Boston council hearing spotlights speed-hump surge, emergency-access and equity concerns

A Boston City Council committee hearing on June 9 brought councilors, Boston Transportation Department officials and residents together to examine the city’s expanding traffic-calming program, especially the rapid installation of speed humps as part of the 2023 Safety Surge and the Vision Zero initiative.

Councilor Sharon Durkin, chair of the Council’s Committee on Planning, Development and Transportation, convened the session that combined two dockets addressing the Safety Surge and a review of speed-hump effectiveness. Councilors and dozens of residents described cut-through speeding across neighborhoods and urged faster, more equitable deployment of safety treatments near schools, parks and senior facilities.

The hearing centered on how and where the city places speed humps, the program’s rapid scale-up, and trade-offs such as effects on emergency response and bus routes. Chief of Streets Yasha Franklin Hodge and other agency staff laid out program data and design rules; councilors pressed for stronger neighborhood-level prioritization and changes to concurrent signal timing to reduce vehicle-turn conflicts with pedestrians.

City presentation and data

Chief of Streets Yasha Franklin Hodge told the committee the city has worked to put safety “at the heart” of street design and tied current work to Vision Zero, the city’s policy goal to eliminate serious injuries and fatalities. Hodge said the city has accelerated speed-hump construction: "In 2023, we built 300 humps in 1 year. In 2024, we built more than 600 humps," and that staff are reviewing siting and design to ensure equitable placement.

Deputy Chief of Streets for infrastructure and design Julia Campbell and Amy Cording, BTD director of engineering, described technical limits and standards: speed humps are not installed on major arterial routes, priority EMS routes, steep hills or bus routes; current design guidance calls for…