By Michael Coughlin Jr.

On Wednesday evening, more than 100 people attended a virtual meeting concerning a transportation plan specific to Jamaica Plain related to the proposed revitalization of White Stadium.

The city’s website describes White Stadium, which was constructed in 1945, as being “in a state of disrepair and in desperate need of revitalization.”

Now, through a partnership between the city and Boston Unity Soccer Partners (BUSP), the stadium is proposed to be renovated and would eventually become home to a National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team.

As previously indicated, Wednesday’s meeting focused on transportation. Anshi Moreno, a member of Mayor Michelle Wu’s policy team, outlined how the plan presented was put together and what it seeks to address.

Moreno explained that a request for proposals (RFP) was previously released, seeking a preliminary transportation plan. BUSP supplied a plan in July, and subsequent meetings in September and October were held to gather feedback.

“We got some great feedback and are incorporating that into the plan you’ll see today, and we have been working together with Boston Unity Soccer and our inner city departments to refine it,” said Moreno.

She also detailed what the plan is looking to address: mitigating traffic congestion during NWSL game days and improving the transportation challenges associated with existing larger events at the stadium.

Additionally, Moreno outlined the tools used to enhance the plan, which included using feedback from the aforementioned meetings, looking at the Franklin Park Action Plan and other City Transportation initiatives in the area, looking at a traffic management analysis, and finally reviewing city enforcement tools and new staff commitments from the city and BUSP.

Through the tools mentioned above, transportation goals during game days were created, including aspects such as improving pedestrian safety at park entrances, encouraging sustainable transportation choices, and more.

It should be noted that Moreno indicated that the plan shown during the meeting was for game days that could be “applied to other large events and then to be customized for medium and small events as it best fits.”

Following Moreno’s outline of how the current iteration of the plan was developed, Brian Beisel, BUSP’s Transportation Consultant, and others walked through the multi-modal plan.

First, Beisel reviewed how spectators will get to Franklin Park on game day. These modes included public transportation, parking off-site and shuttling, ride-sharing, biking, and walking.

“A big component of this project is that there is no spectator parking onsite,” said Beisel.

As part of the plan, people are encouraged to use public transportation and walk or take BUSP-provided shuttles from stops.

“We really feel a large percentage of people that take public transportation will actually just walk from Green Street or Stony Brook, which are both about 0.7 miles from the stadium,” said Beisel.

The presentation compared the distance mentioned above to the distance between the outer parking lots in Foxboro and Gillette Stadium.

“People going to events like this are used to and fully aware and willing to walk from this distance,” said Beisel.

In addition to encouraging the use of public transit, the plan looks to support pedestrians and cyclists. “After we’ve encouraged people to take public transportation, how do we then get them from the orange line, in this case, to the stadium,” said Beisel.

Specifically, the presentation noted traffic calming measures on School and Boylston Streets and Glen Road, an improved bike connection through the Egleston Square redesign, and the repaving of School Street between Washington Street and Walnut Avenue.

Additionally, as part of cyclist support, there are plans to have around 1,000 bike parking spaces during events, including private and blue bike valets.

Moreover, the transportation plan is slated to contain satellite parking, which is purposely placed away from the stadium, where people will then be shuttled to the stadium.

Shuttling from the satellite parking areas and public transportation stations was also detailed. Specifically, southern shuttle loops are proposed to serve the southwest and east satellite parking areas along with the Forest Hills and Red Line MBTA stations. Further, the shuttles on Circuit Drive would turn around in the Valley Gates lot.

Northern shuttle loops are slated to serve the northwest and northeast satellite parking areas and the Jackson Square MBTA stations. The shuttles would turn around at the Walnut entrance.

The plan also includes traffic operations management through the use of traffic operations managers and traffic ambassadors. Beisel mentioned these operations managers would be in areas such as Walnut Avenue and School Street and at Seaver Street, Columbus, and Walnut Avenue.

Regarding rideshare and carpooling, those folks would be sent to a drop-off and pick-up lot at the intersection of Humboldt Avenue and Seaver Street.

Beisel then walked through strategies that could be scaled up or down to ensure safety and minimal congestion regarding transportation aspects such as rideshare and carpooling, ranging from variable message boards to physical barricades.

Finally, Boston Transportation Department (BTD) Commissioner Nick Gove walked through the process of preserving neighborhood parking and mobility for the neighborhood and visitors to the park.

For example, plans are underway to institute a game day parking program for residents and visitors in the White Stadium walk area. The streets in this proposed walk area can be viewed at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MRffWU9yHIhd3OfgQloeg92f3G9EEiO7MuTuAHYCIKA/edit#gid=0.

As part of the program, residents with a parking sticker would be allowed to park on the streets, which would normally not allow parking on game days. Moreover, residents could get a placard for visitors — the current proposal is one per household.

Gove also detailed enforcement, which included a $100 fine for parking violations during game day, tow zone signs, and a dedicated BTD enforcement shift on game days.

Concerning parking for those not attending a game and just visiting the park, soccer spectators will not be allowed to park in the Franklin Park lots. Enforcement is slated to be through park rangers and Boston Police, with support from traffic ambassadors.

“We’re committed to retaining parking for the key destinations such as the zoo, the golf course, the Shattuck picnic area, tennis courts,” said Gove.

It should be noted that parking restrictions are proposed to start four hours before a game begins and end one hour after a game.

Following the presentation, those in attendance were given the opportunity to ask questions and provide comments.

For those interested in learning more about the transportation plan, hearing residents’ comments, and more, visit https://www.boston.gov/education/white-stadium, which has previous meeting materials.

However, it should be noted that it is unclear when the materials and recording from Wednesday’s meeting will be published.

Regarding the next steps, Dion Irish, the city’s Chief of Operations, indicated that feedback will be incorporated into the plan, and a new iteration will be presented at an impact advisory group meeting on May 15th.