Anyone who lives in East Boston – or anywhere in Boston for that matter – knows that vehicular traffic is a problem and clogged intersections will increase the time of a daily commute.
Mayor Martin J. Walsh is trying to help improve the flow of vehicles through our streets with two recently announced initiatives.
In an initiative that has already gone in to effect, Mayor Walsh announced the use of Waze, a community-based traffic and navigation application that will help transportation analysts monitor the flow of traffic in busy intersections.
There has been a regulation in effect for three years that addresses traffic in intersections. “Don’t Block the Box” is an education and enforcement campaign designed to alleviate gridlock in intersections. The campaign is based on a motor vehicle law that prohibits a driver from entering an intersection when the vehicle will not be able to pass directly through it to the other side. The fine for failing to obey this law is $150.
In other words, once a driver enters the intersection, he/she must be able to proceed directly through to the other side while not impeding others vehicles from proceeding once the traffic light is green.
The city’s other transportation planning initiative announced by Mayor Walsh – Go Boston 2030 – addresses all transportation issues in the city. The city released a draft transportation vision for Boston, developed by the Go Boston Advisory Committee through conversations with more than 6,000 Bostonians.
Traffic has been a major issue in Boston for decades. While the Big Dig Project has helped improve access to and from Boston, there are other traffic-related issues. Mayor Walsh is setting his sights on motor vehicle traffic, transportation and safety in the city, and our Mayor needs our support and our input to realize his vision for the city.