‘I’m here to listen’: Councilor Flynn holds meeting for Southie residents over street safety

BOSTON — People who live and work in South Boston are concerned about a proposed transportation plan in the neighborhood.

“I’m a business owner in South Boston and it will kill businesses on both Broadways,” said one man.

The plan would re-work streets creating bus and bike lanes.

“There shouldn’t be bus lanes only the entire day that’s my feedback. There should be bus lanes only during rush hour,” said another member of the community.

South Boston residents packed the Condon School. Many intended to come for a meeting with the Boston Planning and Development Agency and the Boston Transportation Department to offer input on the plan. But it got canceled after much pushback during a similar Zoom meeting last week. So, Councilor Ed Flynn held the meeting on his own.

“Residents want their voices to be heard so I want to make sure I’m here to listen,” said Ed Flynn who represents South Boston as the District 2 Councilor.

The sudden cancellation also concerned Boston City Councilor at Large Erin Murphy.

“They canceled it last minute with really no explanation and there were a lot of residents looking forward to an in-person meeting,” said Councilor Murphy.

Residents say they are worried about the plan that calls for narrower streets and a loss of parking spots that are so valuable in Southie.

“I think that is going to result in a mess,” said a woman worried about impacts on residents who have cars.

Others say this is an outright assault on the fabric of life in Southie.

“What’s fueling this is the desire to change the culture and feel of our neighborhood by forcing people to face difficulties using their cars via reduced parking spots etc.,” said Tommy Flaherty a concerned resident.

People who attended, including Councilor Flynn want to make sure the city is listening.

“That’s a critical part of community engagement - feedback from residents and taking it into consideration and hopefully implementing a lot of it,” said Flynn.

A spokesperson for the BPDA tells Boston 25 that the meeting was delayed so they could assess last week’s input. There is no date set for the next meeting.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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