Hub considering 20 mph limit

Councilors concerned about elderly, kids

For the second time in two years, Boston could be looking at new, lower speed limits.

Today, the City Council will discuss again lowering the speed limit for drivers, this time from 25 mph to 20 mph, in a hearing with city officials and pedestrian and traffic organizations. Speed limits were reduced in January 2017 to 25 mph citywide — unless otherwise posted — from the previous speed limit of 30 mph.

“I think the current speed limit is too fast,” said City Councilor Ed Flynn, who offered the order for a hearing with Councilor Frank Baker. “The combination of lowering the speed limit and enforcement will be safer for pedestrians.”

It’s unclear what roads would receive reduced speeds. Under the proposal, Boston would join Cambridge, which began enforcing 20 mph limits in Kendall, Central, Inman, Harvard and Porter squares last March. Flynn, who said he’s most concerned about “the elderly and children walking to school,” hopes the city will act fast.

“I’m open to suggestions from others and I’m looking forward to hearing ideas,” he said. “There will be transportation specialists who have better experience around the issue than I do.”

City records show 14 road fatalities in 2017, down from 21 in 2016 and 20 in 2015. There had been seven fatalities in 2018 since the database last updated in September.

Last Friday, a 24-year-old Boston University bicyclist was killed by a dump truck at Museum Way and Monsignor O’Brien Highway.

Safety concerns have only heightened as the city has rapidly expanded its Bluebikes program. A pilot program to test dockless modes of transportation that includes app-based electric scooters is slated to begin next spring.

Chris Dempsey of Transportation for Massachusetts, an advocacy group, said, “The data shows that survival rates go up dramatically when the speed limit is lowered.

“We have to place a focus on our most vulnerable users, which is those who aren’t in a vehicle, such as pedestrians and cyclists,” he said. “Lowering the speed limit benefits everyone, including drivers.”

A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that when Boston lowered its speed limit in 2017, it reduced drivers’ speeds, with the likelihood of vehicles “exceeding 35 mph” down 29.3 percent; those “exceeding 30 mph” down 8.5 percent and “exceeding 25 mph” down 2.9 percent.