Is 30 the New 25?

Boston’s streets should soon be a little safer and quieter thanks to Councilor Frank Baker and his colleagues. In April, Baker sponsored legislation that would allow the City to decrease speed limits and improve safety for drivers and pedestrians alike. The state legislature authorized the proposal last month, and Mayor Walsh says he supports lowering the general citywide speed limit to 25 miles per hour.

The Mayor and Transportation Commissioner Gina Fiandaca will work with the City Council over the next few months to finalize the proposal, with implementation expected by January 1, 2017. Lowering the default speed limit would support Boston’s Vision Zero goal of bringing the number of traffic deaths and serious injuries to zero by 2030. Research shows that pedestrians struck by drivers going 25 mph are half as likely to be killed as those struck by drivers at 30 mph.

“We need to eliminate traffic fatalities on the city’s streets, and this is an important step in the right direction,” Baker said in April. Councilor Baker and the other members of the City Council will be working with the Mayor and the Boston Transportation Department to make that goal a reality. You can read more about the initiative here.