One hundred years ago the Blue Hills Reservation was created as a haven for city dwellers wanting to escape from the stress of urban life. At that time people could conveniently hop on trolleys that originated in Mattapan and other Boston neighborhoods to travel to “one of the greatest recreation grounds in the world, in scenery far superior to parks of Paris.” That was how the Blue Hills were described in a 1904 trolley brochure.
Today the Blue Hills is much harder to access for those without cars who live in city neighborhoods. Trolleys no longer operate and public transportation is limited. As a result, the park and its resources remain inaccessible for tens of thousands of families in Boston and surrounding communities because there is no MBTA service to the area.
To improve access for people in nearby Boston, the Friends initiated a study, in partnership with organizations such as Urban Outdoors Association, Mattapan Food and Fitness, Brookwood Community Farm and the Mary May Binney Wakefield Arboretum. Together, this coalition successfully petitioned the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) to conduct a study of public transportation options from the traditionally marginalized neighborhoods of Dorchester and Mattapan.
The Friends and a number of organizations representing Mattapan, Dorchester and other urban neighborhoods, worked with the Boston MPO to guide the study.
The results of the study have just been released. See the results and recommendations on the Boston MPO’s storymap presentation here.
The next step is to work with community groups to advocate to implement the recommendations.
Thanks to our members for helping to make access to the Blue Hills more equitable.
Image above shows the trolley route from Boston to Sharon and connecting points, past the state reservation and under the shadow of the Great Blue Hills.
Photo credit:
Originally published by Robert H. Derrah, By Trolley through New Eastern New England. (Boston, Mass., 1904), “The Reservation Route”, pgs. 55-60.
Source for photo and trolley brochure: Stoughton Historical Society
