Council hears from city on blocked bike lanes and crosswalks ahead of Sunday's memorial ride
Sharon Durkan's committee held its first hearing on enforcement Oct. 22. Other street-safety orders are still waiting, including one on the Mission Hill intersection where a cyclist was killed in July.
A car parked in a bike lane or stopped across a crosswalk is already illegal in Boston. The question at a City Council hearing on Thursday, Oct. 22, was why it keeps happening and what the city is doing to stop it.
The Planning, Development and Transportation Committee, chaired by City Councilor Sharon Durkan, took up her order on traffic enforcement of blocked bike lanes and crosswalks (docket 1543). Interim Streets Chief Chris Osgood presented for the administration, according to a weekly round-up from Boston Policy Notes, which said the presentation was short and offered no new information on the commitments Mayor Michelle Wu made after the July death of cyclist Louisa Gag.
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For anyone who walks, bikes or pushes a stroller across a busy street, enforcement is the piece of street safety that shows up every day.
Why this hearing, and why now
Gag, a city transportation planner, was killed by a truck while biking at Tremont and Parker streets in Mission Hill in July, the Boston Globe reported. The city announced Oct. 9 that it would add a parking-protected bike lane and new markings at that intersection as a first phase, WBUR reported.
Durkan filed the enforcement order in August. The hearing notice says it concerns traffic enforcement of blocked bike lanes and crosswalks. At the Sept. 30 council meeting she announced the Oct. 22 date (Sept. 30 meeting, 2:14:58).
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The day before the hearing, Durkan told colleagues that someone had asked her online whether this was the most important issue she could be working on. Her answer was yes, because people are lost to traffic violence every week in Massachusetts (Oct. 21 meeting, 2:42:06).
What our records show
- Docket 1543 was referred to committee Aug. 5. The council's record lists 11 sponsors; City Councilors Gabriela Coletta Zapata and Julia Mejia are not listed. The hearing came 11 weeks after referral. The order is still in committee.
- Docket 1797, City Councilor Erin Murphy's order for a hearing on unauthorized roadway changes and traffic safety at Tremont and Parker, was referred to the same committee Sept. 23 and has not had a hearing (record).
- Docket 1415, City Councilor Enrique Pepén's ordinance requiring annual reports on street projects, has been in the Government Operations Committee since July 22 (record).
The Boston Policy Notes round-up said a speaker during public testimony asked about a 2025 hearing order from City Councilor Benjamin Jacob Weber on the city's 30-day review of street projects that was never heard, and that Durkan said she can hold hearings only with the lead sponsor's cooperation. We could not find that 2025 order in our records.
What councilors said this week
On Oct. 21 the council adopted Pepén's resolution recognizing Ride for Your Life and remembering people killed in traffic (docket 1971). Pepén said the ride is this Sunday, Oct. 25 (2:39:36).
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City Councilor Ed Flynn said part of the answer has to be strict enforcement of current traffic laws by Boston police, and said he believes 25 mph is too fast for city streets and the limit should be 20 (2:44:10). City Councilor Julia Mejia said councilors too often get pitted against each other over bike lanes and need to find common ground (2:46:42). Council President Liz Breadon said five people have been killed in crosswalks in Allston-Brighton during her time in office that she knows of (2:48:13).
What's next
The Oct. 22 hearing video and transcript will be added to our meetings page once the city posts the recording. The Tremont-Parker hearing order and the street-project reporting ordinance are both still waiting for hearings. The city has said a second phase at Tremont and Parker, with repaving and a likely new crosswalk, is planned for next year.