Washington Street provides an important connection between Brookline Village/Route 9 and Beacon Street. Brookline’s Town Hall, Public Library, and Police and Fire Departments are located on Washington Street, as are numerous restaurants, cafes, stores, offices, places of worship, and residences. Pierce School and Brookline High School are located near the southern end of the street, while Driscoll School is just past Washington Square. Hundreds of students pass through the study area on weekdays.  

Currently, Washington Street is constrained by a relatively narrow right-of-way that features two lanes of traffic, on-street parking in both directions, a patchwork of bicycle accommodations, and sidewalks that are in poor condition and serve large volumes of pedestrians. The MBTA Route 65 Bus runs along Washington Street, connecting riders to Brighton Center and Kenmore Square. There are safety and accessibility issues with intersection design, signal timing and equipment, roadway deterioration, safety, accommodations for people with disabilities, and transit amenities.