walkboston

Hot and humid in Hyannis? Perfect time for a Walk Audit

After experiencing drenching rain during a walk audit in June in Yarmouth, the skies were clear for yesterday’s trip to Cape Cod for a walk audit in Barnstable – but the heat and humidity were out in full force! Thanks to representatives from the Barnstable Dept. of Public Works, Dept. of Planning, the Cape Cod Mall/Simon Malls, and the Cape Cod Commission for braving the conditions and contributing their time on this EOPSS-funded walk along Rt 132 yesterday to look at opportunities for improving connections along and across this corridor.

Event: Charles River “Throat” Site Walk

RSVP now and save the date – September 12, 2018 5:30pm – join WalkBoston, the Charles River Conservancy, Charles River Watershed Association, and the Esplanade Association for a site walk of the Charles River path’s “Throat” area. We’ll meet at ‘BU Beach’ (grassy area on Boston University Campus near Marsh Chapel) in front of the pedestrian overpass to the Charles River path, before crossing over to the river side and gathering in an accessible location for very brief presentations. From there, we’ll walk to the first overlook to experience the narrow path and un-parklike existing conditions along the path and view the eroded river bank, before returning to the gathering area for questions and next steps.

This will give you a better understanding of why this narrow stretch has an outsized role in MassDOT’s Allston I-90 Interchange Project — and how it could help #UnchokeTheThroat in the years to come.

Getting to the meet up location by transit:

Green Line ‘B’ Branch – BU Central stop – the roundtrip walk from this location is 1 mile.
#57/57A Bus – Commonwealth Ave @ Granby stop

PLEASE NOTE: The pedestrian bridge from BU Beach to the Charles River Path includes stairs; accessible access to the path is at the Mass Ave Bridge (about 3/4 mile away). The #1 Bus has the closest transit stop to this entrance (~1 block away, Mass Ave @ Beacon stop).

More details to be added: RSVP below on Eventbrite or on Facebook

Allston/Brighton Mobility Study Open House later that evening!

After the walk, make sure to attend the BPDA’s Allston Brighton Mobility Study Kick-off Open House (6-8PM, Jackson Mann Gymnasium, 40 Armington St, Allston, MA 02134). The purpose of the study is to identify measures to improve mobility for all modes – transit, bikes, pedestrians, and cars. MBTA and MassDOT staff will also be on hand to explain the Better Bus Study and the Allston Transit Improvement Study for Allston/Brighton and discuss other ongoing initiatives.

For more background on the “Unchoke The Throat” campaign and the Allston I-90 effort at large, see our project page!

WGBH News – “Safer Streets”

WGBH News: “Safer Streets”

WGBH’s Stephanie Leydon speaks to Stacy Thompson of LivableStreets and Brendan Kearney of WalkBoston (two groups from the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition) for a look at what’s being done and not done to make city streets safer.

Segment aired on Greater Boston August 6, 2018

Boston Globe – Chain-reaction crash that killed toddler in South Boston leaves residents reeling

Boston Globe: “Chain-reaction crash that killed toddler in South Boston leaves residents reeling”

[Six] pedestrians including the toddler in South Boston, have been struck and killed in Boston this year, according to WalkBoston, a pedestrian advocacy group that uses news reports to track such crashes.
Wendy Landman, the group’s executive director, said people pushing strollers are “certainly are one of the groups we think about when we think of sidewalk accessibility.”

Posted July 27, 2018

WalkBoston’s statewide crash tracker can be accessed on this page under “Crash Monitoring”

Thank you to everyone who came on the Cambridge to Allston Walk

On July 25^th WalkBoston staff, board, and community members braved a stormy forecast for a Harvard construction walk that started in Cambridge and ended in Allston at a local eatery. During that time, everyone managed to stay dry while learning more about Harvard’s construction endeavors, and a little history along the way—Lowell House Bells, the origins of Weeks Bridge, tunnels under Harvard, and so much more! Thank you to Joe Beggan, Linda Kuczynski, and Ed Leflore for sharing your knowledge along the way with the group.

Make sure to join our mailing list to stay in the loop about future walks, or let us know where we should plan to lead a walk next (especially if you want to speak along the way)!