Tag: MassBike

WalkBoston comments on Craigie Dam/Bridge Design Alternatives

Date: January 2, 2019

To: Secretary Stephanie Pollack, Administrator Jonathan Gulliver, Andy Paul, Jackie Douglas,
James Kersten, MassDOT, Commissioner Leo Roy, Jeff Parenti, Dan Driscoll, DCR

Re: WalkBoston comments on Craigie Dam/Bridge Design Alternatives

We are relieved that MassDOT and DCR are committed to acting to improve the safety of people walking and biking on this critical roadway segment.

We have reviewed the options that were presented to the community on December 18^th and have several comments that are detailed below. However, we do not think that the relatively modest improvements that are planned for Spring 2019 are adequate to providing truly safe walking and biking conditions, and we urge MassDOT and DCR to develop more significant plans for safety for the Charles River bridges.

One approach that WalkBoston would like to see explored is the adoption of a pilot 20 MPH speed limit on all the Charles River Bridges from Harvard Square to the Craigie Dam/Bridge that would test an automated speed enforcement protocol. Over the last month we have attended meetings regarding safety and operations for the BU Bridge, the Longfellow Bridge and the Craigie Dam/Bridge. In each case, the completely fixed and limited right-of-way does not allow for the provision of protected bike accommodations within the roadway right-of-way without reducing the number of vehicle lanes. WalkBoston was distressed to hear suggestions by community members at one of these meetings to dedicate one of the sidewalks to bicycles rather than pedestrians in order to free up roadway space for vehicles (a suggestion that we were pleased was simply given, but then not taken up or discussed by any of the state or municipal staff).

MassDOT has already expressed its interest in adding automated enforcement to the state’s safety tools and we urge MassDOT to vigorously support a pilot program for the bridges. Setting and then enforcing a 20 MPH speed limit on all the bridges would significantly increase the safety of bicyclists using on-street bicycle lanes while at the same time allowing the number of vehicle lanes to remain as they are today.

Comments on Design Options A and B

Craigie Dam/Storrow Drive Intersection –

Take the following steps to minimize conflicts between people walking, biking and driving:

For turns from Craigie into Storrow Drive put in place (and enforce) a permanent No Right on Red regulation and include the permanently illuminated NRTOR sign
Set the vehicle for Craigie Dam traffic approaching Leverett Circle stop line back from the intersection (with Don’t Block the Box markings and enforcement) to allow bikes to queue in a bike box ahead of traffic
Provide marked bike lanes from Craigie to Martha Way through Leverett Circle
Tighten the turning radius of the corner from Craigie onto Storrow Drive and provide a bike ramp to the Paul Dudley White Path at the corner rather than having bikes get on the sidewalk before reaching the intersection. The very tight sidewalk space should be reserved for pedestrians.

Museum of Science Driveway and Museum Way/Craigie Intersection

Add crosswalk striping across the Museum of Science driveway.
Narrow the driveway to the greatest extent possible given the truck and bus movements needed for Museum of Science operations.
Consider signalizing the driveway entrance to the Museum of Science in coordination with the Museum Way signal.
Eliminate the conflicting left turn arrow across the WALK signal at the Museum Way crosswalk across Craigie.
Improve the street lighting of the crosswalk across Craigie at Museum Way

Craigie/Land Boulevard/Gilmore Bridge Intersection

Configure the signal timing at the Land Blvd/Craigie/Gilmore Bridge intersection to allow safe pedestrian and bike movements. A detailed description is provided below of the maneuver needed to ride a bike safely through the intersection under current conditions. This is in urgent need of improvement.

“At the intersection with Edwin H Land Blvd/ Gilmore Bridge, to feel safe as a bicyclist I will often violate traffic signals. The problem is that, whether traveling either inbound or outbound, if you wait for the light to change, traffic builds up next to you. When the light turns green, you are forced into the middle of a pack of fast-moving traffic, with cars and trucks rapidly accelerating and changing lanes.

The situation is particularly dangerous when traveling outbound and making a left on Cambridge Street (a route most bicyclists take, as Route 28 gets faster and more dangerous beyond the Cambridge St. intersection). As a bicyclist, if you leave the Gilmore intersection with vehicle traffic, you then have to work your way across 2 lanes of fast-moving traffic to get into your left turn, and then must hold your ground in the middle of four lanes of outbound traffic in order to end up on the right-hand side of the two lane Cambridge St. turnoff. You can also hug the left-hand side of the road by the median strip, but traveling on the left side of the road can be dangerous too.

I have found navigating the Science Bridge is actually safer when breaking the traffic signals. For example, when traveling outbound, if I hit the red light at the Gilmore intersection, there is a break in the signal when I usually run the red light on my bike. The break occurs between the green light for vehicles coming from Charlestown towards Cambridge, and the following green light for traffic moving inbound on 28. Taking the light this way has dangers too – at least one or two vehicles coming from Charlestown almost always speed through their red light (committing their own traffic violation), and you need to be absolutely sure those vehicles have stopped. Nevertheless, this method still allows me to make my way over to the Cambridge St turnoff without needing to cut across vehicle traffic, and feels much safer to me.”

Cc:
State Senator Joe Boncore
State Senator Sal DiDomenico
State Representative Jay Livingstone
State Representative Mike Connolly
Joe Barr, Cara Seiderman, Cambridge
Chris Osgood, Vineet Gupta, Charlotte Fleetwood, Boston
Becca Wolfson, Eliza Parad, Cyclists Union
Stacy Thompson, Steve Miller, LivableStreets Alliance
Galen Mook, Tom Francis, MassBike
Nate Fillmore, Cambridge Bike Safety

ACTIVISTS CALL FOR FASTER ACTION: 4,500 PEOPLE INJURED IN CAR CRASHES ON STREETS OF BOSTON IN 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: STACY THOMPSON at 651-206-1068 or stacy@livablestreets.info

ACTIVISTS CALL FOR FASTER ACTION: 4,500 PEOPLE INJURED IN CAR CRASHES ON STREETS OF BOSTON IN 2017

Event details for third annual vigil released; Zakim Bridge and Boston City Hall to be lit yellow; loved ones, advocates, and elected officials gather to remember the hundreds of people who have died across the state; Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition calls on City of Boston leaders to prevent deadly crashes by investing in safe, equitable streets

BOSTON: Friday, November 16, 2018 – Following a slew of fatal crashes in Metro Boston, the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition announces a day of actions on World Day of Remembrance on Sunday, November 18, 2018. Planned events include a vigil to memorialize the human toll of traffic crashes suffered across Massachusetts and the world. The vigil will be preceded by a Ghost Bike Dedication Ceremony for Meng Jin, who was killed by a dump truck while biking near the Museum of Science on November 9, and followed by a silent walk of remembrance to City Hall Plaza to call on Boston leaders to take faster action on making city streets safer.

“We know what works – streets that are properly designed to keep people safe,” said LivableStreets Alliance executive director Stacy Thompson. “The hard work is implementing these designs in cities and towns across Massachusetts. Tackling these issues through the lens of Vision Zero means changing how communities manage their streets.”

In 2016, 37,461 people were killed in car crashes across the U.S., a 6% increase in deaths compared with 2015 and the highest number of traffic deaths since 2007.On Boston streets, 4,521 people were injured in 2017.

To broaden public awareness of traffic deaths, the Coalition has coordinated with the City of Boston and MassDOT to light up Boston City Hall and the Zakim Bridge in yellow on the night of November 18th. In the week leading up to World Day of Remembrance, activists across the state have placed cutouts of human figures near crash sites, including in Boston, Cambridge, Springfield, Worcester, and other cities with high crash rates.

“People in the metro region do not stay within one municipal boundary, so we need cooperation between city and the state agencies,” said Becca Wolfson, executive Director of the Boston Cyclists Union. “We have bridges that are unsafe, and leave dangerous gaps in the bike network. We also know that injury crashes are occurring at a disproportionate rate in lower income communities and want to see prioritization of projects based on crash data. This is an issue of public health, public safety, and equity.”

The Coalition invites crash survivors and their loved ones, members of the public, and local and state leaders to gather at the vigil and reflect upon those who have been injured or killed on our communities’ streets. Attendees are encouraged to wear yellow, the color connected with victims of traffic crashes across the globe.

After the vigil, attendees will be invited to join a Silent Walk of Remembrance to raise awareness of the thousands of injuries from car crashes in Boston each year, and to call for faster action from City leaders. Participants in the silent walk to Boston City Hall Plaza can write messages in chalk to City leaders. Coalition members will lay out more than 1,100 yellow blossoms on the Plaza, signifying the enormous death and injury toll on Boston streets in 2017.

The vigil and silent walk are one of hundreds of events taking place internationally as part of the World Day of Remembrance, a United Nations-recognized movement to commemorate lives lost or injured on roads.

The Coalition will soon be rolling out its third annual progress report, reviewing and rating Boston’s Vision Zero efforts over the past year. The Coalition is committed to reviewing the City’s progress annually to ensure public accountability in reaching its goals.

Earlier this year, Mayor Walsh announced a new annual $5 million investment to advance the projects and policies in Go Boston 2030, adding 20 new staff to the Transportation Department.

“Four years after the launch of Vision Zero, the City of Boston is not making fast enough progress towards eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2030,” said WalkBoston executive director Wendy Landman. “Each serious injury and life lost on Boston streets continues to be an occasion to reflect on the urgency of Vision Zero.”

On the state level, the Coalition is gearing up for a Day of Action on January 23rd for the 2019 legislative session. The Day of Action, led by Coalition member Emily Stein, president of Safe Roads Alliance, will bring constituents to the State House to advocate for distracted driving and hands-free bills.

“Massachusetts is a leader in so many fields,” said Stein, “but it falls behind other states in New England when it comes to addressing the public safety issue of distracted driving. The passage of distracted driving legislation will save countless lives across the Commonwealth.”

Event Details:

World Day of Remembrance

November 18, 2018 from 12:30-3:30pm

Schedule of events:

12:30pm: Ghost Bike Dedication Ceremony for Meng Jin at Charles River Dam Road and Museum Way
1:45pm: Gather on the steps of Massachusetts State House for a Memorial Vigil
2:00pm: Program for Memorial Vigil Begins
2:45pm: Silent Walk of Remembrance to Boston City Hall Plaza
3:30pm: Event ends

On the evening of Sunday, November 18th, the following landmarks will be lit yellow, the color associated with traffic fatalities, in recognition of World Day of Remembrance:

Zakim Bridge, Boston
Boston City Hall
South Station, Boston
Government Center T Station, Boston
Burns Bridge, Worcester

Memorial Organizers: Members of the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition, including Safe Roads Alliance, LivableStreets Alliance, MassBike, WalkBoston, Boston Cyclists Union, among others.

Crash sites where cutouts will be placed

World Day of Remembrance Facebook Event Page

MA Vision Zero Coalition website

Contact

Stacy Thompson, LivableStreets Alliance, 651-206-1068 or stacy@livablestreets.info
Brendan Kearney, WalkBoston, 617-960-6037 or bkearney@dev.walkboston.org
Emily Stein, Safe Roads Alliance, 617-417-3689 or emily@saferoadsalliance.org
Rebecca Wolfson, Boston Cyclists Union, 315-345-6532 or bwolfson@bostoncyclistsunion.org
Galen Mook, MassBike, 703-395-4232 or galen@massbike.org

The Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition advocates for the implementation of Vision Zero in Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville, and for the reduction of traffic injuries and deaths across Massachusetts. The new and growing coalition includes community-based organizations, nonprofits, businesses, civic groups and individuals representing communities across the state. visionzerocoalition.org/

LivableStreets Alliance is an advocacy organization working to create a world where streets are safe, vibrant public spaces that connect people to the places where they live, work and play. LivableStreets advocates for innovative and equitable transportation solutions that create safe, affordable and convenient options for everyone in Metro Boston. http://www.livablestreets.info

The Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition (MassBike) promotes a bicycle-friendly environment and encourages bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation. http://www.massbike.org

WalkBoston makes walking safer and easier in Massachusetts to encourage better health, a cleaner environment and more vibrant communities. https://dev.walkboston.org

The Boston Cyclists Union is helping Bostonians lead healthier lives by promoting the everyday use of the bicycle for transportation. Among other things, they repair bikes, educate new riders, and organize neighborhood residents who would like to voice support for friendlier street designs, bike paths, and public spaces. http://bostoncyclistsunion.org

Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all. http://visionzeronetwork.org

###

Hands Free Rally at the State House

WalkBoston took part in the Rally for the Hands Free legislation that has passed the Senate and currently stuck in the House Ways and Means Committee – we’re hopeful it will come to a floor vote before the end of the session. Thank you to the Levitans from Text Less Live More & Emily Stein from Safe Roads Alliance for continuing share their stories to ensure our roads are safer. Find your legislator here – call and ask for the bill to be brought to the floor for a vote!

Senate Passes Bill to Improve Traffic Safety & Protect Vulnerable Road Users

BOSTON — The Massachusetts State Senate voted Thursday to pass legislation that aims to create safer streets for all road users. Developed in collaboration with a coalition of bicycle, pedestrian and transportation advocates, S.2570, An Act to reduce traffic fatalities, includes several measures to improve road safety, lessen the severity of crashes, and standardize the collection and analysis of crash data.

The bill classifies several groups, including pedestrians, utility workers, first responders and cyclists, as “vulnerable road users,” and requires motor vehicles to apply a “safe passing distance” of at least three feet when traveling 30 miles per hour or less with an additional foot of clearance required for every 10 miles per hour over 30 miles per hour. Current law only requires motor vehicle operators to pass at “a safe distance and at a reasonable and proper speed.” The bill would further require a vehicle that is overtaking a vulnerable road user to use all or part of the adjacent lane, crossing the center line if necessary, when it cannot pass at a safe distance in the same lane and only when it is safe to do so.

“We need to keep working year after year to achieve a future in which traffic fatalities get as close as possible to zero,” said Senator William N. Brownsberger (D-Belmont), lead sponsor of the bill in the Senate. “This bill will help us move in the right direction.”

“This legislation updates basic protections for pedestrians, cyclists and others who may be on the road, and is a common-sense policy to ensure safer roadways for pedestrians and drivers alike” said Senate President Harriette L. Chandler (D-Worcester). “I am very happy the Senate has passed this legislation.”

“This bill takes an important step in encouraging the use of multimodal transportation to relieve the congestion and reduce our state’s carbon footprint,” said Senator Joseph A. Boncore (D-Winthrop), who serves as the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation, which advanced the legislative measure forward with a favorable recommendation earlier this year. “Ensuring that pedestrians and cyclists have more protections on shared roads is vital to that end.”

The bill would require certain large vehicles newly purchased, leased or operated pursuant to a contract with the Commonwealth to be equipped with lateral protective devices to eliminate a vehicle’s high ground clearance and the extraordinary risk posed to vulnerable road users, who are susceptible to slipping underneath large vehicles during accidents. Such large vehicles would also be required to utilize convex and cross-over mirrors to increase a driver’s ability to see around their vehicle. These provisions would apply to vehicles purchased or leased by the Commonwealth after January 1, 2019 and to vehicles operating pursuant to leases entered into January 1, 2020.

“MassBike congratulates the Senate on the passage of An Act to reduce traffic fatalities,” said Galen Mook, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition. “We have seen too many unnecessary and completely preventable fatalities on our roads, and MassBike believes this legislation provides distinct safety elements for cyclists across the Commonwealth, including defining that vehicles must pass cyclists at ‘a safe distance’ of at least three feet, and requiring sideguards on large vehicles to protect vulnerable road users from the dreaded ‘right hook.’ MassBike is grateful for the collaborative work of Senator Brownsberger and all of the advocacy organizations, and we thank everyone for the continued persistence to protect all cyclists and pedestrians across the state. Though we have not yet finished our work, this bill goes a long way toward the goal of zero deaths on our streets.”

The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security would be required to develop a standardized analysis tool to report crashes and incidents involving a vulnerable road user and maintain a publicly accessible database of such reports to help inform further efforts to reduce traffic fatalities.

“WalkBoston is thrilled that the Senate has passed An act to reduce traffic fatalities, which includes elements to immediately improve the safety of pedestrians, bicyclists and all vulnerable road users across the Commonwealth,” said Wendy Landman, Executive Director of WalkBoston. “The data collection and analysis requirement will help communities focus their road safety efforts on the places that need it the most.”

The bill would establish a 25 mile per hour speed limit on an unposted area of state highway or parkway inside a thickly settled or business district within a city or town that has accepted the 25 mile per hour local option, as lower vehicle speeds reduce the severity of crashes. While current law requires persons riding bicycles at night to use a front white light, this bill would also require use of both a red rear light and a red rear reflector when riding at night to improve the visibility of bicyclists.

The bill now moves to the House of Representatives for further consideration.

###

Originally posted by Senator Brownsberger’s Office

Bicycle and Pedestrian Infrastructure Assessment Holyoke

Holyoke is one of 18 communities participating in the MassDOT multi-disciplinary program to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety in Massachusetts. One of the components of the MassDOT program is to conduct walk and bike assessments that identify infrastructure challenges to biking and walking, and recommend short- and long-term improvements. These assessments are also a means of building local knowledge of the importance of well-designed bicycle and pedestrian facilities. WalkBoston and MassBike led a walk and bicycle assessment of two locations in Holyoke: the intersection of Beech Street at Resnic Boulevard / W Franklin Street and the Appleton Street Corridor between Sycamore Street and Chestnut Street.

Read the full report here:

BicycleandWalkAssessment-Holyoke