Boston committee reviews federal grant to modernize traffic signals, councilors press for end to concurrent pedestrian/turn phasing

The Boston City Council Committee on Planning, Development, and Transportation on Feb. 20 heard from Boston Transportation Department (BTD) staff about a federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant, described in committee testimony as approximately $14,400,000, to modernize traffic signals and reduce pedestrian–vehicle conflicts at priority intersections across the city.

The funding matter (Docket 0448) was described by Sharon Durkin, City Councilor for District 8 and chair of the committee, as a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and passed through the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to be administered by the Boston Transportation Department. The committee received briefings but did not take a vote; Durkin said she intends to move to accept the grant at the next council meeting.

The grant’s purpose and scope

Amy Kording, Director of Engineering for the Boston Transportation Department, told the committee the grant would support design, inventory, and equipment upgrades to bring locations into conformance with BTD’s recently updated traffic signal…