Traffic Council Approves Lower Speed Limits on Six Streets

Traffic Council · Meeting of July 1, 2026

Newton's Traffic Council approved 24 MassDOT-drafted speed regulations, finalizing lower limits on six streets. The council, chaired by Transportation Coordinator David Kozes, voted 5-0 on each item, assigning Traffic and Parking Regulation numbers 1048 through 1071 for streets including Washington, Watertown, Craft, Mill, Tremont and Cherry. A resident, Jen Halverson, caught an error in the Cherry Street draft, prompting a correction and re-vote.

The council also voted 5-0 to hold a long-term trial allowing DPW and the Planning Department to make temporary parking and bus-stop changes near the Newtonville MBTA station during its reconstruction, including removing public parking on Washington Street between Walnut and Harvard streets. Citizen Representative Mitch Fishman asked why speed limits vary so much citywide; Director Ned Codd said most limits date to the 1950s through 1970s.

In the full story:

• Roll Call and Meeting Setup
• Adopting MassDOT's Reformatted Speed Regulations for Six Streets
• Newtonville MBTA Station Reconstruction: Long-Term Parking and Traffic Trial
• Why Speed Limits Vary So Much Across Newton
• Closing Out Six Items Held Since April
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,116 words

Source: the Traffic Council meeting of July 1, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.