Council Summons MBTA Chief Eng to Nov. 6 Hearing on Blue Hill Avenue, Demands Crash Data

The Boston City Council has voted to summon MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng to testify on Nov. 6 about transit inequities along the Blue Hill Avenue corridor and a proposed Orange Line extension, after he did not attend an Oct. 14 council hearing on the subject.

The order, Docket 2026-1968, was filed by Councilor Miniard Culpepper and passed on Oct. 21 by a vote of 8-2, according to the council's Legistar record. Voting yes were Councilors Breadon, Culpepper, Flynn, Louijeune, Mejia, Murphy, Santana and Worrell. Councilors Gabriela Coletta Zapata and Sharon Durkan voted no. Councilors John FitzGerald, Enrique Pepén and Benjamin Weber voted present.

The summons is issued under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 233, Section 8, through the council's Committee on Civil Rights, Racial Equity, and Immigrant Advancement. It directs Eng, who is also the state's interim secretary of transportation, to appear at 10 a.m. on Nov. 6 to testify on Docket 1340, a hearing order on the civil rights implications of rapid transit inequities in Boston, and Docket 1341, a resolution supporting evaluation of an Orange Line extension along Blue Hill Avenue.

The order also directs Eng to produce official crash data for calendar years 2022 through 2026, documenting fatalities, serious injuries and other reported crashes along Blue Hill Avenue and comparable corridors, including Columbus Avenue, where a center-running bus lane is already in place. The order says the data is needed to compare the safety record of that design with conditions on Blue Hill Avenue, where a similar project is proposed.

In its findings, the order says the Blue Hill Avenue corridor serves predominantly Black, immigrant and working-class communities that have had inadequate access to rapid rail, and that the 1987 removal of the Washington Street Elevated Orange Line eliminated a direct rapid transit connection between Roxbury and downtown "that has never been replaced with comparable service."

The redesign at issue would add center-running bus lanes along about three miles of Blue Hill Avenue in Mattapan and Dorchester, Boston.com reported. Outlets have cited different cost figures: Boston.com described a $163 million plan, while NBC10 Boston reported a $124 million redesign. NBC10 Boston reported that the MBTA says the lanes could save riders up to 15 minutes during rush hour. In June, Culpepper and Worrell proposed extending the Orange Line instead, according to Boston.com.

"We are asking for equity for the Black community," Culpepper told NBC10 Boston. "This is a very serious civil rights matter with regard to investments in some communities and disinvestments in others." On safety, he said, "Someone needs to convince me how it's safe or safer."

Eng told NBC10 Boston that the project would improve safety and warned against losing federal funding if major changes were made. "The community deserves something today," he said. "The worst thing would be is to lose the federal dollars." He said a scheduling conflict prevented him from attending the Oct. 14 hearing.

The two sides dispute whether the council was told in advance. Culpepper told Boston.com the council was not notified. "They ignored us completely," he said. "Not even a phone call to say he wasn't coming." The MBTA said in a statement to Boston.com that it had "previously informed the City Council" that Eng would not be available, that he had participated in two recent public meetings on the redesign and hosted a June meeting with Culpepper and Worrell, and that it was "reviewing" the council's request.

Mayor Michelle Wu's office criticized the vote. "The City does not believe that subpoenas are a constructive way to engage with close partners in government. We encourage the Council to find more productive ways to engage," the office said in a statement reported by NBC10 Boston.

Durkan told Boston.com she voted against the order because she did not want the council to make a "mockery" of its subpoena power. "The summons power that we have is incredibly important, so we should be choosy in the way that we use that power," she said.

Culpepper said he expects Eng to comply. If Eng does not appear, NBC10 Boston reported, the council would have to vote on whether to pursue court action. "I'll see him in court," Culpepper said when asked what would happen if Eng did not show.