Mayor Michelle Wu and Public Works Complete Over 7,200 Municipal Street Lighting Upgrades at Record Cost Savings

Municipal Street Lighting Division Outperforms Milestones with 7,200 Infrastructure Upgrades

BOSTON, Massachusetts — Announcing a landmark operational milestone on October 26–27, 2026, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and the Public Works Department (PWD) revealed that the city’s in-house Street Lighting Division has completed over 7,200 comprehensive lighting upgrades across Boston’s 23 neighborhoods over the past year. By performing the electrical rewiring, pole replacements, and luminaire retrofits using trained union city personnel rather than outsourcing to third-party private contractors, municipal crews achieved the repairs at approximately one-third of the projected contracting cost, saving millions of taxpayer dollars.

Mayor Wu highlighted that high-quality, dependable street illumination improves nighttime visibility, reduces traffic collisions, and fosters a renewed sense of public safety and pride along residential neighborhood streets.

Mayor's Health Line Launches Massachusetts Health Connector Open Enrollment Push

Highlighting community well-being, Mayor Wu and the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) officially launched the city’s open enrollment campaign for the Massachusetts Health Connector Marketplace. Community navigators with the Mayor's Health Line deployed multi-lingual outreach teams to community health centers in Roxbury, East Boston, and Dorchester, providing free in-person counseling to help uninsured residents, freelance workers, and immigrant families enroll in comprehensive, zero- or low-cost health and dental insurance.

Public health leaders emphasized that ensuring universal healthcare coverage shields working families from medical debt and prevents avoidable hospital emergency room visits.

City Officials Evaluate Congestion Mitigation Blueprints and Vision Zero Measures

In regional mobility affairs, the Boston Transportation Department (BTD) briefed City Council members following an official municipal study delegation sent to examine New York City's congestion relief zone. While evaluating regional traffic patterns, Boston transportation engineers reaffirmed their commitment to expanding priority bus lanes along Blue Hill Avenue and installing automated traffic safety beacons across high-injury intersections to safeguard pedestrians.