Hingham Select Board Approves MBTA Bus Stop, Green Grants Policy, Route 3A Petition

HINGHAM -- May 12, 2026, Hingham Select Board unanimously approved an MBTA bus stop on Hull Street, a new sustainable purchasing policy, and a state legislative petition advancing the Route 3A corridor project at its May 12 meeting. The board voted 3-0 on all three substantive items. The MBTA's Alternative Service Planning Director Alexander Wall Street-James and planner Liz Taylor presented plans to install bus stop number 71428, Alternative 2, the location allowing a full eight-foot accessibility landing pad, as part of a broader Bus Stop Safety and Accessibility Project funded by a $1.5 million Metropolitan Planning Organization grant that is converting Route 714 from flag-stop to fixed-stop service; fiscal year 2025 ridership on the route was just under 40,000. The sustainable purchasing policy, drafted by Sustainability Coordinator Patricia Burke from a DEP template, must be in place by June 1 to allow DPW Director Ashley Breuer to apply for Sustainable Materials Recovery Program grants, the town netted $6,000 from those programs last year. Town Counsel John Coughlin said the Route 3A Article 97 petition, which will transfer parcels to MassDOT in exchange for replacement conservation land on Hobart Street and 110 percent compensation, must clear the current legislative session to keep the project on schedule.