Category: Event

Event: WalkMassachusetts Network 1st Meeting, 12/1 in Worcester

RSVP now and save the date – December 1, 2018, for our first in-person gathering of the WalkMassachusetts Network at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, MA. This event is open to any local organizations working on walking!

WalkMassachusetts Network is a free statewide network of advocacy organizations, municipal committees, and community groups working on walking. WalkBoston has established the Network to amplify our collective efforts by strengthening local voices.

This Network is a way for WalkBoston to:

be a resource to you & your community,
give support to grassroots organizations,
make connections between organizations working on similar issues, or in similar parts of the Commonwealth.

We’re launching an online forum as part of this effort to be able to better answer questions & crowdsource other ideas. We’ve started to gather ideas from many of you about what you’re hoping to get out of it. Thank you for your help. Look for it soon!

Sign up on Eventbrite to join us on December 1st & share the event on Facebook

Learn more about the WalkMassachusetts Network

Add your group to our map of Network organizations

Thanks for coming on our walk last week!

Thanks to everyone who came for the Charles River “Throat” Site Walk and to hear WalkBoston, the Charles River Esplanade Association, The Charles River Conservancy, Charles River Watershed Association talk about the importance of this section of the pathway and riverbank. The next Task Force Meeting is Wednesday, September 26th.
More photos on Facebook, and additional info on the Allston I-90 Interchange Project and UnchokeTheThroat page.

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!

“Senior strong! Everyone belongs! Kids cross here, be aware, please don’t run us down!”

“Senior strong! Everyone belongs! Kids cross here, be aware, please don’t run us down!” With creative chants, colorful signs, and African and Japanese drumming, a large and spirited group of seniors and teenagers rallied and marched in Boston’s Grove Hall neighborhood for safer streets and pedestrian crossings. The demonstration took place as part of the Elderly Commission’s Summer Sidewalk Series celebrating the first year of Age-Friendly Boston.

Many drivers got the Grove Hall group’s message as they slowed down upon seeing the lively crowd, with some even honking their horns in support. Others however continued to speed through the crosswalks, with some clearly distracted on their phones. This highlighted a strong need for permanent built environment improvements to slow traffic down and improve walking safety.

As part of our Age-Friendly Walking initiative, WalkBoston looks forward to our continued work to advance these goals in Grove Hall and all over Boston. We also encourage folks to join us outside the State House on July 11 at 12:30pm for a rally in support of hands-free legislation to reduce distracted driving. Working together and across generations, we can create safer streets for all.

Event: Rally to Pass Hands-Free Bill In Massachusetts, July 11th – 12:30pm

Please join us on your lunch break this Wednesday, July 11th at 12:30pm on the State House steps. We will have signs, lemonade and a really important message for the legislature to hear: We are gathering to show our elected officials that we cannot and will not wait another year to pass a Hands-Free law in MA. Distracted driving is an epidemic on our roads, and a hands-free bill is a first step to solving the problem and making our roads safer.

Rich Levitan and Anna Cheshire Levitan, parents of the late Merritt Levitan and leaders of Text Less Live More, a national education and awareness campaign, joined Radio Boston on Monday.

More info and updates at the Facebook event page