walkboston

One minute, one slide: Neighborhood Slow Streets

Below is a “One Minute, One Slide” presentation shared by a member of the WalkBoston staff.
Text provided is as presented at this year’s annual event on March 29, 2018.

Dorothea Hass

The City of Boston’s Neighborhood Slow Streets program is a new approach to traffic calming requests in Boston.

The aim is to reduce the number and severity of crashes on residential streets, lessen the impacts of cut-through traffic, and add to the quality of life in the neighborhoods.

The first year of the program was a pilot and focused on 2 zones, the Tabot Norfolk Triangle (just outside Codman Square in Dorchester) and the Stonybrook section of Jamaica Plain (close to Green Street on the MBTA Orange Line).

For the next round, the Boston Transportation Department planned to add another 2-3 areas; they received 47 submissions from across the City and selected five new communities to join the program.

WalkBoston works closely with both community members and the transportation staff to make this program a success!

Learn more at: https://www.boston.gov/departments/transportation/neighborhood-slow-streets

One minute, one slide: Complete Streets in Chelsea

Below is a “One Minute, One Slide” presentation shared by a member of the WalkBoston staff.
Text provided is as presented at this year’s annual event on March 29, 2018.

Adi Nochur

The City of Chelsea, a community of 40,000 people just north of Boston, is promoting health, safety and economic opportunity through the development of Complete Streets that work for all road users.

In 2017 WalkBoston organized two neighborhood walk audits in Chelsea, participated in the City’s Re-Imagining Broadway initiative, and testified in support of the City’s Complete Streets policy to build momentum for safer streets for everyone.

With the policy successfully passed, we now look forward to supporting Complete Streets implementation in 2018, and to highlighting the opportunities for continued progress with a community walk on May 2nd!

Chelsea Park Square Walk Audit

One minute, one slide: WalkMassachusetts Network

Below is a “One Minute, One Slide” presentation shared by a member of the WalkBoston staff.
Text provided is as presented at this year’s annual event on March 29, 2018.

Stacey Beuttell

Did you know that there is a new complete streets committee and advocacy group called Walk Goshen?

Did you know that the City of New Bedford is putting on a demonstration day to highlight their Safe Routes to Park work?

Did you know that in Melrose, they received complete streets funding to improve pedestrian safety around the middle and high schools? Based on our recommendations, by the way.

You would know all of this if your group were part of WalkBoston’s newest program called the WalkMassachusetts Network!

No money down . . . no need to be a 501(c)(3) . . . no participation requirements!

access to biannual statewide gatherings to learn from your peers
emails chock full of walking information that you need to know
guidance on outreach tools – like how to design an awesome website like our new one!!
Talking points to meet with legislators and convince them that walking is the best!

No limits on this offer. No data breaches to worry about. No collusion with big auto. Guaranteed.

statewide network

One minute, one slide: Unchoke The Throat

Below is a “One Minute, One Slide” presentation shared by a member of the WalkBoston staff.
Text provided is as presented at this year’s annual event on March 29, 2018.

Bob Sloane

Next month it will be four years that WalkBoston has worked with others on the I-90 project to make sure it welcomes and serves pedestrians in a 21st century way.

In recent 3 months WalkBoston has focused on the throat section of the project, where pedestrians are treated to a narrow path next to moving traffic on Soldiers Field Road – a path that is currently duplicated in all three of the options for the highway reconstruction envisioned for the throat. To develop a better plan, WalkBoston joined with the Charles River Conservancy and hired Sasaki to design possible approaches for paths along the river.

We called the effort “Unchoke the Throat” to point out that the current plans provide only narrow unpleasant places to walk along our historic river, duplicating the narrow unpleasant places to walk that now exist.

With Sasaki’s help, we were able to project a better future for the throat – one that involves looking closely at the river as a potential location for paths in this narrow corridor where so much land is taken by highways that only 8’ remains for a single narrow path where people walk and bike in clouds of air pollution right next to a highway.

Sasaki came up with two options – a boardwalk out over the river or a fill in the shallows of the river where much more space could be provided for paths with buffers to keep them at a more healthful distance from the highway.

Then our team came up with an “#UnchokeTheThroat” video promoting these ideas and sent out over our wide Twitter network. It was timed to impact people’s letter comments written about the 90 project as it was going through the environmental review process.

Want to learn more? See the project page & an upcoming event on April 10th below.

https://dev.walkboston.org/unchokethethroat/

Event: Unchoking the Charles River Throat

Event: Chelsea Walk – Eastern Ave to Broadway

We’re looking forward to you joining us for Wednesday evening’s walk (tomorrow). Summer has come early – it will be HOT! Consider bringing water, a hat for shade, and wearing comfortable clothing. If you’re meeting us in Chelsea, we’ll gather by the multi-use path at the Eastern Ave Station around 5:30pm. Look for people with WalkBoston signs!

If you are taking the Silver Line from South Station, meet us at 5pm on the Silver Line platform, where a group will take the SL3 to meet everyone else in Chelsea. If you miss us, don’t panic! Just hop on the next SL3. The bus is scheduled to run every 10 minutes from 4-6pm (and every 12 minutes after that), and our first two speaking locations are on the multi-use path along the busway.

We will walk along the Silver Line busway’s new multi-use path and down Broadway to examine creative affordable housing and transportation initiatives, ending at Tijuana Restaurant (164 Broadway) for food, drink, and continued conversation. A copy of the map below will be handed out tomorrow.

If you’re heading back into town at the end of the walk, the 111 bus is just 2-3 blocks from Tijuana Restaurant and runs directly to Downtown Crossing every 7-10 minutes.

RSVP on Eventbrite or Facebook

Starting Location/Stop 1: Eastern Ave Silver Line Station

WalkBoston group from South Station meets Chelsea partners and residents at 5:30pm
Speakers: Maria Belen (GreenRoots), MBTA/MassDOT Silver Line Gateway Project representative TBD

Stop 2: Box District

Speakers: Aaron Wasserman (The Neighborhood Developers), Elijah Plymesser (LOCUS Massachusetts)

Stop 3: Downtown Chelsea/Broadway Corridor

Speakers: Alex Train (City of Chelsea)

Stop 4: Tijuana Restaurant, 164 Broadway

Food, Drinks, and More Conversation – thank you to LOCUS Massachusetts for helping sponsor appetizer costs!

Guarde la fecha, el 2 de Mayo, a la 5:30pm para una paseo por Chelsea con WalkBoston y socios de la comunidad para destacar los proyectos y oportunidades de transitabilidad, tránsito y desarrollo locales, al mismo tiempo enfatizando la necesidad de mantener la asequibilidad y prevenir el desplazamiento. WalkBoston se reunirá en South Station a las 5 pm para viajar en el nuevo Linea Plateada Gateway del MBTA a Chelsea a las 5:30 pm. Luego caminaremos por la nueva ruta multiusos del Gateway y bajaremos por Broadway para examinar iniciativas de vivienda y transporte asequibles, y terminaremos en un restaurante local para comida, bebida y conversación.

Lugar de partida /Parada 1: Estación de Linea Plateada en Eastern Ave
El grupo WalkBoston de South Station se reúne con socios y residentes de Chelsea a las 5:30pm.
Oradores: Maria Belen (GreenRoots), y un representante del MBTA/MassDOT Silver Line Gateway Project que se anunciará mas tarde

Parada 2: Distrito de Caja
Oradores: Aaron Wasserman (The Neighborhood Developers), Elijah Plymesser (LOCUS Massachusetts)

Parada 3: Centro de Chelsea/Corredor de Broadway
Oradores: Alex Train (City of Chelsea)

Parada 4: Restaurante Tijuana (164 Broadway)
Comida, bebida, y más conversación – ¡Muchas gracias LOCUS Massachusetts por patrocinar la cena!