April 2022 Network Meeting Recap
The WalkMassachusetts Network held its third network meeting on Wednesday, April 20th. Members ranged from WalkBoston staff and board members, resident advocates from community groups, Mass in Motion coordinators, and representatives on various municipal boards and commissions from across Massachusetts.
Deputy Director Brendan Kearney gave a presentation on the WalkBoston report looking at fatal crashes in Massachusetts in 2021 as part of a continued outreach effort about the data.
Findings:
- Of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts, 47 had a fatal pedestrian crash in 2021. Over half (40 of 75) of the deaths happened in 12 municipalities.
- Older adults were hit and killed at a higher rate than those in other age groups: 36% of fatal crash victims were over the age of 65. In Massachusetts, only 17% of the population is over 65. 1
- Over half of Massachusetts’ fatal pedestrian crashes (50.67%) occurred on streets with speed limits of 30 to 35 MPH. These are neighborhood streets and main streets where more people are walking.
- Roughly 65% of the people killed while walking were on roads owned by a city or town, while approximately 35% were walking on roads owned by a state agency (MassDOT or MassDCR).
Read the press release | Read the full report
If you haven’t already joined the WalkMassachusetts Network to hear about these monthly meetings, visit walkmanetwork.org to learn more and sign up to receive emails about upcoming events and programming. We also hope you’ll join us for our next network meeting on Wednesday, May 18th at 1 pm via Zoom. Chris Falcos from MassDOT will be joining to present on their new safe speeds programs and efforts. Have questions about the program? Please join us if you can by registering here!