Tag: Boston

WalkBoston’s Advocacy Work Continues to Soar

Two of the most iconic by-products of Boston’s Big Dig — the Rose Kennedy Greenway and the Zakim Bridge — also stand today as symbols of WalkBoston’s earliest and most prominent pedestrian advocacy.

Founded in 1990, WalkBoston played a leading role throughout the 1990s in making sure pedestrians weren’t overlooked in the massive project to bury Boston’s Central Artery highway. Most notably, it persuaded transportation officials to reduce the number of proposed vehicle travel lanes on the Greenway from 10 to 6, with extra space devoted to pedestrians and bicyclists. It also persisted in seeing to completion the crucial pedestrian/bicycle bridge linking the Charles River Basin and Boston Harbor, a Big Dig commitment that languished until WalkBoston held a highly publicized walk in 2005 decrying its absence. The bridge was completed in 2012.

Those efforts and others are being recalled this month as WalkBoston marks the 20th anniversary of one of its most high-profile events: a Mother’s Day walk on the soon-to-be-opened Zakim Bridge on May 12, 2002. Co-sponsored with the Mass. Turnpike Authority, the walk drew 200,000 people — five times what officials anticipated — despite it being a cool rainy day.

The bridge walk idea came from then WalkBoston board member Catherine Donaher.

“We had all gone through a very long and challenging fight to stop Scheme Z (a proposed I-90/Route 1 interchange over the Charles River) and I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to have a walk across the bridge before it opened?’ ” Donaher recalled.

WalkBoston co-founder and then-president Ann Hershfang pitched it to Turnpike Authority chairman Matt Amorello. “I stood up at a meeting and said, ‘Would you be willing to have pedestrians be the first mode of transportation across the Zakim Bridge?’ and he immediately said ‘Yes!’ ” Hershfang said.

“What happened was so wonderful,” Donaher said. “We need to do more things to bring people out to touch and feel projects like this and feel like ‘This is my bridge — I paid for this.’”

The Mother’s Day walk’s popularity prompted officials to hold a walk through the Big Dig tunnels in August 2002, and a dedication walk on the Zakim Bridge that October. Those two events drew 600,000 and 800,000, respectively.

“Our work on the Central Artery kind of elevated us in the public mind,” said Hershfang, “and the bridge walk also raised our profile. I can still see one of our bright orange WalkBoston banners stretched across the bridge!” The Fall 2002 WalkBoston newsletter noted that nearly 90 new memberships were received after the first two events.

WalkBoston has only continued to grow over the ensuing two decades. An organization that in 2002 had no full-time staff and an annual budget of just over $100,000 now has six full-time staff members, interns, and a budget in excess of $600,000. WalkBoston continues to broaden and diversify its walkability programs and advocacy efforts, which now includes the WalkMassachusetts Network, a statewide coalition of groups working on walking.

Help us continue to add to our legacy by becoming a member or making a donation at walkboston.org/donate.

News clippings of the event from 2002:

City of Boston aims to create an Age-Friendly Cummins Highway

The City of Boston is currently designing the complete reconstruction of Cummins Highway in Mattapan and they are calling out the project as Age-Friendly Cummins Highway! This is exactly the outcome WalkBoston hoped to see when we began our age-friendly walking work with the City in 2016. Many of the design elements are a direct reflection of what WalkBoston and the City learned during meetings and walk audits with Mattapan residents.

The project will include a total rebuild of the street, including sidewalks, curbs, street lights, traffic signals, road pavement, and replacement or updating of utilities with a project budget of approximately $24 million.

Mattapan residents and WalkBoston staff walk down a sidewalk in Mattapan Square during the 2016 WalkBoston Mattapan Square walk audit; photos included in the 4/26/22 Cummins Highway BTD/PWD Presentation.

The proposed Cummins Highway design includes narrower street crossings with curb extensions, fully accessible sidewalks, longer WALK times and audible signals, high visibility crosswalks, raised crosswalks to slow drivers turning onto or from side streets, new trees and plants to reduce the heat effect, new street lights, bus shelters and benches.

Age-friendly intersection design shown in the 4/26/22 Cummins Highway BTD/PWD Presentation, showing plans to narrow crossing distances, add accessible ramps, raise crosswalks and increase crosswalk visibility.

As city staff said during a recent public meeting, the goal is to:

“Transform Cummins Highway into a tree-lined neighborhood street that is safer for families to walk, wait for the bus, ride bikes, or travel by vehicle. It will connect residents to the City’s network of open spaces and make it easier for elders to cross the street.”

WalkBoston is thrilled to see the City of Boston’s adoption of some many age-friendly walking elements in the project and to see age-friendly street design come of age in the city.

Want to learn more?

Check out the Cummins project page, which includes links to all previous meetings and presentations.
Find an upcoming office hours session.
Attend the Zoom session “DESIGNING CUMMINS HIGHWAY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES” on May 25 at 6:30pm.

Comments on MassDOT Maffa Way + Mystic Ave Bridge Project (File No. 607670)

March 22, 2022

Carrie E. Lavallee, P.E.,
Acting Chief Engineer

Suite 6340, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116

via e-mail to dot.feedback.highway@state.ma.us

Attention: Major Projects, Project File No. 607670

Dear Ms. Lavallee,

I attended the public meeting for the MassDOT Maffa Way / Mystic Ave Bridge Project in Somerville (near Sullivan Square) earlier this month. There were a few questions from the audience and a discussion about vehicle speed which seemed to show a real disconnect between MassDOT’s Safe Speed Management guidance and the way that this project is being designed.

This project is set to be completed in 2027, and will rebuild the bridges / associated roadways. There are a lot of project elements that will help to make the roads and sidewalks safer for biking and walking and improve access to the MBTA station. However, when I brought up the recently released speed guidance that describes target speeds, it was not very well received by the project team. The default speed in both Somerville and Boston is 25mph. This project is using a design speed of 35mph, after doing a speed study and seeing that the 85% speed on the existing roadway was ~32mph. At least three other attendees also commented that the design speed is way too high.

Good points were made that MassDOT should be designing a road for what is needed, and not repeating the design problems that are out there right now which allow people to drive way too fast, especially at off peak times. MassDOT & all MassDOT consultants should be setting the example for the rest of Massachusetts about how projects can incorporate the recently released Safe Speed Management guidance through setting target speeds for a reconstructed roadway rather than relying exclusively on the 85th percentile of the existing road.

Thank you,

Brendan Kearney
Deputy Director, WalkBoston

Statewide Fatal Crashes In MA, October 2021

Each month in 2021, we plan to post about the fatal crashes in Massachusetts from the previous month, and share any trends that we see. For the full list of monthly posts, head here.

Last month, we took a look at the five fatal crashes listed in the MassDOT Crash Portal in September. In this post, we’ll look at crashes in MA in October 2021. The information in the chart below is compiled from news reports, and was checked against the MassDOT Crash Portal Dashboard “Fatal Information by Year.” The Google Street View images included below use the address listed in the crash portal.

Of the 28 fatal crashes in Massachusetts in October in the MassDOT Crash portal, seven were identified as people walking.
The crash portal does not include names. The name of two of the people walking who died have not been made public yet.
The average age of pedestrians hit & killed in October was 65.
At least one of the crashes were hit & runs (as referenced in news articles).
The name of the person driving was only identified in one of the crashes in news articles that we found.
We could not find any news reports for one of the fatal crashes.

Date	10/4/2021, 9:45 AM
Location	66 Huttleston Ave.
Town	Fairhaven
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	77
Sex	F

We could not find any news coverage of this crash. If you have any information, please let us know.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this street is under MassDOT jurisdiction. This stretch of Huttleston Avenue (State Route 6) is two-way, with 2 travel lanes in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side of the road. The speed limit is unclear in the MassDOT Road Inventory, with 25mph and 35mph both listed.

Date	10/13/2021, 1:30 PM
Location	Essex St. + Winter St.
Town	Lawrence
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	73
Sex	F

The Eagle-Tribune reports that a driver struck and killed 73-year-old Antoquia M. Ruiz Villlona De Anziani in the area of Essex Street & Winter Street in Lawrence. The driver was not identified.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, both of these streets are under local jurisdiction. Each road is two-way, with 1 travel lanes in each direction. It is a 2-way stop, with stop signs for the Winter/Medford Street approach (Winter Street becomes Medford St as it crosses Essex). There is a sidewalk on each side of each road. There is no painted crosswalk over Essex Street. The speed limit is unclear in the MassDOT Road Inventory, and not obvious on Google Street View.

Date	10/14/2021, 6:44 PM
Location	North Main St. + Huntington St.
Town	Brockton
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	54
Sex	M

The Enterprise News reports that Joao Fernandes, age 54, died after the driver of a Mel’s ice cream truck struck him at the intersection of North Main Street and Huntington Street. The driver was not identified.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, North Main Street and Huntington Street are both under local jurisdiction. Each road is two-way, with 1 travel lane in each direction. There is a stop sign on Huntington Street as it meets North Main Street. There is a sidewalk on each side of each road. There is a crosswalk across Huntington Street, but no painted crosswalk over North Main Street. The speed limit is 30mph in the MassDOT Road Inventory.

Date	10/16/2021, 10:26 AM
Location	Theodore Glynn Way
Town	Boston
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	59
Sex	F

Lisa Vadeboncoeur was killed and two other people were injured after 46-year-old Kevin McCaffrey struck them on Theodore Glynn Way in Boston. WHDH reported that he has been charged with motor vehicle homicide by operating under the influence of drugs, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Their coverage included a statement from Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins:

“Ms. Vadeboncoeur and the two other individuals injured in this crash were standing well off the side of the road when they were struck,” Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said in a statement. “My office has been in contact with each of the victims and the loved ones of Ms. Vadeboncoeur. We will continue to be available to provide them and the two surviving victims with the support and resources they may need and that they deserve.”

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Theodore Glynn Way is under local jurisdiction. It is a one-way road that is 64-feet wide; there is parking on the left side. Street View from November 2020 does not show any lane markings. There is a sidewalk on one side of the road and a shoulder on the other side. The speed limit is not noted in the MassDOT Road Inventory.

Date	10/21/2021, 1:55 PM
Location	704 North Quincy St.
Town	Brockton
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	79
Sex	M

A 79-year-old man was struck and killed by a driver on North Quincy Street in Brockton. Neither the driver nor the pedestrian were identified.

The Enterprise News observed that this was the second fatal crash in a week in Brockton.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, North Quincy Street is under local jurisdiction. The road is two-way, with 1 travel lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side of the road, but there is a large curb cut on one side shared by the Brookfield Plaza and a used car dealer. (The Enterprise News story includes photos of police investigators examining this side of the road/driveways.) The speed limit is 30mph in the MassDOT Road Inventory.

Date	10/26/2021, 6:23 AM
Location	Walk Hill St.
Town	Boston (Mattapan)
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	47
Sex	F

A bus driver hit and killed Jennifer Formichelli and then left the scene at the corner of Walk Hill Street and Blue Hill Avenue. CBS Boston reported that Formichelli was walking her two dogs at the time. Neighbors said one stayed by her side, and the other ran home, alerting neighbors. The Boston Globe reported that bus and driver was not affiliated with Boston Public School system, but the police have located the driver and school bus, and homicide detectives are investigating. The driver was not identified.

CBS Boston also interviewed Fillmore Parris, who was engaged to Jennifer:

He said Formichelli was an English teacher, loved her pets and her family. “She was just an all-around good person.”
“I’m sad but I’m just getting increasingly angry,” Parris said. “I don’t care if you’re driving a tank, you know if you’ve hit somebody, especially somebody that is as visible as her, running with two dogs.”

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Walk Hill Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two-way road that is 40-feet wide; there is parking and sidewalks on each side, and there is a crosswalk across Walk Hill Street. The speed limit is 30mph in the MassDOT Road Inventory. There is a traffic signal at the intersection of Blue Hill Avenue and Walk Hill Street.

Date	10/27/2021, 7:38 PM
Location	528 Southwest Cutoff
Town	Worcester
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	66
Sex	M

66-year old Fabio D’Assis was hit and killed by the driver of a Toyota Highlander SUV. The Worcester Telegram & Gazette cited a police spokesperson that “the initial investigation indicates the driver approached the Auburn/Worcester line and saw the pedestrian, but was unable to stop in time.” The driver was not identified, but is described as a 42-year-old Sudbury woman.

The T&G story locates the crash near 557 Southwest Cutoff, while the MassDOT Crash Portal lists 528 Southwest Cutoff. 557 Southwest Cutoff is closest to the Auburn/Worcester line referenced in the article, so the Google Streetview included below reflects that section of road. There is a grocery store plaza on one side, with housing on the other side of the road.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Southwest Cutoff is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is a two-way road that is 48-feet wide, with 2-lanes in each direction; there are sidewalks on each side. The speed limit is 35mph in the MassDOT Road Inventory.

Updates
If you have an update about a community member who was killed in one of these crashes, please contact Brendan so we can update our . WalkBoston has maintained a list each year since 2016, pulling the information from news reports, social media, and from people like you that share the information with us.
Yearly trackers: |||||

Reminder about the data from the MassDOT portal
MassDOT makes no representation as to the accuracy, adequacy, reliability, availability or completeness of the crash records or the data collected from them and is not responsible for any errors or omissions in such records or data. Under no circumstance will MassDOT have any liability for any loss or damage incurred by any party as a result of the use of the crash records or the data collected from them. Furthermore, the data contained in the web-based crash report tool are not an official record of what transpired in a particular crash or for a particular crash type. If a user is interested in an official copy of a crash report, contact the Registry (http://www.mass.gov/rmv/). The City of Boston Police Department may be contacted directly for official copies of crash reports and for crash data pertaining to the City of Boston. In addition, any crash records or data provided for the years after 2018 are subject to change at any time and are not to be considered up-to-date or complete. As such, open years’ of crash data are for informational purposes only and should not be used for analysis. The data posted on this website, including crash records and other reports, are collected for the purpose of identifying, evaluating or planning the safety enhancement of potential crash sites, hazardous roadway conditions or railway-highway crossings. Under federal law, this information is not subject to discovery and cannot be admitted into evidence in any federal or state court proceeding or considered for other purposes in any action for damages that involves the sites mentioned in these records (see 23 USC, Section 409).

Statewide Fatal Crashes In MA, August 2021

Each month in 2021, we plan to post about the fatal crashes in Massachusetts from the previous month, and share any trends that we see. For the full list of monthly posts, head here.

Last month, we took a look at the 6 fatal crashes listed in the MassDOT Crash Portal in July. In this post, we’ll look at crashes in MA in August 2021. The information in the chart below is compiled from news reports, and was checked against the MassDOT Crash Portal Dashboard “Fatal Information by Year.” The Google Street View images included below use the address listed in the crash portal.

Of the 49 fatal crashes in Massachusetts in August in the MassDOT Crash portal, 5 were identified as people walking.
The crash portal does not include names. The name of 1 of the people walking who died have not been made public yet.
The average age of pedestrians hit & killed in August was 48.4.
2 of the crash victims were people who had stopped their vehicle to investigate a problem, and then were hit by other drivers.
At least 1 of the crashes were hit & runs (as referenced in news articles).
4 of the crashes involved SUVs or large pickup trucks.
The name of the person driving was identified in 1 of the crashes in news articles that we found.

Date	8/3/2021, 4:35 PM
Location	77 Main St.
Town	Taunton
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	58
Sex	F

Rolando Escobar struck and killed 58-year-old Lisa Rocha as she was getting into her car on Main Street in Taunton. The Taunton Daily Gazette reports that he left the scene, then struck a vehicle on Summer Street causing his SUV to flip over in front of the police station.

The Gazette spoke to Lisa’s friends, family, and co-workers:

Lisa put [her passion for gardening] to work as activities director at Marian Manor nursing home at 33 Summer St. in Taunton. At Marian Manor, she spread her love for flowers by planting a garden, Shantel said. Three times a day Lisa would pick a resident to help her with the garden, said Connie Coelho, Lisa’s co-worker.

Escobar has been charged with operating under the influence of drugs/felony homicide, OUI-drugs second offense, manslaughter, OUI resulting in death, leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death, and leaving the scene of property damage.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this street is under local jurisdiction. This stretch of road is two-way, with a travel lane in each direction and parking on each side. The road is 30 feet wide. There is a posted 20mph speed limit.

Date	8/6/2021, 7:03 PM
Location	I-90 WEST, MM 130.2
Town	Boston
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	30
Sex	M

The Boston Globe reported that a 30 year-old man driving a tractor trailer pulled over to the side to inspect his truck and was struck and killed by another driver who crashed and pinned him into his truck on the MassPike in Allston-Brighton. CBS Boston shared that the driver who struck and killed the man was a 17-year old driving a Chevy Cruze.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this is an interstate highway under MassDOT jurisdiction. The westbound stretch of I-90 is one-way, with a 2-foot left shoulder, 4 12-foot travel lanes, and an 8-foot right shoulder at this mile marker. The speed limit is 55mph.

Date	8/6/2021, 9:48 PM
Location	9 Graf Rd.
Town	Newburyport
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	69
Sex	M

69 year-old Daniel Rindge was struck and killed by the 65-year old driver of a Jeep Grand Cherokee on Graf Road in Newburyport. The driver was not identified.

The Newburyport News reports:

Rindge was a well-known illustrator and caricature artist who worked for the former Port Planet newspaper in Newburyport. He also was an artist, illustrator and graphic designer at Gulls Brewery, according to his LinkedIn profile.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this street is under local jurisdiction. This stretch of road is one lane in each direction. The road is 24 feet wide. The speed limit is 35mph.

Newburyport Police Lt. Matthew Simons said it is unknown if Rindge was crossing the street but said he was in the travel lane when the accident occurred. (There are no sidewalks on either side of the street, and there do not appear to be any crosswalks on Google Streetview.)

Date	8/16/2021, 8:30 AM
Location	278 Main St.
Town	Bourne
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	41
Sex	F

The Bourne Enterprise reports that 41-year old Caitlyn Sprague was struck and killed on Main Street in Bourne by the driver of a Chevy Silverado pickup.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this street is under local jurisdiction. This stretch of road is one lane in each direction with shoulders on each side. The speed limit is 40mph. Google Streetview shows a crosswalk and bump outs at this address.

Date	8/29/2021, 6:45 PM
Location	SR-2 WEST, MM 100.8
Town	Leominster
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	44
Sex	M

NBC Boston reports that a 51 year-old driver of a Chevy Sonic drifted into the breakdown lane on Route 2 in Leominster and struck and killed 44-year old Daniel Levangie. Levangie was changing a tire in the breakdown lane when he was struck.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Route 2 / Concord Turnpike is under MassDOT jurisdiction. The westbound stretch of road is two 12-foot lanes with a 10-foot shoulder. The speed limit is 55 mph.

Updates
If you have an update about a community member who was killed in one of these crashes, please contact Brendan so we can update our . WalkBoston has maintained a list each year since 2016, pulling the information from news reports, social media, and from people like you that share the information with us.
Yearly trackers: |||||

Reminder about the data from the MassDOT portal
MassDOT makes no representation as to the accuracy, adequacy, reliability, availability or completeness of the crash records or the data collected from them and is not responsible for any errors or omissions in such records or data. Under no circumstance will MassDOT have any liability for any loss or damage incurred by any party as a result of the use of the crash records or the data collected from them. Furthermore, the data contained in the web-based crash report tool are not an official record of what transpired in a particular crash or for a particular crash type. If a user is interested in an official copy of a crash report, contact the Registry (http://www.mass.gov/rmv/). The City of Boston Police Department may be contacted directly for official copies of crash reports and for crash data pertaining to the City of Boston. In addition, any crash records or data provided for the years after 2018 are subject to change at any time and are not to be considered up-to-date or complete. As such, open years’ of crash data are for informational purposes only and should not be used for analysis. The data posted on this website, including crash records and other reports, are collected for the purpose of identifying, evaluating or planning the safety enhancement of potential crash sites, hazardous roadway conditions or railway-highway crossings. Under federal law, this information is not subject to discovery and cannot be admitted into evidence in any federal or state court proceeding or considered for other purposes in any action for damages that involves the sites mentioned in these records (see 23 USC, Section 409).