Congestion toll in Boston?

[ritchiew]

A GenAI response from several sources -- basically it is a huge set of compromises:

How Boundaries Get Set
Planners typically begin with microscopic traffic simulation models to map out the region’s "Central Business District" (CBD) or most gridlocked core. However, translating that core into a functional boundary relies heavily on physical constraints: [1, 2]

• Natural and Built Chokepoints: Designing a boundary requires minimizing the number of entry points (gantries or camera checkpoints) to keep implementation and enforcement costs down. Planners aggressively look for natural cordons like rivers, harbor edges, rail lines, or major sunken highways where crossings are already limited to a few bridges or tunnels.
• The "Escape Valve" Ring Road: A successful boundary must feature a major, high-capacity perimeter road immediately outside the zone. This acts as a bypass route so drivers who want to avoid the fee can skirt around the downtown core entirely rather than flooding local residential neighborhoods just outside the zone.
• Political and Socioeconomic Negotiations: The final line is almost always massaged by politics. Neighborhood groups, local businesses, and hospital districts right on the edge lobby intensely to be excluded or included based on how they believe the footprint will impact their foot traffic and property access.

1 https://www.cato.org/regulation/summer-2025/political-economy-congestion-pricing

2 https://www.nature.com/nature-index...pricing-strategies-in-urban-transport-systems

Those two citations don't seem to have anything to do with how boundaries get set. They do not support anything the AI apparently spat out.

 

[JumboBuc]

A reason to implement in Seaport would be a promise to use the funds to replace the Silver Line with real rapid transit. But I would never believe the promise.

I'd support a Seaport-specific "congestion tax" just for this purpose. Toll the Seaport Blvd, Congress St, and Summer St bridges across Fort Point Channel, plus the exits into the Seaport off of I-90 and the Haul Rd (northbound only). The TWT already has a toll, so don't toll cars coming out of it.

Also: "tax the Seaport" is a message that hoi polloi would 100% get behind.

 

[JeffDowntown]

Those two citations don't seem to have anything to do with how boundaries get set. They do not support anything the AI apparently spat out.

Yeah, there were more references for the specific points, but all were also number 1 or 2 so seemed confusing. None were particularly scholarly.

 

[Rover]

The example of going from Newton to Harvard is that you would have to cut through Boston via Storrow/ Soldiers Field Rd. The larger point is that there is little connectivity in a hub and spoke system. Brighton to the Seaport, Hyde Park to Longwood, etc. You have to drive.

I respect people mentioning bus service, but after 30 years of riding the system I can tell you the busses are terrible. Not by design, but they have to travel the same congested and narrow streets, they're overcrowded and the schedule is unreliable especially if you have to make a connection or be somewhere by a certain time. This is why subways exist, to get people off the street grid. I have little faith that ithe bus system can handle extra volume.

Finally, all of these proposals aren't taking reality into account. They all assume voters have no recourse to oppose yet another tax with a questionable benefit (more T employees, pension payments, bus drivers now make 50 bucks a hour, or does it actually go to improvements). A huge trove of people that live in the suburbs will get hit with this cost. They will immediately put a referendum on the ballot to repeal, especially since some of you plan on charging patients who drive into city hospitals for treatment. That should go over real well in a campaign ad.

 

[Delvin4519]

The example of going from Newton to Harvard is that you would have to cut through Boston via Storrow/ Soldiers Field Rd. The larger point is that there is little connectivity in a hub and spoke system. Brighton to the Seaport, Hyde Park to Longwood, etc. You have to drive.

I respect people mentioning bus service, but after 30 years of riding the system I can tell you the busses are terrible. Not by design, but they have to travel the same congested and narrow streets, they're overcrowded and the schedule is unreliable especially if you have to make a connection or be somewhere by a certain time. This is why subways exist, to get people off the street grid. I have little faith that ithe bus system can handle extra volume.

Finally, all of these proposals aren't taking reality into account. They all assume voters have no recourse to oppose yet another tax with a questionable benefit (more T employees, pension payments, bus drivers now make 50 bucks a hour, or does it actually go to improvements). A huge trove of people that live in the suburbs will get hit with this cost. They will immediately put a referendum on the ballot to repeal, especially since some of you plan on charging patients who drive into city hospitals for treatment. That should go over real well in a campaign ad.

Newton to Harvard does not cover Storrow in the slightest. To get to Storrow you would have to be east of Kenmore or the BU bridge.

The proposed congestion zone extending to LMA and Fenway Park is nowhere near Newton or Harvard Square.

Newton and Harvard are super far away from the border of the congestion zone; let alone LMA or Fenway Park.

Again; LMA and Fenway Park are unequivocal internal components of the inside of the congestion zone.

 

[Scott]

Finally, all of these proposals aren't taking reality into account. They all assume voters have no recourse to oppose yet another tax with a questionable benefit (more T employees, pension payments, bus drivers now make 50 bucks a hour, or does it actually go to improvements). A huge trove of people that live in the suburbs will get hit with this cost.

What is wrong with T bus driver making $50 an hour and getting a pension? What do you think a house costs? "People that live in the suburbs" who very often sit on their ass in an office make that all the time. T bus drivers get you to work, they have dangerous, stressful jobs and should at least have the ability to feed their family, and you should too

 

[bigeman312]

The example of going from Newton to Harvard is that you would have to cut through Boston via Storrow/ Soldiers Field Rd.

We may not like it, but @Rover is exemplary of many in the area. They think a congestion toll will apply to trips it simply does not apply to. I lived in Newton for decades. Some people there will actually oppose against it because they mistakenly think it will apply to a drive to Harvard, even when very clearly presented with information that it will not

Anyone have ideas on how to reach people who don’t seem willing to understand what the proposal even is for? Is it even important to reach these people? Id love it if we had politicians willing to push through something controversial, and know that the willfully ignorant will eventually see it doesn’t apply to their precious Newton - Harvard trip and their fears were simply irrelevant.

I’m reminded of a project a couple years ago that made sidewalks accessible on a street in Jamaica Plain. One of the loudest vocal opponents was an older woman who was opposed because “one day I may need to use a wheelchair.” We explained to her that this project is exactly for that purpose and it would help her. A man in a wheelchair even gave an impassioned plea! To no avail. She remained steadfast in her belief that the accessibility project was an affront to those in wheelchairs. Thankfully, the city pushed the project through anyways. I think it’s important to separate well-reasoned opposition and willful ignorance. I wonder how she feels about the project now?

 

[HenryAlan]

What is wrong with T bus driver making $50 an hour and getting a pension? What do you think a house costs? "People that live in the suburbs" who very often sit on their ass in an office make that all the time. T bus drivers get you to work, they have dangerous, stressful jobs and should at least have the ability to feed their family, and you should too

Can't emphasize your point enough. They provide an incredibly high value service, and are responsible for the safety of 100s of passengers each day. They should certainly be well compensated for this.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

Finally, all of these proposals aren't taking reality into account. They all assume voters have no recourse to oppose yet another tax with a questionable benefit (more T employees, pension payments, bus drivers now make 50 bucks a hour, or does it actually go to improvements). A huge trove of people that live in the suburbs will get hit with this cost. They will immediately put a referendum on the ballot to repeal, especially since some of you plan on charging patients who drive into city hospitals for treatment. That should go over real well in a campaign ad.

Just like happened in New York!