BOSTON – On Monday, June 9th at 2 p.m., Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn will hold a City Council hearing to discuss pedestrian safety, traffic-calming infrastructure and expansion of the Safety Surge program in the City of Boston. Pedestrian safety has long been a top priority for Councilor Flynn. For over 7 years, he has held hearings and advocated for traffic-calming infrastructure – such as raised crosswalks, speed humps, and pedestrian safety islands with rapid flash beacons – to be placed on our main streets, commercial roads and high traffic corridors, where the majority of vehicular and pedestrian foot traffic meet. In 2018, he recommended a detailed 12-Point pedestrian safety plan to the city based on the use of this infrastructure.

In 2019, after a pedestrian fatality at the site of a concurrent phasing traffic signal at the intersection of Melcher and Summer Street in Fort Point, Councilor Flynn held a Council hearing on concurrent pedestrian phasing traffic signals. He has consistently called attention to the potential for a dangerous situation where pedestrians have a signal to cross the street at the very same time that vehicles have a signal to turn at an intersection, with the expectation that the motor vehicle will always yield to the pedestrian in the crosswalk.

Subsequently, in January of 2025, Councilor Flynn passed a Boston City Council resolution unanimously to replace concurrent pedestrian phasing traffic signals in the City of Boston.

Moreover, in 2020, Councilor Flynn also called for declaring speeding cars as a Public Health Emergency. In 2021, he called for a portion of the Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill funding for the city to be dedicated to address long-standing pedestrian safety needs with improved traffic-calming infrastructure.

In recent years, the Safety Surge Program and installation of speed humps was welcomed by many residents as a way to slow down cars; however, speed humps are currently limited to being installed on neighborhood side streets. Councilor Flynn has advocated for years that raised infrastructure to instead be placed where the majority of vehicular and pedestrian foot traffic actually come into conflict- on main streets, commercial roads, high traffic corridors, and bus routes. It is a natural fit to have traffic-calming infrastructure in these areas of high foot traffic, and force speeding cars to slow down to allow residents and visitors to cross the street more safely.

“Pedestrian safety continues to be one of the top issues for all neighbors – including our seniors, persons with disabilities, and young families. This crisis demands that we physically force speeding cars to slow down with raised infrastructure where the majority of cars and pedestrians are – our main streets, commercial roads, and high-traffic corridors,” said Councilor Flynn. “We must prioritize pedestrian safety crossing signals at our intersections. Allowing pedestrians and cars to proceed at the very same time continues to be a recipe for disaster at many locations across the city.”

For more information, please contact Councilor Flynn’s office at 617-635-3203 or [email protected].