walkboston

Support of S.2553 An Act Relative to Automated Enforcement

March 10, 2020
24 Beacon Street, Room 319
Massachusetts State House
Boston, MA 02133

Dear Senator Brownsberger,

We are writing in strong support of S.2553, An Act relative to automated enforcement. As a coalition of advocacy organizations devoted to creating safer roadways, we appreciate your efforts to move forward a bill to introduce Automated Enforcement in Massachusetts. We believe this bill will have enormous safety benefits to the residents of the Commonwealth.

Automated enforcement is one of the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition’s top legislative priorities. Speed, school bus and red light cameras have been proven to reduce speeding and unsafe driving, prevent crashes, and reduce repeat offenders — an encouraging sign of behavior change. In one study in Maryland, speeding by 10+ mph or more fell by 70% in places with new automated enforcement measures. Nationally, 400 cities and towns have installed red light cameras, and 130 have speed cameras.

We see this legislation as an important tool to reduce speeding and unsafe driving in a way that requires no direct interaction with police officers, and that includes privacy safeguards (i.e., cameras capture only license plates, not faces; data is deleted after 48 hours after final disposition of a violation).

Sincerely,
Stacey Beuttell
Executive Director, WalkBoston

Galen Mook
Executive Director, MassBike

Eliza Parad
Interim Executive Director, Boston Cyclists Union

Emily Stein
President, Safe Roads Alliance

Stacy Thompson
Executive Director, LivableStreets Alliance

POSTPONED: Upcoming City of Boston Transportation Department Open Houses

Update, 3/13 11:00am – OPEN HOUSE SERIES POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
We are postponing our series of Open Houses scheduled for the Tremont Street Design Project. We apologize for any inconvenience.
The postponed Open Houses are as follows:
Open House #1: Monday, March 16, from 6 – 8 p.m. at the Revolution Hotel, located at 40 Berkeley Street
Open House #2: Saturday, March 21, from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the South End Branch Library, located at 785 Tremont Street
We will reschedule the Open House series as soon as we can.
We look forward to meeting with you again in the near future!
AVISO EN ESPAÑOL
ENGAGING WITH YOU ELECTRONICALLY
As we continue to take precautions around public gatherings, we are working on ways to engage with you electronically. We will update you via email when we have more information. You can also check the Tremont Street Design Project webpage and @BostonBTD on Twitter for updates.
Previous Update, 3/11 12:30pm – the March 11th Open House for Connect Downtown has been postponed due to COVID-19 precautions. No decision has been made about Saturday’s Open House or the Tremont Street meetings.

There are upcoming Boston Transportation Department open house meetings scheduled for the Connect Downtown Project and the Tremont Street Design Project.We encourage you to attend and weigh in positively about the important changes that will make downtown safer for people walking!

An open house meeting is designed to make it easier for you to stop by for a short time to look at project boards, ask questions, and give feedback. Sign up for updates for either project on the project page.

Connect Downtown

PROJECT VISION: Walking will be pleasant and easy. Safe, separated bikeways will serve and connect residents, employers, and local businesses. Families will explore Boston’s neighborhoods and iconic parks together, from the Esplanade to the Boston Common to the Southwest Corridor.

Through this project, BTD will:

Improve pedestrian crossings along the route
Provide comfortable, reasonably direct routes for bicyclists, and
Enhance pedestrian access to the Public Garden and Common.

March 11, 6-8pm
Hill House
127 Mt Vernon St

March 16, 1-3pm
Boston Public Library
Orientation Room
230 Dartmouth St

Additional office hours available at 3 Boston Public Libraries (see full schedule)

Tremont Street Design Project (South End)

Boston Transportation Department is designing changes to make Tremont Street safer for everyone with an emphasis on pedestrian safety at intersections. Tremont Street is in the top 3 percent for pedestrian crashes on City-owned streets. In recent years, two people lost their lives while attempting to cross Tremont Street at one of the many four-lane crosswalks. Data show that 53 crashes resulted in an EMS response in the last 3 years. This includes 19 that involved people walking. BTD is currently focused on Tremont Street between Massachusetts Avenue and Herald Street.

March 16, 6-8pm
Revolution Hotel
40 Berkeley St

March 21, 11a-1pm
Boston Public Library
South End Branch
785 Tremont St

Contact your State Rep About Transportation Funding

This week, the Massachusetts House is taking up two significant bills about transportation spending for all modes of transportation: H4508 is the House transportation revenue bill, and H4506 is the House version of the Governor’s transportation bond bill, authorizing new transportation spending.

As a follow up to last week’s Transportation for Massachusetts Call to Action event, please reach out to your State Representative before the end of the day Tuesday 3/3 to express your support of H4508 & H4506, especially for key elements of the bills which will provide the resources we need to make walking safer, make transit work better, to reduce the air quality impacts and greenhouse gas emissions of our transportation system and reduce congestion on our roadways.

Click to send your State Rep an email
about the need for statewide funding

(Want to call your State Rep instead? House Rep Phone Directory | Find My Legislator)

Express your strong support for new revenue to improve transportation all across Massachusetts (H4508 & H4506). In particular, we believe it is important to raise revenue that is directly tied to transportation and that encourages fewer vehicle miles traveled, reduces carbon emissions, encourages public transportation, walking, and cycling, and reduces roadway congestion.
We support investments that include expanded RTA service, accelerated investment in public transit, complete streets and safer biking and walking routes, and getting our roads and bridges into a state of good repair.

You can read about specific suggested amendments from MAPC & T4MA. WalkBoston is a founding member of Transportation for Massachusetts (T4MA), a coalition of 60+ organizations working for better transportation across the State.

What’s next?

Debate is scheduled for this Wednesday (3/4) on H4508 (Revenue), and Thursday (3/5) for H4506 (Bond Bill) and could spill into Friday. Debate will be streamed at malegislature.gov.

After the House votes these bills, the Senate will take them up with its own process. All action on these bills, including either the Governor’s signature or an override of a veto, must occur before July 31st, 2020.

See the full list of Amendments to both bills:
Revenue Bill Amendments | Bond Bill Amendments

Event: 1 Month until Annual Party, March 25th 5-8pm

Update, 3/10/2020:
WalkBoston is postponing our annual celebration scheduled for March 25th in response to the ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak.
We are suspending current ticket sales until a new date is confirmed. Those who have purchased tickets will stay on the guest list. You will not need to buy another ticket. We will update the Eventbrite registration page with any changes.
We apologize for any inconvenience. We look forward to celebrating with all of you and our Golden Shoe winners in the near future!
Please contact Kathleen Ghio 617-367-9255 with any event questions.
For more information about COVID-19: MA DPH Info | City of Boston Info

Come join us on March 25th from 5-8PM for our annual party! This year’s keynote speaker is Mark Fenton. Mark Fenton and WalkBoston have been at the forefront of the walking movement since its inception. Mark is an authority on public health issues and the need for community, environmental, and public policy initiatives to encourage more walking/biking. He will entertain us with his dynamic storytelling and share his vision for the future of walking advocacy.

This year’s celebration will include a presentation of Golden Shoe Awards to:
Boston Public Library | Renovations that enhance walkability
Coalition for a Better Acre Walking Champions | Advocating for safer walking in Lowell
Tufts Health Plan Foundation | Boston Age Strong Commission | Advancing age-friendly walking throughout Massachusetts

Learn more about all of our previous award winners.

What: WalkBoston Annual Party
When: March 25, 2019 5-8PM
Where: Fort Point Room / Atlantic Wharf, 290 Congress St, Boston, MA (same venue as last year!)
Cost: $30 – Beer, wine + food included with your ticket. Get your ticket on Eventbrite today

Hope to see you on March 25th!

January/February 2020 Newsletter

articles

“Snow clearance: my view (and queries) from my wheelchair”
By Amy Hunt/South End resident
“Newton’s snow evolution”
By Andreae Downs/Newton city councilor
“Digging in on snow”
By Wendy Landman/WalkBoston senior policy advisor

snow quotes

Well, I know now. I know a little more how much a simple thing like a snowfall can mean to a person.
—Sylvia Plath (born in Jamaica Plain)
Snowflakes are one of nature’smost fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together.
—Vista M. Kelly
A lot of people like snow.
I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.
—Carl Reiner
When it snows, you have two choices: shovel or make snow angels.
—Unknown

calendar

Registration or info for other events and public meetings can be found at walkboston.org/events

February 12, 2020 1-5PM
WalkMassachusetts Network 2020
South Middlesex Opportunity Council, Inc., 7 Bishop St, Framingham, MA 01702, USA (within a short walk of Framingham/ Worcester line.)

Our second in-person gathering of the WalkMassachusetts Network, at South Middlesex Opportunity Council in Framingham, MA (we will meet in their Cafe). This event is open to any local organizations working on walking! Free with RSVP. Please register by Wednesday, February 5th so we can plan for food.

March 25, 2020, 5-8PM
WalkBoston’s 30th Annual Party & Golden Shoe Awards
Boston Society of Architects
Fort Point Room / Atlantic Wharf 290 Congress Street, Boston
5:00 Eat, drink, schmooze
6:00 Program and Golden Shoes
Keynote Speaker: Mark Fenton
Tickets: $30 includes beer, wine and food.

Download the January/February 2020 Newsletter PDF