Tag: Vision Zero

July 2023 Network Meeting – “Walk the Talk: Understanding Pedestrian Behavior & Creating Analytic Tools to Aid Planning & Policy” Recording

Rounaq Basu is the Manager of Multimodal Planning and Design at the Boston Region MPO, as well as a Postdoctoral Associate at MIT joined us for this month’s WalkMassachusetts Network discussion. Rounaq shared research on many of the questions he’s been studying: Why do pedestrians choose one route over others? Which street attributes are considered attractive and which ones are onerous? What should urban planners and designers be looking out for? How do we then incorporate these behaviors into a framework that allows us to understand and predict where people walk? What are the implications for Vision Zero policies?

The session was recorded, and you can view the presentation below.

The WalkMassachusetts Network typically meets every third Wednesday of each month at 1 pm. Register for upcoming Zoom calls at this link.
Anyone can listen in and participate in monthly calls! Join the Google Group to get a reminder about these Zoom calls.
Do you have a topic that should be discussed at a future meeting? Suggestions welcome!

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

Comment Letter Re: Support for H.3437, An Act requiring backup cameras on certain vehicles

January 18th, 2022

Joint Committee on Transportation
Representative William Straus, Chair

Re: Support for H.3437, An Act requiring backup cameras on certain vehicles

Dear Chairman Straus, Vice Chairs Keenan and Devers, and members of the committee,

Members of the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition respectfully request that the committee report out favorably on H.3437 An Act requiring backup cameras on certain vehicles.

H.3437 An Act requiring backup cameras on certain vehicles would require the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to include regulations around having rear visibility camera systems, or “backup” cameras for motor vehicles over 10,000 pounds that are owned or leased by the commonwealth or a city or town of the commonwealth. As of May 2018, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires all new vehicles to be manufactured with backup cameras. However, this only applies to vehicles under 10,000 pounds, meaning large trucks are not included in this law. These large trucks have significant blind spots¹, making it challenging for drivers to see what is behind them when backing up. Requiring backup cameras could be an important safety measure for preventing backover crashes involving large trucks and vehicles, and protecting vulnerable road users like people walking and biking—particularly children and older adults who are most impacted by these kinds of crashes².

In Massachusetts over the last five years (2017-2021), there have been 33 crashes involving trucks backing up and people walking, resulting in 2 fatalities³. Additionally, two workers at a construction site in Boston were struck and killed when a co-worker backed up a truck and pushed them into a trench in February 2021. While the ownership history of all of these trucks is unknown, we are confident that beginning with state- and municipally-owned vehicles will act as a model for private operators to install video technology; the impact of which will help prevent the needless loss of life of people walking on roadways and sidewalks in Massachusetts.

Implementing these requirements, particularly when paired with other truck safety measures included in H.3549 An Act to reduce traﬃc fatalities, would make measurable improvements for the safety of vulnerable road users around large trucks.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

The Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition

Cheryl Pavlik, Allston Brighton Health Collaborative
Galen Mook, Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition
Jarred Johnson, TransitMatters
Adam Shutes, WalkUP Roslindale
Becca Wolfson, Boston Cyclists Union
Stacey Beuttell, WalkBoston
Janie Katz-Christy, Green Streets Initiative
Emily Stein, Safe Roads Alliance
Alex Epstein, Somerville Alliance for Safe Streets
Julia Wallerce, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy
Catherine Gleason, LivableStreets Alliance
Josh Ostroff, Transportation for Massachusetts

¹ Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/ourroads/large-blind-spots)
² NHTSA Report on Backover Crashes (https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/811144.pdf)
³ MassDOT IMPACT portal (https://apps.impact.dot.state.ma.us/cdp/home)

Comment Letter Re: Opposition to H.3399, An Act relative to increasing penalties for texting and driving

January 18th, 2022

Joint Committee on Transportation
Representative William Straus, Chair

Re: Opposition to H.3399, An Act relative to increasing penalties for texting and driving

Dear Chairman Straus, Vice Chairs Keenan and Devers, and members of the committee,

Members of the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition respectfully oppose H.3399 An Act relative to increasing penalties for texting and driving.

H.3399 An Act relative to increasing penalties for texting and driving would increase fees from a first offense from $100 to $250, and would escalate at a greater rate for subsequent offenses—$500 for a second and$750 for a third. In addition to increased fines, a license suspension of 90 days could be issued for the first offense of texting and driving. This escalation of harmful and punitive measures is a problem for a few reasons:

Research has shown that increasing the severity of punishment is an ineffective deterrent to crime, and often worsens racial and economic disparities¹, suggesting that increasing penalties would not have the intended effect of lowering the number of people texting and driving.
Data on the hands free law in MA has shown that this law is being inequitably enforced². In traffic stops for using a phone while driving between April and December 2019, Black, Hispanic, and Asian people were more likely to be issued citations than white people for the same infraction. The increased punitive measures proposed in this legislation will disproportionately burden Black drivers and drivers of color in Massachusetts.
These large fines can be debilitating for lower income individuals who may not be able to afford them, and as the law is currently written, non-payment of these fines can compound with late fees and can result in debt-based license suspensions and potential incarceration—an inequitable and ineffective practice that forces individuals to make the impossible choice between driving on a suspended license, risking additional fines and incarceration, or risk being unable to get to work and lose the income they need to access and afford essential services, much less pay their fine (note: there are other bills in this committee that would eliminate this practice that the Coalition is supportive of—H.3453 and S.2304).

While we know that distracted driving is a safety concern on our roads, we don’t believe these punitive measures are the solution. We ask that the committee take this into account with respect to this proposed legislation and oppose H.3399.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

The Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition

Cheryl Pavlik, Allston Brighton Health Collaborative
Jarred Johnson, TransitMatters
Becca Wolfson, Boston Cyclists Union
Stacey Beuttell, WalkBoston
Emily Stein, Safe Roads Alliance
Julia Wallerce, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy
Catherine Gleason, LivableStreets Alliance
Galen Mook, Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition
Adam Shutes, WalkUP Roslindale

¹ National Institute of Justice (https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/five-things-about-deterrence)
² Hands Free Data in MA (https://www.wcvb.com/article/massachusetts-data-white-drivers-got-more-breaks-for-hands-free-cellphone-violations/35421474#)

Read the Boston Vision Zero Progress Report – Year Five (2019 & 2020)

BOSTON VISION ZERO PROGRESS REPORT

YEAR FIVE – 2019 & 2020

Read Full Report

In 2015 the City of Boston committed to Vision Zero, a data-driven effort to eliminate serious and fatal crashes on city streets by 2030. Nearly six years later, the City of Boston has demonstrated consistent and measurable progress toward its goals, and has much to be proud of, including continuing to reduce pedestrian fatalities during a year when they skyrocketed across the country.

This year’s report includes a summary and evaluation of the City’s progress in both 2019 and 2020, along with specific recommendations for how Boston can continue moving toward its goal of eliminating traffic fatalities by 2030.

Read the full report here.

Boston has proven itself to be a national Vision Zero leader. The challenge moving forward will be maintaining momentum as the City recovers from COVID-19, addresses systemic racism, and continues to adapt to an ever-changing context.

Now is the right time for the City to revisit its Action Plan, reflect on how the landscape has changed, and present an updated roadmap to Vision Zero. The City should incorporate an emphasis on decreasing the number of single-occupancy vehicles on the road by increasing mode shift, as well as focus on removing police enforcement from the scope of its plan.

The MA Vision Zero Coalition (of which WalkBoston is a member) believes the City is positioned well to execute these recommendations and to continue on the right path toward meeting Vision Zero and Go Boston 2030 goals. The Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition looks forward to continuing our strong relationship with the City of Boston to achieve our shared goals.

Read the full report here.