Mayor Walsh launches Go Boston 2030 "What's your Question" truck

Mayor Martin J. Walsh today launched the on-the-ground phase of the City of Boston’s Go Boston 2030 transportation initiative with the “What’s Your Question” truck, a glass truck that will visit every city neighborhood from January 29 to February 7. The truck is part of the larger Go Boston 2030 Question Campaign that asks residents and commuters, “What’s your question about getting around Boston in the future?”

Go Boston 2030 is an initiative launched by the City of Boston to imagine a bold new transportation plan for Boston for the next five, 10, and 15 years. The plan will be built on direct input from people who participate in the Question Campaign by donating their question in-person through the “What’s Your Question” truck, donating online at GoBoston2030.org, tweeting their question using the #GoBoston2030 hashtag, or texting questions to 617-925-6914. Participants can track their question throughout the process to see how their input fits into the larger Vision, which will be created from submitted questions.  Everyone is encouraged to donate a question whether resident, commuter, or visitor.

“The Go Boston 2030 initiative is using the latest technology and real grass roots activity to achieve an unprecedented level of community engagement. We're hearing directly from a broad group of people about what their needs and hopes are for Boston's transportation future,” said Mayor Walsh. “Together, through this initiative, the public and city officials will build a bold and innovative plan that will improve mobility for residents, commuters, and visitors.”

The Go Boston 2030 initiative takes a unique approach to community engagement through the Question Campaign that combines cutting edge technology with grassroots, in-person interaction to gather input from as many residents, commuters, and visitors possible on what their needs and hopes are for transportation. The campaign was built on the premise that asking questions can inspire vision, make concerns visible, and lead to great ideas.

Roughly 1,000 questions have been submitted so far, which are available to view and track on the Go Boston 2030 website. To engage more people, Go Boston 2030 has also been advertising on the MBTA buses and trains as well as bus shelters. The goal is to have about 5,000 questions donated in this Question Campaign. The “What’s Your Question” truck will tour the city for 10 days and provide people with the opportunity to donate and display their question right in the truck.  The stops cover every neighborhood in Boston – from residential to the business districts.

“Our last comprehensive transportation was completed more than a decade ago and things have changed in the city,” said Transportation Commissioner Gina Fiandaca. “We are developing a big vision as well as a concrete list of immediate improvements and long term investments to ensure that our transportation system is safer, greener, and more equitable for everyone traveling in Boston in the future. Working with residents and business, this vision will establish common goals for shaping mobility in the future.”

Following the Question Campaign, the submitted questions will be reviewed and organized into themes, which, in turn, will serve as the foundation for a Vision, shared goals, and set of early action steps to be released this spring.  This will be followed by a comprehensive, long-term Action Plan to be released in spring of 2016 that will have resulting transformative polices and projects designed to increase equity in mobility, improve the economy, better connect people to jobs and education, and protect the environment.

The public will have further opportunities to weigh in on all phases of the process with public forums in spring to display the results of the Question Campaign. In the fall of 2015, there will be more public meetings to identify policies and projects to help turn the Vision and goals into an innovative transportation plan. 

The Go Boston 2030 initiative is led by the Boston Transportation Department and is a collaboration of many City agencies, MassDOT, and the MBTA.  The initiative is steered by the Mayor’s Mobility Plan Advisory Committee, which is co-chaired by Representative Russell Holmes, who represents the Sixth Suffolk district in Boston and Richard Dimino, President and CEO of A Better City, a business group advancing the economic competitiveness and quality of life in Boston.

Question Truck Schedule

The “What’s Your Question” truck schedule is below. This is subject to change due to winter weather. For the latest schedule, please contact Alice Brown at alice.brown@boston.gov.

Thurs 1/29      

o   12:00 – 2:00    City Hall Plaza

o   4:00 – 7:00      Hyde Park – River Street at Fairmount Avenue

Fri 1/30           

o   12:00 – 2:00    Back Bay/Beacon Hill – Copley Square 

o   4:00 – 7:00      South Boston – West Broadway at East Broadway

Sat 1/31          

o   12:00 – 2:00    Allston/Brighton – Oak Square YMCA

o   4:00 – 7:00      North End – Cross Street at Hanover Street

Mon 2/2          

o   12:00 – 2:00    Downtown Crossing – Summer Street at Washington Street

o   4:00 – 7:00      Charlestown – Public Library

Tues 2/3          

o   12:00 – 2:00    Downtown – Dewey Square

o   4:00 – 7:00      Roslindale Square

Wed 2/4         

o   12:00 – 2:00    Mattapan Square

o   4:00 – 7:00      West Roxbury – Roche Community Center

Thurs 2/5        

o   12:00 – 2:00    Roxbury – Dudley Square 

o   1:45 – 3:30      Roxbury – Madison Park High

o   4:00 – 7:00      Jamaica Plain – Centre Street at Green Street

Fri 2/6 

o   12:00 – 2:00    Chinatown Gate 

o   4:00 – 7:00      East Boston - Maverick Square 

Sat 2/7

o   12:00 – 2:00    South End – Tremont Street at Clarendon Street

o   4:00 – 7:00      Dorchester – Upham's Corner