It’s no secret that parking in Boston is a struggle, especially with the constant traffic.
City councilors are considering an action Wednesday that could help alleviate some of those struggles through congestion pricing.
Massachusetts drivers spend roughly 40 peak hours in urban-area traffic congestion every year, according to a study in the Herald last year. The national average is 27.
This congestion pricing plan would try to tackle that by generating money to fix the state’s struggling transit system, but it would fall on drivers.
Boston City Councilor Fernandes Anderson — the person pushing this — has the attention of his colleagues with this proposal but for competing reasons. Some agree that the state desperately needs a fix for traffic, while others say drivers shouldn’t carry the burden until there’s an efficient transit system in all areas of the city.
Fernandes believes additional tolls for people driving into “congestion zones” would help bridge the $567 million budget gap the MBTA is facing this year.
The pricing of these congestion zones would be based on the location and time of day people are traveling, like the plan that New York City just gave the green light.
However, it’s not just city council already speaking up about how tricky this plan could be. The president of the Retailers Association said shift workers who have no say over when they commute to Boston would be unfairly targeted.
He points out all of this is coming at a time when the t is considering lower fares for lower income residents.
Fernandes highlights though that the money generated from this plan would also be used toward other areas of community improvement including air quality.
The council will discuss congestion pricing at noon Wednesday.
