Category: In The News

GBH: “As driving-related casualties mount, what would make Massachusetts roads safer?”

Those grim numbers are the backdrop for a new push by the city of Boston to make its streets safer by deploying speed bumps, redesigning problem intersections, and revamping the use of traffic signals. Could Boston’s plan serve as a model for other communities? And what could state government be doing to decrease fatalities? Adam Reilly discusses with Brendan Kearney, the deputy director of WalkMassachusetts, and Stacy Thompson, the executive director of Livable Streets.

Segment initially aired June 2, 2023

Fatal Pedestrian Crashes In MA (2022) Report News Coverage

We list all media clips on our website, but on this post we consolidated some of the media coverage for the Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA (2022) Report. Please let us know if we missed any others that you’ve seen and we can update this post.

Report Overview

In 2022, there were 439 fatal traffic crashes in Massachusetts. After a dip during the first year of the pandemic in 2020, fatal pedestrian crashes in MA returned in 2021 to a level similar to what we’ve seen every year since 2015; this number was over 30% higher in 2022. At least 101 pedestrians lost their lives, accounting for over 23% of the total.

Our state and local leaders can and must take steps to design our streets to be safer for its citizens. We believe that MassDOT should hasten efforts to release an Action Plan based on the Strategic Highway Safety Plan. It is crucial to identify how the safety plan will be implemented. This includes identifying any resources and additional staff that will be required so that the Legislature can appropriately fund the program. In particular, we believe that the first two initiatives, “Implement Speed Management to Realize Safer Speeds” and “Address Top-Risk Locations and Populations” are of particular importance when looking at 2022’s fatal pedestrian crashes.

This report took a closer look at initial crash information made available by MassDOT through the agency’s Interactive Mapping Portal for Analysis and Crash Tracking (IMPACT) portal.

Findings:

Of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts, 60 had a fatal pedestrian crash in 2022. There were 19 municipalities with multiple fatal crashes, while 10 Gateway Cities had more than one fatal crash.
Similar to the concerning trend we found in last year’s report, older adults were hit and killed at a higher rate than those in other age groups: 38.6% of fatal crash victims were over the age of 65, while this segment only represents 17% of the Commonwealth’s total population.¹
71% of fatal pedestrian crashes took place in Environmental Justice Census Block Groups. Environmental Justice Population Data is based upon three demographic criteria developed by the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA).
More than 60% of the fatal pedestrian crashes occurred in the dark (before sunrise or after sunset). A recent Federal Highway Administration report found that in 2020, 76% of all pedestrian-related fatalities in the United States occurred during periods of darkness.²
Ten (9.80%) of the fatal pedestrian crashes were hit and run crashes, in which the driver left the scene of the crash.

Read the Press Release | Read the Full Report

Coverage:

Online and print:
- WWLP, 4/3/23 – Report: Deadly pedestrian crashes up 35 percent in 2022
- WickedLocal, 4/4/23 – ‘This is concerning.’ More than 100 pedestrians were killed in Mass. last year
- StreetsblogMASS, 4/3/23 – WalkBoston Analysis Finds Traffic Violence Is Overwhelmingly Concentrated in Lower-Income, Non-White Neighborhoods
- Boston Globe, 3/31/23 – Here are five ways Mass. could reduce pedestrian deaths, according to experts
- Politico, 3/31/23 – (mention in) Politico Massachusetts Playbook Email
- NECN, 3/30/23 – Deadly Pedestrian Crashes Increased by 35% in Mass. in 2022, According to New Report
- Boston Globe, 3/30/23 – Pedestrians killed in crashes rose by 35 percent across Massachusetts last year, study finds
- CBS Boston, 3/30/23 – Deadly pedestrian crashes up 35 percent in Massachusetts, report says
- News Pub, 3/30/23 – Pedestrians killed in crashes rose by 35% across Massachusetts last year, study finds
- Massterlist, 3/30/23 – (mention in) Massterlist Email Look out: Pedestrian deaths spike by 35% in Massachusetts
- WBUR, 3/30/23 – Mass. pedestrian deaths spiked in 2022
- Boston Herald, 3/30/23 – Fatal pedestrian crashes rise across Massachusetts: Report
Broadcast (TV and Radio): WGBH, WBZ and WBUR shared news throughout the entire day of the 30th
- WGBH, 3/30/23
- WBZ Boston (CBS), 3/30/23
- WBUR, 3/30/23
- Telemundo, 3/30/23 Aumentan accidentes con peatones en Massachusetts
- WCVB, 3/30/23
- NBC 10, 3/30/23
- WFXT Ch. 25, 3/31/23
- WFXT ch. 25, 3/31/23 (live with Brendan Kearney)
- WTAG, 3/31/23

Boston Globe: “Dangerous intersections and roads in Boston and Springfield are about to get multimillion-dollar upgrades”

Brendan Kearney, deputy director of the advocacy group WalkBoston, said he was pleased to see federal dollars going toward road safety, not just traffic congestion. It’s an urgent issue, he said, and one that is literally life-or-death.
He recalls a particularly urgent conversation with a manager at the Boch Center’s Wang Theatre at Stuart and Tremont Streets, one of the intersections targeted for safety improvements.
“He’s incredibly nervous about the safety of their patrons,” Kearney said.
Kearney noted that the commitment to Springfield is meaningful, too.
His group, which advocates for walkability in communities statewide, released a report last spring that found Springfield, despite being about a quarter of the population of Boston, had the same number of fatal pedestrian crashes in 2021. In 2022, Springfield saw 12 fatal crashes and 94 serious injury crashes, according to state data, and Boston saw 23 fatal crashes and 31 serious injury crashes.

Posted February 1, 2023

“Act to Reduce Traffic Fatalities” has been signed into law!

Good news to start the new year: the “Act to Reduce Traffic Fatalities” has been signed into law! Thank you to Governor Baker, Representative Mike Moran, Representative William Straus, and Senator William Brownsberger for supporting this legislation at the end of the session. This bill has been a focus of the MA Vision Zero Coalition for the last few years. In November, the MAVZ Coalition sent a letter that encouraged the swift adoption before the end of the two year session:

“As we have patiently waited for this bill to become law, people have continued to die on our roadways. In September alone, we saw three fatal pedestrian crashes in Massachusetts that involved large trucks — Matthew Barker was killed while walking in Cambridge on September 1st, an unnamed person was killed in Chicopee after being struck by a dump truck on September 17th, and 98-year old Virginia “Ginny” Hale was killed after being struck by a box truck in Rockport on September 22nd. H.5103 will support not only the safety of people walking and biking, but any of our citizens who are out on our public ways without the protection of steel, seatbelts, and airbags. We encourage rapid action to pass this law to make our roads safer now, not later.”

Read more about the bill’s passage in the Boston Globe: “Pedestrians, cyclists gain protections with new law meant to reduce traffic deaths”

Read more analysis and thanks from MassBike: “An Act to Reduce Traffic Fatalities is Signed Into Law!”

Read Senator Brownsberger’s detailed look at sections of the bill: “Protecting Vulnerable Road Users“

From Pilot to Permanent– Sidewalk Snow Clearing Progress in Boston

WalkBoston was excited to see that Boston City Councilor Kenzie Bok announced this week that the City of Boston has plans for more sidewalk plows and an expanded Sidewalk Snow-Clearing Program this winter. This is a big deal!

Thank you Mayor Wu, Councilor Bok, Public Works, and the many people that have worked to move sidewalk snow clearing from plan to pilot to what will be a normal part of Boston’s snow clearing response, with ~80 Bobcats available for the effort. This is very exciting, and we know many people that have volunteered or worked at WalkBoston are really, really, pleased since this has been a frustration (and opportunity for improvement) that has been highlighted for years!

Ensuring people can continue to navigate sidewalks and curb ramps in the days after winter storms is critical to making a year round livable city for everyone. Thank you for recognizing that, and finding a way to make this a reality. It is really appreciated!

Lastly, sidewalk snow clearance isn’t just “a Boston thing.“ The most recent round of MassDOT’s Shared Streets and Spaces Funding Program for the first time allowed communities to use the money to buy snow removal equipment for pedestrian & bicycle facilities: as shown in the press release, 43 communities across the state did just that!