sic] since 2015. When accounting for crash density and severity, Bennington Street touches three of the neighborhood’s five most severe crash hot spots. Remaining mature trees create a boulevard feel but the canopy continues to diminish. Buildings along this stretch of Bennington Street are primarily residential and the prevailing building height is three stories. Some ground-floor retail exists, primarily at intersections. Despite poor safety conditions, Bennington Street is the primary east-west bike route when the Mary Ellen Welch Greenway is closed at night, and the only bike route north of the intersection with Saratoga Street to Revere and beyond." (Source: "PLAN: East Boston," pg 123) "A Complete Streets design approach would enable better balance between all users to create a street that works for the neighborhood and is able to more safely process existing traffic volumes. There are many safety tools to help slow speeds, increase visibility, reduce barriers at crosswalks, make turns more predictable, better manage curbside space, ensure a healthier tree canopy, and better manage stormwater runoff. Complete Streets changes for Bennington Street west and east of Day Square are warranted based on existing conditions. They are also recommended in Go Boston 2030 as part of the Neighborhood Complete Streets Corridors initiative. The City will apply for design funding from the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization to initiate a more detailed analysis and design process with the East Boston community. The City will seek funding to address the full length of Bennington Street in East Boston but, given the length of the street, implementation of any future changes may be phased into shorter segments." (Source: "PLAN: East Boston," pg 128)