Boston Mayor Martin Walsh on Thursday plans to call for the city to reduce its speed limit to 20 mph, just over two years after the limit was reduced from 30 to 25 mph.
In his annual speech to the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, the mayor also plans to declare that free MBTA bus passes will be provided to all city students in grades 7-12 whether they go to public, charter, private, or parochial schools. In all, 30,000 students would get passes, up from 20,000 currently.
And to create safer conditions for passengers and ease congestion caused by double parking, the city, with the cooperation of Uber and Lyft, will begin a pick-up/drop-off zone pilot program at Boylston Street and Kilmarnock Street. The new rules for the zone will begin at 5 p.m., and continue until 8 a.m. each day, according to the mayor's office.
"Making sure our residents can get around our city in a safe and reliable way is key to ensuring Boston's opportunities extend to all," Walsh said in a pre-speech statement. "I'm proud these innovative improvements will significantly improve commutes, accessibility, and lives as we continue to modernize our city's transportation investments, and create options that work for everyone."
The mayor plans to address the bureau's meeting at 12:45 p.m. at the Seaport Hotel. At 1 p.m., Gov. Charlie Baker will be at the AAA office on High Street in Boston to promote his road safety bill. In January, Baker filed a bill calling for Massachusetts to join 16 states in requiring hands-free cell phone use while driving and proposing to allow police to stop motorists for not wearing a seat belt.
