Tag: WalkBoston Newsletter

Successful Outdoor Dining — à la Shared Streets Funding by Miranda Briseno

Miranda Briseño joined WalkBoston as a Program Manager in early July. Previously she was with the Office of Planning, Development, and Sustainability for the City of Medford where she focused on the COVID-19 response—helping to create the City’s first business grant program, supporting residential Shared Streets programs, and managing the 2021 Outdoor Dining program.

Like communities nationwide, Medford was no stranger to having to reframe its approach to streets in 2020. Residents wanted—and still want—to feel safe and distanced from cars and others during COVID-19, and restaurants desperately needed an alternative to indoor dining. When MassDOT’s Shared Streets and Spaces grant program was announced, Medford jumped at the opportunity to receive funding to support these efforts. The 2020 Outdoor Dining program in Medford provided an opportunity for restaurants to get creative and paved the way for the program’s second iteration. At the first pass, despite uncertainties around health and safety, a small group of 15 Medford restaurants volunteered to participate in the pilot program. The limited number of participants aside, residents and business owners alike were huge fans of the program. One of the success stories for the 2020 program was that of Bistro 5 in West Medford. In the summer of 2020, due to the pandemic, the owner, Vittorio Ettore, reached out to the Board of Health to let them know of his decision to permanently close his restaurant. One of our wonderful Health Department staff convinced him to give Outdoor Dining a try before closing down for good. Fast forward to 2021: Bistro 5 still stands strong in West Medford! Vittorio cites the support from the City for Outdoor Dining in 2020, which included safety equipment and guidance on safe outdoor setups, as key to keeping his doors open. He was the first to call asking when the 2021 season would begin. For the 2021 season, the City was able to provide establishments with more support in the form of safety equipment and minor beautification efforts—like lights and planters—through the MassDOT Shared Streets and Spaces grant. Due to the success of the pilot, the 2021 program attracted twice the number of participants. Part of this newfound interest in the 2021 program was due to the City’s committed outreach. Given that restaurant regulations were constantly changing and aiming for a smooth review process, I led the City’s effort to revamp the program’s online application, hosted two webinars/office hours for restaurant owners to ask questions, and provided technical assistance to owners interested in applying for the program. Restaurants like the aforementioned Bistro 5, Dempsey’s, Salvatore’s, and FiorItaly were eager to engage with the program again. Meanwhile, Tenoch Mexican, Neighborhood Kitchen, and Tasty Cafe on the Hill joined for the first time. With logistical support from myself and safety approval from our Public Works department and Fire Prevention office, Tenoch built a beautiful parklet level with the sidewalk, making it accessible to all, as well as being decorated with lights and planters. The Porch opened Medford’s first “beer garden” experience filled with fun lawn games. The pandemic was devastating for everyone. Fortunately, MassDOT created a lifeline to support businesses in the Commonwealth. Thanks to its grant program, cities like Medford were able to extend aid to local restaurants and test the impact of people-centered shared streets. The real outcome? We proved that shared streets benefit people and local businesses, and that such a program can and should last well beyond the pandemic.

This article was featured in WalkBoston’s Fall 2021 newsletter.
————————————————————————————————
Like our work? Support WalkBoston – Donate Now!

Executive Director’s Letter by Stacey Beuttell

Welcome to the Fall 2021 edition of our newsletter. Times are better than they were this time last year. WalkBoston remains strong and is now taking stock of what worked best to make walking safer, more accessible, and instrumental in helping people cope with the pandemic. Walking was one of the few retreats that was readily available and safe. This edition focuses on one such highlight: Shared Streets programs. These programs, which have been implemented across the country and the world, provide a mechanism to create more space for people to walk, bike, run, play, sit, and dine during the public health emergency. With many people driving less while working from home, fewer cars on the road meant lots of unused parking spaces—spaces that could be transformed into peoplecentered places. Here in Massachusetts, MassDOT led the way in reimagining street space with the launch of its Shared Streets and Spaces Program, which provides funds to municipalities that allow them to quickly respond to the many challenges highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of these challenges include finding more sidewalk space, expanding outdoor dining into unused parking lanes, and reimagining streets as low-speed, safe spaces for people walking and biking. The popularity of this program demonstrated the desire, need, and capabilities of municipalities to implement quickbuild projects to make streets safer and more enjoyable for all. WalkBoston played a leading role in promoting the MassDOT program by advising municipalities on potential Shared Streets projects, and by raising awareness of different advocacy issues. We are thrilled that MassDOT has committed to funding the Shared Streets and Spaces Program for another year. What began as a COVID-19 response strategy is now what many of us have been advocating for for years—street space transformed for people walking. Thanks for supporting us. We can’t do it without you.

Improving mobility for seniors and those with disabilities

By Rachel Fichtenbaum

Rachel Fichtenbaum is a mobility information specialist at MassMobility. She researches best practices in community transportation, and disseminates them to practitioners statewide, providing technical assistance to help organizations improve mobility.

Finding transportation can be a challenge for seniors and people with disabilities looking to get to medical appointments, jobs, or other destinations, especially in suburban and rural areas. While some require a ride, walking is also an important mode of travel. Over the last five years, the state’s MassMobility program – a joint initiative of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services and MassDOT – has worked with transportation providers, human service agencies, and advocates in all regions of Massachusetts to identify needs and develop solutions to increase mobility for seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income commuters. Improved walkability is a recurring theme of our conversations and our work.

Walkability facilitates access to transit, getting from home to the bus route, and then from the bus stop to the destination. When the members of the Cape and Islands Regional Coordinating Council reviewed results of a survey of over 250 transit riders and potential riders, lack of sidewalks or other infrastructure along bus routes emerged as the number one barrier preventing people from using public transit. As a result, the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority has partnered with regional planners on a bus stop audit to determine where improvements may be needed.

Walkability near bus stops is a particularly important issue for travel trainers, people who teach seniors and people with disabilities the skills and knowledge they need to ride transit independently and safely. Earlier this year, travel trainers from around the state convened for a presentation on intersection design from Meg Robertson, Director of the Orientation and Mobility department at the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind. Using images of Massachusetts intersections to illustrate her points, Robertson presented an overview of types of intersections and challenges each type can present to pedestrians. She emphasized that street crossing involves a number of choices, and that while no travel trainer can prevent all danger, risk factors can be reduced.

Pedestrian safety is also important for people who use wheelchairs and mobility devices. AGE TRIAD, a group of public safety officials and senior centers representing the Berkshire County towns of Alford, Great Barrington, and Egremont, as well as the local Fairview Hospital,
sponsored a “Be Seen, Be Safe” event at the Great Barrington Senior Center in July – all attendees received free, safety-yellow vests. Staff and volunteers gave out flags for scooters and helped attendees decorate their scooters with reflective tape. The event was spurred by a tragic crash in which a driver of an SUV hit a person using a scooter who was crossing the street from senior housing to a grocery store in Great Barrington in 2015. The driver said she never saw the pedestrian, so AGE TRIAD, at the urging of the Great Barrington Chief of Police William Walsh, decided to conduct a public awareness campaign to increase pedestrian safety and visibility.

To learn more about these or other projects, please visit MassMobility at www.mass.gov/hst, or subscribe to its monthly newsletter at www.tinyurl.com/MassMobility

This article was featured in WalkBoston’s printed Winter 2017 newsletter.

————————————————————————————————
Join WalkBoston’s Mailing List to keep up to date on advocacy issues.

Like our work? Support WalkBoston – Donate Now!
Connect with us on Twitter and Facebook