Surrounded by ongoing development projects and located in a high-profile area, the master planning process for the Fan Pier Development required an extensive and critical transportation planning component, as well as agency and community coordination to minimize impacts to the surrounding community and infrastructure.

Spaulding & Slye selected VHB to provide transportation planning and engineering services for this development based on the firm’s history with the Fan Pier area and intimate familiarity with the Central Artery/Tunnel (CA/T) project, ongoing Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) initiatives, and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) service enhancement efforts.

VHB identified potential on-site and access-related transportation infrastructure needs for the proposed Fan Pier program. The firm conducted a planning-level analysis of Fan Pier transit needs and potential mitigation actions. Specifically, VHB quantified existing and future transit services in the area including the MBTA’s Piers Transitway Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system; identified existing capacity constraints on these services and projected impacts due to development; identified operational considerations; and made recommendations for possible transit enhancements or supplemental services.

Now complete, the master plan includes infrastructure improvements that will have minimal impacts on this developing area.