The Rush-Hour, Congestion-Relieving, Wallet-Thinning So We Won’t Drive Plan


From moving City Hall to Southie to trying to force restaurants to serve healthy food, our Mayor enjoys toying with the status quo. Which is why WBZ’s Eileen Curran may have stirred up a whole heap of good times for suggesting Mayor Menino look into congestion pricing in Boston.

A plan that’s been used in London, congestion pricing charges drivers a larger toll during rush hour. London has reported a 30 percent decrease in congestion due to the plan, and we’ll get a glimpse of how it works stateside when New York City implements the plan (eventually) and charges $8 for a car during peak travel times, and a whopping $21 for a truck.

l_guar.jpgCar-loving Massholes, including Menino, are hesitant to explore the plan. But the mayor says he’ll look into it after Curren flashed the $354 million figure New York will get from the federal government for its plan, but he still has his doubts. Lawrence Guarino of Revere, the most Boston-looking (and sounding) guy Curren could find near a gas pump, claims he would still drive into Boston, but exclaims, “Twenny-one dollahs a day for!… oh, thank gawd I have a cah.”

Why anyone would actually want to drive into town during rush hour, and then not find a legal spot, thus racking up enough debt to rival your Visa balance in parking tickets is beyond us. Yeah, the T sucks, but at least once you’ve paid your $2 and gotten off the train you don’t have to park it. Or pay the tolls.