What to Know
- Boston Mayor Marty Walsh will reveal new proposals Thursday to the Boston Municipal Research Bureau.
- He wants to enable photo enforcement for speeding violations and those who violate any school buses' stop signs.
- Walsh also wants to create designated pickup and drop-off locations for rideshares such as Uber and Lyft.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh proposed several ways to improve traffic in the notoriously gridlocked city on Thursday.
Walsh announced plans to lower neighborhood speed limits from 25 mph to 20, create designated pickup and drop-off locations for Uber and Lyft, create more dedicated bus lanes in busy neighborhoods and provide thousands more free bus passes to students in grades in 7 to 12.
The mayor said the ride-hail pickup locations will be piloted this month in the Fenway neighborhood, among many areas where double parking is causing increased congestion.
Rideshare passengers could also face an increased charge during rush hours under one of Walsh's new bills. The added fee would be invested in roads as well as pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. Carpooled rideshares will have reduced charges.
"We can't study this issue any further, we need action," said Sen. Joseph Boncore. "We’re trying to move people onto public transit and out of their cars, yet we’re raising the prices of T fares and doing nothing to raise the cost of traveling on our roads."
Another proposed bill allows for the use of photo enforcement for speeding violations. The same technology would also allow school buses to capture photos of cars that violate when the buses' stop sign is deployed.
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The mayor announced the initiatives at his annual speech before the Boston Municipal Research Bureau.
