Brookline Select Board pauses $118,518 bicycle network contract after residents and board raise outreach, multimodal concerns

The Brookline Select Board on April 1 declined to move forward with a $118,518 contract with Kittelson & Associates to create a Bicycle Network Implementation Plan, voting “no action” after lengthy debate about outreach, scope and whether the study should be broadened beyond bicycle‑specific planning.

The contract would have produced a prioritized, townwide plan with high‑level cost estimates and feasibility assessments to guide future bike infrastructure. “This plan is meant to be a planning document, a guide, for helping us be strategic about decisions and about where we want to have bike improvements,” Transportation Director Amy Ingalls told the board, stressing it would not itself authorize construction and that later project designs would include neighborhood engagement.

Residents and Select Board members said the proposal came at the wrong time and seemed too narrowly focused on protected bike lanes rather than multimodal tradeoffs such as parking, pedestrian needs and general pavement preservation. Carla Venka, a town meeting member from Precinct 14, urged clearer plans for neighborhood meetings and direct outreach to abutters after public confusion over Chestnut Hill Avenue designs.

Board members repeatedly cited the recent controversy over Chestnut Hill Avenue repaving and markings, where neighbors said they were surprised by an engineering plan that they felt had not included them. “If the planning and the contract are good and worth the expenditure, why is it coming along after we already had a process for Chestnut Hill Avenue that somehow arrived at a design for the street that hadn’t been cleared with the neighbors?” Select Board member Paul Warren asked.

Ingalls said the proposed plan would have helped avoid rushed decisions by aligning pavement preservation schedules with safety and bicycle infrastructure needs and by adding engineering feasibility and cost estimates to the town’s advocate‑driven GreenRoutes recommendations. “We will have more time to sit down with the community and kind of work through recommendations and tradeoffs,” Ingalls said, adding the plan would support a multi‑year work plan.

But several board members and residents pushed back that the draft contract didn’t make outreach goals and tradeoffs explicit enough and asked the town to bring back a version that explicitly considers multimodal needs — parking, pedestrians and vehicle access — not just bicycle lanes. “If you’re doing a bicycle network plan, you’re reaching out to advocates of bicycle safe biking. The thing that seems to have been missing … is engagement with people who aren’t riding bicycles who need parking and access,” Paul Warren said.

After discussion, the board moved “no action” on the contract; the recorded vote was: John Van Schaoyek — aye; Michael Sandman — abstain; Paul Warren — aye (mover of no action); David Perlman — aye; Chair Bernard Green — abstain. Transportation staff said they would return with a revised approach responsive to the board’s concerns.

Why it matters: The vote means Brookline will not immediately fund an outside study intended to prioritize bicycle infrastructure townwide. Supporters argued a short, technical planning contract would add engineering and cost rigor to advocate plans; critics said the town needs a broader, multimodal process and better neighborhood outreach in advance of street changes.

Next steps: Transportation staff said they will discuss revisions with the Select Board and consultants and return with a narrower or reframed proposal that addresses multimodal outreach and how specific streets (like Chestnut Hill Avenue) would be phased into design and community engagement.

Votes at a glance

- Contract PW25‑29, Bicycle Network Implementation Plan (Kittelson & Associates), $118,518 — Motion: No action (moved by Paul Warren). Vote: Van Schaoyek: yes; Sandman: abstain; Warren: yes; Perlman: yes; Chair Green: abstain. Outcome: no action.

Sources and attribution: Quotes and attributions in this article come from Transportation Director Amy Ingalls; Select Board members Paul Warren, John Van Schaoyek, Michael Sandman and Chair Bernard Green; and public commenters Carla Venka and Jesse Hefter as recorded in the April 1, 2025 Select Board meeting transcript.