Brookline Select Board backs sending Washington Street 25% design to Transportation Board, with caveats on parking studies

The Brookline Select Board on Feb. 4 transmitted its support to the Transportation Board for the 25% design of the Washington Street Complete Streets project, while asking that parking and curb-use analyses and wayfinding work be completed as the design advances.

The vote to send the Select Board’s comments to the Transportation Board followed a presentation from the Department of Public Works and the project consultant Ty and Bohn, nine Design Review Committee meetings and more than two years of public outreach. Erin Chude, Brookline’s commissioner of public works, outlined the project’s goals: “complete streets… safety and access for pedestrians… ADA compliance… and enhancing commercial vibrancy.”

The board and the public focused much of the evening on trade-offs among protected bike lanes, on-street parking and business access. Multiple business owners and neighborhood representatives urged preserving parking in commercial nodes; Ailish Gilligan, speaking for more than 22 Washington Square businesses, said the proposed loss of 18 spaces in Washington Square would “be a direct threat to the economic stability of our district.” By contrast, advocates…