Why Boston Cannot Mail Camera Tickets Yet

Boston City Councilor Sharon Durkan said at a council hearing on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, that she and Councilor Enrique Pepén plan to file a home rule petition “soon” that would allow the city to issue bike lane camera tickets by mail, Mass Daily News reported. City transportation officials told the committee that state law currently bars Boston from using automated parking enforcement.

Why Boston Cannot Mail Bike Lane Camera Tickets Today

According to Mass Daily News, city officials told the Committee on Planning, Development, and Transportation that a section of Chapter 90 of the Massachusetts General Laws effectively requires Boston to attach a paper ticket to a vehicle. Chris Osgood, an official in Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration, told councilors, “We are the one municipality that currently by state law is not allowed to have automated parking enforcement.”

Osgood said every other city and town in the state can use automated enforcement. Officials said Cambridge, the only other city named in the law, won its own exemption, which they said was signed in July. A change for Boston would require a home rule petition approved by the City Council and the mayor and then passed by the Legislature on Beacon Hill.

Ticket Numbers Presented at the Hearing

Osgood told councilors the Boston Transportation Department wrote just over 1.1 million parking tickets in fiscal 2026 and is running about 9% ahead of that pace this year, Mass Daily News reported. In September alone, he said, the city issued more than 100,000 tickets, including about 1,000 for parking in bike and bus lanes and about 200 for blocking crosswalks. Officials said parking enforcement staffing is at its highest level in almost 10 years.

Osgood also said the MBTA plans to begin ticketing drivers who stop at bus stops or stand in bus lanes on the SL4 and SL5 Silver Line routes around Jan. 1, using cameras mounted on buses. He added that Boston Public Schools has issued a request for proposals for school bus stop-arm cameras.

What the Hearing Order Asks

The hearing order, Docket #1543, was filed on Aug. 3, 2026, by Durkan with Councilors Liz Breadon, Miniard Culpepper, John FitzGerald, Ed Flynn, Ruthzee Louijeune, Erin Murphy, Pepén, Henry Santana, Benjamin Weber and Brian Worrell listed as co-offerers. It notes that state law gives pedestrians the right-of-way in marked crosswalks and prohibits stopping, standing or parking in a designated bike lane.

The order states that drivers “routinely pull into crosswalks and park in bike lanes without fear of penalty.” It asks the council to examine automated camera enforcement, increased ticketing, curbside loading space, staffing and funding for enforcement, and resident reporting through 311 or the Boston Police Department. The city’s public notice listed the hearing for 2 p.m. in the Iannella Chamber at City Hall.

When Durkan filed the order in August, she told WBZ NewsRadio that blocked lanes and crosswalks put “our most vulnerable road users at risk, especially elders, folks with disabilities, families and residents who use alternate modes of transportation.”

Testimony From Advocates and Critics

Durkan, who represents District 8, said two of the city’s three corridors with the most blocked bike lanes, Kenmore Square and Longwood/Fenway, are in her district, according to Mass Daily News. A member of a volunteer group that tracks blocked bike lanes said its roughly 150 contributors filed about 1,500 reports in September. The LivableStreets Alliance cited Somerville, where it said camera enforcement reduced violations at three monitored locations from about 10 a day to one or fewer.

Jordan Justice, chief executive of Automotus, a company that sells camera-based curb enforcement, testified that cities including Pittsburgh and Hoboken mail tickets for bike lane and crosswalk violations. Durkan said her committee “has no role in procurement.”

Greg Maynard of the Pioneer Institute called the hearing “a real missed opportunity,” saying the committee waited more than a year to hold a hearing on the Wu administration’s streets project review. Durkan responded, “It’s very easy to come in and throw shots when you’re driving in from Brockton,” Mass Daily News reported.

Related Boston Transportation Coverage

The hearing comes the same week the council voted to compel testimony from the MBTA’s general manager; see our report on the council’s 8-2 vote to summon Phil Eng. For curbside rules drivers face this winter, see our guide to Boston snow emergency parking rules, and for broader transportation funding debates, see Wu’s comments on congestion pricing.

What Happens Next

Docket #1543 remains in Durkan’s committee, and she said more hearings are planned. The home rule petition she and Pepén described had not been filed as of Friday morning, and no text of the proposal had been released.

Sources

Featured image: The Boylston Street bike lane at Copley Square in Boston. Photo by Toni.lg via Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

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Durkan, Pepén Plan Push for Bike Lane Camera Tickets in Boston