In a memo to Mayor Michelle Wu, Boston city officials said they may have moved too fast on the addition of new bike and bus lanes across Boston.

The lanes have become a flashpoint as Wu faces off opponents in the upcoming mayoral election.

The nine-page memo compiled feedback gathered by city officials in meetings with neighborhood groups and local businesses over the past month. The memo also briefly reviewed 10 different infrastructure projects, including bus and cycling lanes in the Back Bay, traffic mitigation efforts along Centre Street in West Roxbury, and temporary “flex posts” installed along Massachusetts Avenue to protect bikers and slow cars.

Signed by Mike Brohel, Boston’s superintendent of basic city services, the memo said the city was “heavy handed” in its communications with communities undergoing the changes and failed to consider neighborhood feedback.

“We heard consistent feedback that project communications and community engagement were inadequate, that decisions seemed predetermined, and that processes too often did not achieve consensus, contributing to a loss of community trust,” it said.

Brohel broadly recommend that the city make community engagement a first step in all future projects and more fully consider curbside parking and the needs of local businesses.

Specific recommendations included:

  • Replacing the “flex posts” installed along Western Avenue and North Beacon Street in the Allston/Brighton area with “alternative traffic separation devices” and identifying curbside parking.
  • Removing the Boylston Street bus lane and reviewing the effectiveness of some bike lanes in the Back Bay.
  • Removing “flex posts” installed along Massachusetts Avenue.
  • Re-evaluating a bike lane installed along Arlington Street in Bay Village.
  • Re-instating parking spaces and loading zones along Centre Street in West Roxbury and the creation of a separate bike lane.
  • Narrowing bike lanes along American Legion Highway in the Mattapan area.
  • Reducing the use of temporary “flex posts” across the city.

Flex posts are often used to protect cyclists or slow cars down.Galen Mook, executive director of the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition, said while he’s glad the city gathered the feedback, he’s worried the memo didn’t focus enough on pedestrians, cyclists and people with disabilities.

“They haven’t stated in a very clear way that the city’s priority is keeping people safe,” Mook said. “I want to hear from the top that what they are trying to do with city streets is keep people alive.”

At least three cyclists died riding in Greater Boston in 2024. The creation of the bike and bus lanes was touted by the Wu administration early in her term as a way to encourage “green” alternatives to car transit.