By Adam Swift
Revere drivers are faced with congested traffic and increased pollution daily from commuters traveling to and from Boston, but those drivers are not afforded the same toll discounts that residents in Chelsea, East Boston, and Charlestown receive from MassDOT.
At Monday night’s city council meeting, Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna and Council President Anthony Cogliandro introduced a motion asking that the city’s legislative delegation file legislation requesting the discounted toll rates for private passenger vehicles in Revere.
McKenna said the council and former state Representative RoseLee Vincent filed similar legislation eight years ago, but that it was shot down at the state level.
“Eight years later, the traffic in Revere is paralyzing us in our streets and neighborhoods,” said McKenna. “Every day, starting around 7:30 in the morning heading towards Boston and then at two o’clock in the afternoon leaving Boston, we are flooded with cars. As residents of Revere, some of us have to commute every day through either the Tobin Bridge or the Ted Williams or Sumner tunnels for work.”
The majority of traffic overwhelming the city is coming from vehicles outside of Revere cutting through the city, McKenna said.
“This has inundated our city with people trying to get to and from these access ways and around our neighborhoods,” she said.
MassDOT has provided a toll discount for East Boston, South Boston, Charlestown, and Chelsea residents because of the traffic in those areas, and McKenna said it is time for Revere residents to qualify for the discount program, as well.
“In the eight years since 2016, the traffic has increased 100 percent,” said McKenna. “This is just to open up the lines of communication asking for a change in expanding the incentive program to the city of Revere.”
Councillor-at-Large Marc Silvestri said he supported the motion and noted that he filed a similar one when he first joined the council in 2021.
“It’s time that Revere drivers start being treated like others around us,” said Silvestri.
He added that the city’s roads also need to be maintained as well as those in the communities surrounding it.
Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky said the motion shows that the city is not going to back down when it comes to seeking relief from MassDOT.
