walkboston

D.W. Field Park Walk Audit Report with Wildlands Trust’s Green Team – Brockton, MA

A walk audit was conducted in Brockton on August 16th in collaboration with the Wildlands Trust Green Team, a youth service-learning program that employs 15 teens from the Brockton area to work on projects at D.W. Field Park. WalkMassachusetts facilitators worked with the Green Team to conduct a walk audit of D.W. Field Park, gathering insights and identifying challenges that impact walkability and pedestrian safety. The audit began on Oak Street in Brockton and continued into the park on shared-use roadways and short pedestrian trails. This report aims to provide recommendations and insights to municipal decision-makers and stakeholders connected to D.W. Field Park to make necessary built environment changes that will improve mobility for all park users, particularly pedestrians.

Read the full report.

Statewide Fatal Crashes In MA, August 2023

Each month, we post about the fatal crashes in Massachusetts from the previous month, and share any trends that we see. For the full list of monthly posts, head here.

Last month, we took a look at crashes listed in the MassDOT Crash Portal in July; three were identified as people walking. In this post, we’ll look at crashes in MA in August 2023. The information in the chart below is compiled from news reports, and was checked against the MassDOT Crash Portal Dashboard “Fatal Crash Information.” Any Google Street View images included below use the address listed in the crash portal.

Of the 31 fatal crashes in Massachusetts in August in the MassDOT Crash portal, 6 were identified as people walking.
The average age of pedestrians hit & killed in August was 52.3.
At least 1 took place in a parking lot, which is usually not included in FARS crash data.

Date	8/2/2023, 9:27 PM
Location	1233 SR-5 EAST
Town	Holyoke
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	53
Sex	M

Western Mass News reports a driver of a Jeep struck and killed a 53-year old person walking in the southbound left lane near 1233 Main Street in Holyoke.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Main Street/SR-5 is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is two-way street with two lanes in each direction, a median barrier, and a sidewalk on the northbound side. The speed limit is 45 mph.

Date	8/7/2023, 6:43 PM
Location	85 MacArthur Dr.
Town	New Bedford
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	36
Sex	M

NBC Boston reports 36-year old John Blomgren was struck and killed by a 56-year old driver just before 7pm in a sports bar’s parking lot.

This fatal crash happened in a parking lot, which is usually not included in FARS crash data. According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, MacArthur Drive is under local jurisdiction. It is a two-way street with one lane in each direction, sidewalks on both sides, and bike lanes in each direction. The speed limit is unclear, with 99mph listed in the database.

Date	8/18/2023, 9:18 PM
Location	430 Union St.
Town	Rockland
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	63
Sex	M

Boston 25 News reports 63-year old Richard Erwin was struck and killed by 18-year old Jacob Ryan who was driving a brown KIA Optima around 9pm.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Union Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two-way street with one lane in each direction, sidewalks on both sides, and bike lanes in each direction. The speed limit is unclear, with 99mph listed in the database.

Date	8/24/2023, 3:56 PM
Location	790 High St.
Town	Hanson
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	90
Sex	M

We could not find any additional news coverage of this crash. If you have any information, please let us know.

This fatal crash happened on a roadway within a cemetery, private parking areas are usually not included in FARS crash data. According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, High Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two-way street with no sidewalks. The speed limit is unclear, as it is not listed and not viewable nearby on street view.

Date	8/27/2023, 3:08 AM
Location	US-6 EAST, EXIT 78A
Town	Dennis
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	21
Sex	M

Cape Cod Times/Yahoo News shared that a serious multi-vehicle crash in Dennis shut down Route 6 eastbound early Sunday morning. We could not find any additional news coverage of this crash. If you have any information, please let us know.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, US-6 is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is a divided highway with a grassy median, with two lanes and a shoulder in each direction. The speed limit is 55mph.

Date	8/31/2023, 8:06 PM
Location	248 Dickinson St.
Town	Springfield
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	51
Sex	F

A 51-year old woman was struck and killed by the driver of a vehicle on Dickinson Street in Springfield.

WWLP/22News spoke to community members nearby:

“They drive a little too fast and we have to watch and make sure they clear before I walk,” said Cathy Tai, owner of Cathy’s Beauty Supply.
“The biggest problem that I find living here and crossing these streets is just people that drive aggressively. They come around the corner, they don’t expect someone to be standing there trying to cross,” said Thomas Balcom of Springfield.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Dickinson Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two-way street, with one lane in each direction with sidewalks on both sides. The speed limit is 30mph.

Updates
If you have an update about a community member who was killed in one of these crashes, please contact Brendan so we can update our 2023 list. WalkBoston has maintained a list each year since 2016, pulling the information from news reports, social media, and from people like you that share the information with us.
Yearly trackers: | ||||| 2022 | 2023
Report: Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA (2021)
Report: Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA (2022)

Reminder about the data from the MassDOT portal
MassDOT makes no representation as to the accuracy, adequacy, reliability, availability or completeness of the crash records or the data collected from them and is not responsible for any errors or omissions in such records or data. Under no circumstance will MassDOT have any liability for any loss or damage incurred by any party as a result of the use of the crash records or the data collected from them. Furthermore, the data contained in the web-based crash report tool are not an official record of what transpired in a particular crash or for a particular crash type. If a user is interested in an official copy of a crash report, contact the Registry (http://www.mass.gov/rmv/). The City of Boston Police Department may be contacted directly for official copies of crash reports and for crash data pertaining to the City of Boston. In addition, any crash records or data provided for the years after 2018 are subject to change at any time and are not to be considered up-to-date or complete. As such, open years’ of crash data are for informational purposes only and should not be used for analysis. The data posted on this website, including crash records and other reports, are collected for the purpose of identifying, evaluating or planning the safety enhancement of potential crash sites, hazardous roadway conditions or railway-highway crossings. Under federal law, this information is not subject to discovery and cannot be admitted into evidence in any federal or state court proceeding or considered for other purposes in any action for damages that involves the sites mentioned in these records (see 23 USC, Section 409).

September 2023 Network Meeting – “Mass Central Rail Trail” Recording

Craig Della Penna joined us for this month’s WalkMassachusetts Network discussion to share about the Mass Central Rail Trail. This is the longest and most complicated former RR corridor to reassemble in New England. Running from Northampton to Boston, it has been a 40+ year journey so far. It is the longest developing rail trail in New England. Today we have 59 of the 104 miles open as a trail. 90.5 miles are in a protected status. 12 miles are currently under construction. In two-years we are likely to have 75 miles open. https://www.masscentralrailtrail.org/ Within 150 miles of Northampton, MA lies the densest network of former steam railroad corridors in the United States. A report by MassDOT showed that the MCRT can be completed, but it begs the question: What would a completed 100 mile long walking and biking trail mean to the Commonwealth?

The session was recorded, and you can view the presentation below.

Links shared during the discussion

The WalkMassachusetts Network typically meets every third Wednesday of each month at 1 pm. Register for upcoming Zoom calls at this link.
Anyone can listen in and participate in monthly calls! Join the Google Group to get a reminder about these Zoom calls.
Do you have a topic that should be discussed at a future meeting? Suggestions welcome!

Comment Letter on Proposed Patrick Subaru Dealership, EEA #16747

September 11, 2023

Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs
100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900
Boston, MA 02114

Attn: MEPA Office, Alexander Strysky (via email)

Re: Comments on Proposed Patrick Subaru Dealership, EEA #16747

Dear Alex:

WalkMassachusetts (previously known as WalkBoston) is Massachusetts’ primary pedestrian advocacy organization, working across the Commonwealth with a vision for Massachusetts where people walking – no matter their race, identity, age, ability, or lived experience – feel safe, connected, and valued on our streets and sidewalks. We are writing with comments for the proposed Patrick Subaru Dealership, EEA #16747.

The project site is located at 701 Boston Turnpike in Shrewsbury, at the corner of Route 9 and South Street. There was a fatal hit & run crash at this location on October 30, 2022 just after 10pm, where 20-year old Ghufran Mutar was struck and killed while crossing Route 9 at the intersection with South Street on her way home from working at CVS. Our fatal crash report released earlier this year showed that this was one of 101 fatal crashes involving pedestrians in 2022, of which 71% were located in environmental justice census block groups, which includes this location.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Route 9 is under MassDOT jurisdiction, and South Street is under local jurisdiction. Route 9 is a two-way divided roadway, with two lanes in each direction and additional left turn lanes at the intersection. There are no sidewalks on either street, and no crosswalks for any leg of the intersection. Route 9 is a barrier to safe walking and biking in many communities across the Commonwealth. The 2023 Strategic Highway Safety Plan prioritizes collaboration: “Beyond state-municipal coordination, this plan also seeks to highlight how external partners and private industry can contribute to improving safety.” We encourage the proponent to include a sidewalk along the project’s South Street frontage, and we encourage the proponent, municipality, and MassDOT to add crosswalks, ADA ramps, and pedestrian signals to make crossing Route 9 at this intersection safer and accessible.

Thank you,

Brendan Kearney
Co-Executive Director, WalkMassachusetts