Having My Voice Heard

Hi All,

A few weeks ago I emailed the the Mayor of Boston about a very frustrating issue I have encountered with Boston Cab Drivers. We have a free paper called the Metro that has a daily Q&A with Mayor Menino. Someone suggested I email him about my issue and I figured "What the heck." I never received a response back and frankly I forgot about it. Today at work a co-worker congratulated me on making the local paper. See the link below. I'll also paste the article in case the link does not work.
http://www.metrobostonnews.com/us/article/2007/09/25/19/3340-72/index.xml

This week's questions


Hello Mayor Menino,

I am a person with a physical disability that works at the Tip O’Neill Federal Building on Causeway Street. I am writing to you about a chronic issue I’ve had with cab drivers blocking the crosswalk and curb cuts in front of the TD Banknorth Garden. I use a wheelchair and I can’t even count how many times I’ve had to ask a cab driver to move off the crosswalk so I can finish crossing the street and get on the sidewalk. Often, the drivers just ignore me. Could you please do something to educate the taxi drivers in Boston about the rules of crosswalks? Thanks for your time.

Sincerely, Caitlin Reilly

Caitlin, with the exception of emergency situations, taxis and other vehicles should never be blocking crosswalks and curb cuts. I will have both Boston police and transportation departments keep an eye out for taxi cabs and any other vehicles blocking the areas you mentioned. Our officers will move the vehicles along and fine them if necessary. If you continue to come across taxi cabs ignoring you, or for any other problem with a taxi in Boston, take down the cab’s medallion number and call the Boston Police Hackney Division at 617-536 TAXI (24 hours a day) and a police officer will assist you. The medallion number can be found on both sides of cab, on the rear and interior of the cab. Fines for illegal parking offenses have just been raised, and now, the fine for parking in front of any curb ramp designed for use by handicapped persons is $100. The fine for parking upon any crosswalk is $85.