walkboston

Corporate Support Flyer 2020

Why invest in WalkBoston?

Walkability contributes to the quality of life in a town or neighborhood, encouraging residents and visitors to shop locally; helping to attract retail, workplaces and associated employees; and raising real estate values, civic pride, and community involvement.

An investment in WalkBoston shows a commitment to promoting walkable business districts and neighborhoods. It shows your dedication to healthier, more productive employees and safer, more vibrant communities.

Download the Giving Levels and Benefits Flyer (PDF)

WBZ NewsRadio: “Vigil Held At Mass. State House For Victims Of Traffic Accidents”

Legislation was a focus this year for the group. On Friday, a committee of lawmakers reached an agreement on the distracted driving bill, which has been in the works for years.
“This is the first time that we feel really excited to say we’re looking at a hands-free bill that is almost about to pass,” Stein said.
The bill is set to be filed on Monday morning.
Walk Boston Executive Director Stacey Beuttell said the end goal is to save lives.
“This is a day for both promoting legislation and a rallying cry to make sure that our state legislators and all of us are still working toward safe streets, but it’s also a day to remember those who have fallen that didn’t have to,” Beuttell said. “These are crashes, not accidents. And we need to change that.”
However, according to Beuttell, there is still a lot advocates want to see get done.
“Until we have safe crosswalks, until we have protected bike lanes, and networks that allow people to move throughout the city, we won’t consider our job finished,” Beuttell said.

Posted November 17, 2019

Do you walk in downtown Boston? Want to make it better?

Of course you do!

We’re looking for your feedback. The Boston Transportation Department (BTD) is kicking off a major pedestrian/bicycle improvement project called Connect Downtown / Southwest Corridor Extension. The study area stretches across many streets in downtown Boston, through the South End, Bay Village, Back Bay, and Beacon Hill neighborhoods; in and around the Public Garden and the Boston Common; all the way to Charles Circle / MGH. Learn more & send your comments on the form below.

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Allston Multimodal Project Outline for Purpose and Need Task Force Letter

October 28, 2019

Dear Secretary Pollack, Mr. Miller, and members of the MassDOT Board and Fiscal Management and Control Board,

We, as members of the Allston I-90 Multimodal Project, have appreciated MassDOT’s commitment to an open and collaborative process over the past five years. We are eager to continue this collaboration as the state and federal environmental permitting processes commence. It is therefore extremely disappointing that the project team has refused to share a draft Purpose and Need statement with the Task Force. The development of the Purpose and Need is a crucially important element of the process; we are concerned that denying the Task Force an opportunity to contribute to this essential step will delay the process and jeopardize our collective ability to achieve the best outcome for this project.

We thus respectfully submit an outline of the Purpose and Need, drafted by a number of Task Force members on behalf of the many stakeholders that have participated in the Allston I-90 process to date.

Purpose and Need:

Replace the structurally deficient I-90 viaduct, Cambridge Street Overpass, and Franklin Street Pedestrian Bridge
Improve the functionally deficient I-90 interchange in order to improve highway safety and maximize the amount of land to be made available for non-highway uses
Provide a new network of street connections between the new interchange and existing city streets that prioritizes multimodal operations and safety, and complies with the City of Boston Complete Streets Guidelines, Vision Zero policy, and 25mph speed limit
Reinstate passenger rail service to an area where it was discontinued when I-90 was originally built
Provide a four-track station and associated rail and bridge infrastructure to enable passenger rail service along the Grand Junction line, and transfers between that line and the Worcester-Framingham line
Provide multiple new bicycle, pedestrian, and bus connections between the area south of I-90 and Lower Allston and the Charles River, reconnecting the two halves of the neighborhood that have long been divided by rail and highway infrastructure
Repair the large gap in the urban fabric that has historically separated North and South Allston due to the rail and turnpike open cut design, by providing decking over new rail and highway infrastructure sufficient to support continuity of people-oriented land uses connecting North and South Allston
Expand and enhance the Paul Dudley White Path and parkland along the Charles River in what is currently the most dimensionally constrained and functionally, aesthetically, and ecologically deficient section of the Charles River Reservation as a direct result of the impacts of I-90 and Soldiers’ Field Road
Repair the eroded, manmade edge of the Charles River in order to restore the riverbank conditions and aquatic and riparian habitat of the Charles River, expand tree canopy, minimize untreated stormwater outflows to the River, and provide for stormwater flood resilience
Provide a significantly improved safety, noise, and vibration buffer between highway and rail infrastructure and adjacent residential areas and parklands
Build a new “People’s Pike” bicycle and pedestrian corridor that provides a direct, safe, low-stress connection between the Allston neighborhood and the Charles River, as called for in the City of Boston 2013 Bicycle Network Plan
Address public health, environmental justice, and issues of open space access and equity for residents impacted by the highway, as called for in the City of Boston Open Space Plan 2015-2021

We look forward to continuing to work in an open and collaborative manner with your agencies to expediently permit a project that will meet all of these important needs.

Thank you,
Henrietta Davis, Former Mayor of Cambridge and Task Force member
Jason Desrosier, Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation, Task Force member
Anthony D’Isidoro, Allston Civic Association, Allston resident, and Task Force member
Laura Jasinski, Charles River Conservancy, Task Force member
Harry Mattison, Allston resident and Task Force member
Galen Mook, Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition, Allston resident, and Task Force member
Ari Ofsevit, LivableStreets Alliance, Cambridgeport resident, and Task Force member
Jessica Robertson, Allston resident and Task Force member
Bob Sloane and Stacey Beuttell, WalkBoston, Task Force member
Stacy Thompson, Livable Streets Alliance

CC:
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley
State Senator William Brownsberger
State Senator Sal DiDomenico
State Representative Michael Moran
State Representative Kevin Honan
City Council President Andrea Campbell
City Councilor-at-large Michelle Wu
City Councilor Mark Ciommo
Chief of Streets Chris Osgood
Boston Planning and Development Agency Director Brian Golden
Kate Fichter, MassDOT
Michael O’Dowd, MassDOT

Age-Friendly Walking in Quincy

WalkBoston is partnering with Community Health Network Area 20 (CHNA 20) and the City of Quincy as part of WalkBoston’s three-year initiative to promote Age-Friendly Walking across the Commonwealth. With funding provided by the Tufts Health Plan Foundation, WalkBoston is working with communities to encourage built environment changes and promote policies that will support safe, comfortable walking for people of all ages. We are partnering with Quincy city officials and CHNA 20 leaders to conduct a series of walk audits that will inform Quincy’s Age-Friendly City needs assessment and action plan. We are excited to be supporting walkability as part the Age-Friendly Cities movement in Massachusetts and look forward to working in Quincy.