The Boston City Council tomorrow considers whether to let Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson (Roxbury) start up some formal consideration of a proposal for "congestion pricing" as a way to ease gridlock on Boston roads caused by narrowing car access because of bicycle and bus lanes - and maybe even provide enough revenue to help improve public transit.
Anderson will ask the council to assign her proposal to a council committee for a public hearing and drafting of a possible ordinance or home-rule petition to begin charging people who drive along designated roads at particular times in the city.
In her hearing request, she notes New York City and New Jersey are considering rush-hour pricing, which is already used in some European cities
A set fee placed on drivers of various vehicles could bring money and resources toward other elements of the community, reduce traffic, increase transit use and improve air quality, creating environmentally and eco-friendly solutions, as well as functioning as a tangible solution for those feeling preyed upon and thinking that the city is not hearing their feedback.
She writes Boston's infamous traffic woes have only been exacerbated by bike and bus lanes:
Numerous constituents have voiced concerns over the narrowing of streets, due to added bus and bike lanes as well as the rise in vehicular traffic. n Furthermore, the placement of buses in the center of streets exacerbates traffic by restricting space for cars and trucks to maneuver effectively. Narrow and congested streets pose challenges for emergency ambulances navigating already congested areas.
The council's regular Wednesday meeting begins at noon, in its fifth-floor chambers at City Hall.
| Attachment | Size |
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 Complete hearing request | 94.12 KB |
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See my comment to the person you also responded to.
By dwhogan
Wed, 02/14/2024 - 3:26pm
I responded to the above commenter and my answer to your question is in that comment.
Full disclosure, not a financial analyst
By dwhogan
Wed, 02/14/2024 - 3:25pm
So, you maybe correct - I actually don't know how much towns bring in vs. the city.
I did find this site which lists revenue by source, but to be honest, I"m not the best person to actually look at this stuff and understand how it works. Maybe someone else can? I would be interested to know.
https://dlsgateway.dor.state.ma.us/reports/rdPage....
What I based my statement on was a few things:
1) Maintenance of infrastructure per capita - concentrated areas have more people living in them whose contributions to that area support a smaller amount of stuff like roads, electrical grid, water, sewer, etc. Roads in particular have a creeping debt issue where they cost very little over the first 25 years of existence and then suddenly balloon in cost. This leads to increasing burdens on states to divert concentrated income from cities to support the roads in outlying communities.
https://youtu.be/VVUeqxXwCA0?si=P7n44JjfERKUV-Sa does a good job of examining this.
2) While you might have significant income tax income from suburbs, how much are they contributing via sales tax or corporate tax. I imagine Waltham or Burlington contribute fair amount of commercial tax income, but I don't know how much industry Weston or Lincoln has.
https://youtu.be/7IsMeKl-Sv0?si=VhxHMJGmm7lNqoVG Explores how much suburbanization ends up costing more and more money long term.
My two cents
By Waquiot
Tue, 02/13/2024 - 8:37pm
The proposal deserves debate, but if certain other city councilors proposed this, Anderson would have denounced it was unjust for her constituents.
Maybe maybe not
By dwhogan
Wed, 02/14/2024 - 3:58pm
I've worked in Roxbury/Dorchester as a social worker for a long time and you'd be surprised to know how many residents have barely left the city limits. Maybe they've travelled out of state a few times, but the folks she represents are not commuting into and out of the city on 93 or 90 on a regular basis, they're walking, driving locally, or mostly likely taking the T.
There's a reason she is who is actually bringing this up.
Reading her reasoning
By Waquiot
Wed, 02/14/2024 - 10:37pm
It really sounds like she is advocating on behalf of her driving constituents, almost a backhanded way of criticizing the new bus and bike infrastructure.
They'll be a meeting. She'll say things, so her whole logic behind the move will come out.
Honestly, if a proposal like this comes in, it will probably be for a limited area that won't be near her district, meaning the congestion they see on an everyday basis will remain, if not get worse.
The new bus lanes
By ScottB
Thu, 02/15/2024 - 12:10pm
Are not in the downtown core, except for maybe the one on Essex -- and that one isn't that new. As a pedestrian, I find the new configuration of Columbus between Jackson Sq. and Seaver St. to be a bit terrifying because the cars speed along right next to the curb.
Congestion pricing downtown isn't going to fix any congestion caused by bus/bike lanes in Dorchester or Roxbury or JP.
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