After months of friction between state and city leaders, MBTA and Boston have agreed on a traffic plan for Summer Street during World Cup matches near South Station—shutting parts of the corridor for security screening and adjusting vehicle access on match day
With the first World Cup match less than two weeks away, the MBTA and Boston officials have finally aligned on how to handle Summer Street—the stretch directly in front of South Station that must accommodate both thousands of arriving fans and temporary security needs.
On Tuesday, the MBTA announced Summer Street will be entirely closed to vehicular traffic between Dorchester and Atlantic avenues for eight hours on four match days: Saturday, June 13; Friday, June 19; Monday, June 29; and Thursday, July 9.
For three other matches—Tuesday. June 16; Tuesday. June 23; and Friday. June 26—Summer Street will stay open to vehicular traffic only on the westbound or north side. The MBTA said the “direction of travel will be coordinated based on the demands of the respective day and time. ” and that public safety and security officials will coordinate with incident command to make decisions as needed. including additional temporary traffic restrictions and lane closures for crowd management.
Even with that limited access on some days, a key segment will still be closed throughout all seven matches. The MBTA said the portion of Summer Street directly in front of South Station will be temporarily closed to vehicular traffic each match day as it sets up temporary security screening and queuing space.
The plan also resolves a separate dispute between the MBTA and the city. With the agreement in place, the MBTA said it is withdrawing its temporary eminent domain letter to Boston, and Boston will issue the MBTA the necessary occupancy permit.
Interim Secretary of Transportation and MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng said in a statement, “Safety has always been the MBTA’s top priority, and this plan allows both the MBTA and the City to keep security paramount while also maintaining street flexibility.”
Mayor Michelle Wu added, “We’re proud of our track record of careful coordination between city and state partner agencies hosting major events where residents and visitors alike have a smooth, welcoming experience in Boston.”
MBTA Boston Summer Street World Cup South Station street closures traffic plan security screening eminent domain
So they close Summer Street but then say it’s “coordinated”… coordinated by who, like the same people that can’t ever sync a simple bus schedule? smh.
World Cup or not, closing streets for 8 hours is crazy. Also they’re shutting it down between Dorchester and Atlantic?? That’s like everything. Who’s gonna get dropped off at South Station?
Wait so is this closure for the whole street or just the part by the station? The article says “in front of South Station” but also Dorchester to Atlantic, and then it’s only westbound/north side on some days?? I’m confused like they can’t decide.
They’re withdrawing an eminent domain letter which sounds good, but meanwhile they’re still basically taking over lane space for security screening. So what’s the difference, just paperwork? Hope they don’t jam people into the same mess they always do around Southie.