Hoping to ease the congestion and aggravation created when ride-sharing drivers abruptly stop in a lane of traffic to pick up or drop off a passenger, city officials in Boston will begin enforcing a designated pick-up/drop-off zone in the Fenway neighborhood on Friday.
The pilot will designate an area near the intersection of Boylston and Kilmarnock streets that ride-for-hire services are asked to use for all pick-ups and drop-offs to or from the immediately surrounding blocks from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. The neighborhood is a popular entertainment zone that attracts thousands of Red Sox fans regularly from April through October.
The city said enforcement will begin Friday at 5 p.m., but Mayor Martin Walsh's announcement did not say whether drivers who make pick-ups or drop-offs elsewhere on those blocks will face any form of punishment.
The city said the zone will allow vehicles to continue to offer their transportation services, but in a way that supports safety goals and helps to improve traffic flow. The announcement included statements of support from both Uber and Lyft.
The city's Transportation Department will install signage intended to help drivers and passengers find the designated zone and will evaluate the program to determine whether it has an effect on traffic.
Walsh announced the creation of the pilot curbside zone program in a speech at the Boston Municipal Research Bureau last week and said the zone in the Fenway will be the first of several across the city.
