Mattapan should get to reshape its future, Rep. Brandy Fluker Oakley says

Paris Alston: And as part of this walk down the block, we spoke with State Rep. Brandy Fluker Oakley, whose district covers much of Mattapan, where she also grew up. She says the redesign is inevitable.

Rep. Brandy Fluker Oakley: There’s already double parking on Blue Hill Ave, and there’s a lot of commercial businesses there that rely heavily on their patrons who are able to park, or double-park, for that matter, to get the services they need or the goods that they require. And what I’m most worried about is, as the center bus lane is being constructed, what’s going to happen to those businesses to make sure that they don’t experience any type of displacement? I think the problem is: If we want folks to not drive their cars as often, we have to have a reliable alternative, and the MBTA has not shown itself to be that reliable option.

Alston: There’s a part of the $44 million grant that’s allowing for this redesign that talks about neighborhood development. Does this bus lane have the potential to develop Mattapan into the neighborhood that it can and should be?

Fluker Oakley: I don’t know if we — meaning those who are from Mattapan, still live in Mattapan or those who are new to Mattapan — have a common vision on what it should be. As in any group dynamics, when there are folks who are more outspoken, people who might have a differing opinion, or more shy or less likely to share that differing opinion, and so then the loudest voices become the voice, even though it’s not necessarily reflective of the entire community. And so I hope that through this process, knowing that the bus lane is coming, that there might be an opportunity for communities to be intentional about what it is that they want to see. To the city’s credit, when they did the plan, Mattapan — which first was authorized under Mayor Walsh’s administration and then Mayor Wu’s administration continued the process — there were a lot of resources expended to go talk to community members, to find the voices that we don’t normally hear from, to hear what it is that people want to see and what they want to have happen here in Mattapan. So I know that work exists, but I also know, having been on community meetings there, people were like, 'I didn’t know this was coming.’ So it’s like, people still feel like they weren’t a part of that process. And so I feel like there’s definitely more work that can be done there.

Alston: Given that, do you think there are other places that a $44 million investment could have gone in this neighborhood?

Fluker Oakley: Short answer: Yes. But the truth of the matter is it was a federal grant, too, so we have to keep that in mind. So I don’t blame the city for going for this pocket of money, recognizing congestion and recognizing the population growth, recognizing the housing that we have coming down, recognizing climate change and wanting to do something about that. So there are a lot of good reasons to go for this pocket of money. It’s not just the city all of a sudden cutting this check. There was a grant. They saw an opportunity and they applied for it. I do think housing is very important. I think our education system still needs a lot of TLC.

Alston: How else is the state investing in this area?

Fluker Oakley: My district, every part of it, has the Neponset River that runs through it. But not every part of the district has access to the river. So really making sure that folks have access to nature and green spaces, I think is critically important. We do have several restaurants here throughout Mattapan that unless you live here, you wouldn’t know about them. And how would they even get to it if they did know about it? So I think the more that we can also invest in our public transit effort would do wonders for Mattapan as well.

Alston: Well, that is State Rep. Brandy Fluker Oakley, thank you so much.

Fluker Oakley: Thank you, Paris.

Alston: You’re listening to GBH News.