Locating solutions has been stop-and-go

Greater Boston has grappled with increasing traffic congestion for years. Here are some highlights from the Herald’s coverage of what has become an ongoing problem:

• During the next six months, the state Department of Transportation will study when, where and why traffic backups happen, and what the state can do to address the root causes.

• The study comes after Gov. Charlie Baker this summer vetoed a bill that would have created a pilot program for “congestion pricing” — toll hikes during rush hours intended to discourage so many cars from being on the road.

• Last month, At-Large City Councilor Michelle Wu called for more car-free days in Boston’s business districts, but other city councilors, transportation experts and retailers raised concerns about shutting down streets.

• Environmental experts also sounded the alarm on Boston’s air quality and high asthma rates as an economic boom fuels the region’s worsening traffic congestion. Transportation firm INRIX ranked Boston the seventh-most congested urban area in the nation. And a 2017 Department of Public Utilities report found there were about 64.8 million ride-hailing trips in the state, with more than half originating in Boston.

• In July, Baker used his lineitem veto to pick off a congestion pricing measure from the budget. The proposal would have offered a discount of at least 25 percent on tolls for drivers traveling during off-peak hours. But drivers panned the proposal as unfair, and some suspected it would open the door to surge-pricing during rush hours.