Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The Boston City Council Committee on Planning, Development, and Transportation, chaired by Councilor Sharon Durkin (District 8), held a hearing on Docket #1543 regarding traffic enforcement of blocked bike lanes and crosswalks on October 22, 2026, at 2:05 PM. The hearing focused on enforcement data, physical infrastructure, state law barriers, and accountability. The administration panel included Chief of Streets Chris Osgood, Deputy Chief Goad, Director of Operations John Romano, and Director of Parking and Curb Management Mia Capone.
The record my name is Sharon Durkin, District 8 City Councilor, and I'm the chair of the Boston City Council Committee on Planning, Development, and Transportation. Today is October 22nd, and the exact time is 2.05 p.m. This hearing is being recorded. It is also being live streamed at Boston.gov backslash city-council dash TV and broadcast on expenditure channel 8, RCN channel 82, files channel 964. Written comments may be sent to the committee email at CCZ.plan D E V at Boston.gov and will be made part of the record and available to all counselors. Written comments may be sent to the committee email at CCC. Oh, sorry, I just said that. Public testimony will be taken at the end of this hearing. Individuals will be called on in the order in which they've signed up and we'll have two minutes to testify. I see we have our first page filled up. If you'd like to testify, please make sure you sign in. So each um everyone's gonna get two minutes to testify. If you're interested in testifying in person, please add your name to the sign-in sheet. Um and I just like to congratulate um Shane Pack on his SHATIC award last night. Um, we're incredibly proud of Shane at the city council. He's done such great work, and he has been our shepherd through all our planning development and transportation meetings since I've been the chair. Um, and so email him if you'd like to testify virtually uh Shane.pac at Boston.gov for the link and your name will be added to the list. Today's hearing is on Docket 1543, order for hearing on traffic enforcement of blocked bike lanes and crosswalks. This matter was sponsored by me, City Councilor Sharon Dirkin, and was referred to the committee on August 5th, 2026. Um today we were joined by my colleagues in order of arrival, Counselor Murphy, Counselor Flynn, Counselor Braden. Umce um I'm the lead sponsor and the um sponsor of this docket, I'm gonna read an opening statement and then we will uh we will head to um uh introductions from the panel. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you, Chief Osgood and Deputy Chief Goad for being here today. Um, Mia, John Romano, all you know, all everyone who's doing the great work at um BTD. Um thank you uh to the residents, the advocates, and community members who took time out of your day to be here. We want to hear from you because you're on our streets every day, and your experiences are what we're here to talk about. This issue is fundamentally about safety for our residents, and it impact impacts their lives every day. A blocked bike lane or crosswalk forces people into biking or walking into the street and into traffic and increases the risk that they might get into a crash. I hear from many residents every day about this issue in District 8, which is home to many high traffic commercial corridors and residential areas with bike corridors and public transit. I represent many constituents who don't own cars, and I don't either, so I share that experience. Um by foot is the primary way that they get along, get around, and um, I you know ended up in a herald article saying pedestrian is king. I absolutely believe that. If we can't make it safe for pedestrians as a city, um, you know, that's that's our goal, and vision zero should be our goal, and we have to move quickly and urgently towards that. Um, an analyst of blocked bike lane reports revealed that more than half of all reports occurred along nine main corridors. Two of the top three are in district eight, Kenmore Square and the Longwood and Fenway area. Seeing drivers pull up into crosswalks is a regular occurrence, even though it's illegal under state law. Lack of consistent enforcement perpetuates a culture in which drivers don't feel accountable for following the rules of the road. Crosswalks and bike lanes are designated to product pedestrians and cyclists, and when these spaces are routinely blocked, it undermines our trust in transportation investments and compromises the safety benefits this infrastructure is meant to provide. But I often hear people talk about, you know, oh, well, that safety improvement is meant for people coming from a different city. We are supposed to be sort of at the center of where people are traveling to. We are the biggest city in the commonwealth. So anyone who's coming to our city and feels unsafe here, that matters deeply to me. Anyone who spends time in my district matters deeply to me. Um, and obviously uh we prioritize residents who feel unsafe in crosswalks, but um that safety should apply to everyone who traverses our city. Right now, residents are encouraged to report block bike lanes and crosswalks through 311, which is important because that data helps us identify where the issues are most prevalent and whether the targeted enforcement or street design are infrastructure, you know, where we should target enforcement or street design or infrastructure improvements. But drivers only stop in bike lanes or crosswalks temporarily, making these violations difficult to report and enforce. Today I'm looking forward to discussing what more we can do to hold drivers accountable. This includes exploring targeted enforcement, public awareness, and accountability programs, but it also bags the question of whether we should be lobbying the State House for more power to do this in a way that would uh be more efficient and effective.