Boston parking tickets to fund improvements for buses and bikes

Boston plans this July to hike the fines for 11 of the city’s most complained-about parking violations in order to pay for bike and bus improvements.

Those improvements will include new dedicated bus lanes as well as dedicated spots for ride-hailing services such as Uber to drop off and pick up. The city also plans to spend millions on signal improvements and repaving roads.

How big will parking fines get? The Globe’s Adam Vaccaro gives a taste: “The penalty for double parking in downtown neighborhoods would increase from $45 to $75; parking during street cleaning would yield a $90 fine, more than double the current $40 cost; parking in a resident-only spot without a sticker would rise to $60, from $40; while overstaying a meter would shoot to $40, from $25.”

Whether any of this crackdown and resultant $5 million (or thereabouts) in funding for improvements actually curbs Boston’s world-famous congestion, and makes life smoother on bus riders and bikers, remains to be seen. If anything, the dedicated pickup/dropoff spots for Uber et al will encourage more cars to hit the streets.

And the greater difficulty that might arise in parking in much of Boston could hurt businesses that rely on those in from out of town. Stay tuned. The changes, which still need City Council approval, would take effect with the next fiscal year on July 1.

• Walsh wants big hike in parking ticket fees to fund transit work [Globe]
• Boston region’s terrible commutes changing the way brokers market [Curbed Boston]