Planning, Development and Transportation on October 22, 2026

The Boston City Council Committee on Planning, Development and Transportation held a hearing on October 22, 2026, on blocked bike lanes and crosswalks, parking enforcement, and street safety. Boston Transportation Department officials reported 139 parking enforcement officers, more than 60,000 illegal-parking requests through 311 in 2025, and over 100,000 parking tickets issued in September 2026, including about 1,000 for double parking and 200 for crosswalk violations. They described a new 311 case system for identifying safety complaints, plans to publish enforcement data, and street improvements such as restoring barriers, adding daylighting during resurfacing, and installing cast-in-place concrete protection on Washington Street. A roughly $31 million Cummins Highway project was cited as an example of a larger capital street redesign; no new spending allocation, contract award, or procurement vote was made at this hearing.

The discussion also covered technology and procurement-related possibilities. Officials said state law currently prevents Boston from using automated parking enforcement, and Cambridge’s representative described that city’s successful home-rule process to obtain authorization; Boston participants discussed pursuing a similar legal path, but no measure was adopted. Boston Public Schools has issued an RFP for school-bus stop-arm enforcement, and the MBTA’s bus-camera program is expected to begin enforcement on Silver Line routes SL4 and SL5 on January 1, with Washington Street service included. Councilors and residents urged stronger physical bike-lane protection, transparent enforcement data, and expanded camera enforcement. No vendor selection or contract award was identified.