Author: Ava Dimond

WalkBoston is now WalkMassachusetts!

WalkBoston is now WalkMassachusetts!

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Yes, you read that correctly. After over 30 years of statewide advocacy as WalkBoston, conversations with partners and community members across the state, and a new Strategic Plan, we are changing our name to WalkMassachusetts.

Last year we reaffirmed our Mission and defined our Vision for the future: a Massachusetts where people walking—no matter their race, identity, age, ability, or lived experience—feel safe, connected, and valued on our streets and sidewalks.

To make our Vision a reality, we established 3 goals:

  • Goal 1: Advocate for inclusive, safe, and enjoyable places for people to walk.
  • Goal 2: Work in places where people walking have the greatest need.
  • Goal 3: Achieve policy and built environment change that is noticeable, replicable, and impactful.

This led to self-reflection on where and how we focus our work. The conclusion was a continued emphasis on equitably promoting walking across the state and a clear need to move forward as WalkMassachusetts.

In short, the name has changed, but the mission remains the same: making walking safer and easier in Massachusetts to encourage better health, a cleaner environment, and more vibrant communities.

This is not something that happens overnight. You will be hearing much more about this over the coming months as we roll out new branding and logos, so keep your eyes peeled.

Thank you for how you have supported us for these 30 plus years, and we hope you will join us as we walk forward as WalkMassachusetts for the next 30!

Donate Today to Support the “New” WalkMassachusetts

We have an aggressive plan to expand our reach across the state and achieve our new Vision for Massachusetts. This means a lot of hard work from our staff and board, as well as community members and municipal staff across the state. It also means we need your help!

Please donate now to help us make Massachusetts safer and more accessible for all.

PS: We actually held our first “WalkMassachusetts” Network forum meeting back in December 2018. This is a long time coming!

Activating the Square

Activating the Square

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Last Saturday, 3/27, two of WalkBoston’s staff had the pleasure of attending Consult LeLa’s Youth Engagement Committee’s first winter placemaking event “Activating the Square: Imagining the Future of Mattapan Square Together.” Despite chilly weather and a spot of hail, the event was lively and well attended, with residents enjoying games, youth performances, and food provided by Gourmet Kreyol and Fresh Food Generation food trucks.

      

“Activating the Square” also provided a venue for residents to learn more about how they can get involved with upcoming projects around Mattapan Square, such as the Blue Hill Avenue Transportation Action Plan and the Cummins Highway Redesign. After the performances, WalkBoston’s Iolando Spinola, Senior Program Manager and Ava Dimond, Program Coordinator, led a walk audit around Mattapan Square to discuss what has and hasn’t changed since our walk audits there in 2016 and 2022. 

This time, our route began along Cummins Hwy. and crossed to River St. before looping on Blue Hill Ave. and ultimately returning to the event via Fairway St. While much has changed for the better since 2016 (such as more age-friendly benches situated beneath trees, and slightly longer walk times to cross the street), walk audit participants still noted run-down sidewalks with tripping hazards, noise and air pollution from the significant traffic, and litter. Last August WalkBoston and Consult LeLa also collaborated on a Youth Workshop that conducted a walk audit along Blue Hill Ave. with a focus on extreme heat, lack of shade, high speed traffic, need for trash receptacles, and desire for bike lanes or biking infrastructure. Whether we’re in the middle of the sweltering summer or it’s a chilly day in early spring, these issues do a disservice to the neighborhood’s walkability and residents’ sense of safety.

Blue Hill Avenue is a “vibrant commercial corridor full of bustling minority-owned businesses” that deserves more investment and planning with equity in mind. The Youth Committee did a wonderful job convening Consult LeLa, Boston Cyclists Union, and Boston Transportation Department to present ideas and invite feedback on how best to reconstruct Cummins Hwy. and Blue Hill Ave. to make them safer, greener, and more accessible for everyone. 

    

Full-Time Position Available: Program Manager

Full-Time Position Available: Program Manager

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Are you interested in working on strategies that support equitable, people-centered streets that prioritize community, vitality, and safety? Do you have project management experience in the fields of planning, public health, transportation, community organizing or a related field? Are you interested in applying your skills to empower people to change their walking environment in neighborhoods across Massachusetts? 

WalkMassachusetts is expanding our work across the state and seeks a Program Manager to work in close collaboration with our Senior Program Manager to develop and implement strategies in order to reach more communities across Massachusetts. Our technical assistance programs are based in community partnerships that focus on street-level changes and policy improvements to make walking safe and enjoyable for people of all ages, abilities, races, and incomes. WalkMassachusetts programs illustrate the health, economic and community benefits of walking, and include conducting walk audits with community members to identify infrastructure deficiencies, recommend solutions, and build local support for walkability.

Job Responsibilities:

  • Manage program implementation with state agencies, municipal staff, community-based organizations, and local advocates. Representative programs include: Age-Friendly Walking, Community Walks (Boston Public Housing), Caminatas Seguras (East Boston Access to Parks), Hilltowns Healthy Aging, and WalkMassachusetts Network.
  • Conduct walk audits, which use built environment analysis skills and technical knowledge of strategies to support safer streets (previous experience desired but not required).
  • Develop, deliver and facilitate workshops in-person and virtually.
  • Support the development of new advocacy training materials and guidance reports.
  • Support capacity building efforts and build/maintain relationships with community partners.
  • Act as WalkMassachusetts representative on various task forces or working groups, such as the Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative and Transportation for Massachusetts.
  • Assist in the creation of grant programs/proposals; write grant proposals.
  • Strong proposal/grant writing experience.
  • Lead and support data analysis and report writing.
  • Suggest improvements in project and organizational processes and systems through participation in internal committees.

Desired Qualifications:

  • 3 to 5 years of professional experience in urban planning/design, transportation planning/engineering, public health, community organizing, or related fields. 
  • Project management skills including: budget development, project scope preparation, and ability to generate reports for program funders.
  • Strong organizational and time management skills, and ability to juggle many projects and tasks at once.
  • Superior communication skills. Ability to write and speak clearly and persuasively in diverse settings to articulate the impacts of WalkMassachusetts ’s work and the benefits of walkable communities. 
  • Strong writing skills (grant/proposal experience preferred).
  • Ability to engage clients, and multisector and community-level stakeholders from diverse backgrounds.
  • Ability to work independently, collaboratively and productively in a team environment both virtually and in person. Self-starter, entrepreneurial, flexible and well-organized.
  • Commitment to and understanding of racial equity and strong analysis of the root causes of inequities, and how racism intersects with walkable communities.
  • Proficiency with Microsoft Office (e.g., Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).
  • Proficiency in virtual work software (e.g., Zoom, Google Suite).
  • Proficiency in graphic design and spatial analysis software (e.g. Adobe Suite, Canva, QGIS, ArcGIS) is preferred.
  • Bilingual (Spanish and English) is preferred. 
  • Drivers license required.

Compensation and location:

  • Full-time position (37.5 hours/week)
  • Annual salary range: $63,000-$67,000 based upon prior work experience
  • Standard benefits include: holiday compensation, paid time off, health and dental insurance, and flexible scheduling
  • In-state travel is required. Availability for occasional early morning, evening, or weekend hours required. 

WalkMassachusetts staff works on a hybrid model, with a flexible number of days spent in-person and remote. We have a joint office space at the CIC in Downtown Boston which we share with several other transportation advocacy organizations.

Interested applicants possessing the above experience and skills are encouraged to apply by sending a resume and cover letter with the subject line: Program Manager along with salary expectations to jobs@walkboston.org. Preference will be given to applications received by May 19th. 

About WalkMassachusetts

WalkMassachusetts (incorporated in 1990 as WalkBoston), a nonprofit 501(c)(3) advocacy organization, makes walking safer and easier in Massachusetts to encourage better health, a cleaner environment and more vibrant communities. We know that walking improves personal, economic, environmental and civic health. Working on walking takes us across Massachusetts to empower people with knowledge and proven strategies to make their own communities more walkable. Our small, committed staff work as a team to make change: whether it’s getting a crosswalk painted in a neighborhood, or influencing Massachusetts state policy to make streets safer for all. 

WalkMassachusetts is committed to better understanding, identifying, and undoing the racist processes and policies that lead to inequities in the walking environment for communities of color across the Commonwealth. We are deepening our engagement in meaningful program and organizational strategies that lead with racial justice. WalkMassachusetts is actively seeking to build a diverse staff. We encourage multiple perspectives and experiences, support a multicultural environment, and strive to hire and retain a diverse workforce that reflects the populations we work with and the communities where we work. 

WalkMassachusetts is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information.

Presenting the 2023 Golden Shoe Awards!

Presenting the 2023 Golden Shoe Awards!

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Our Golden Shoes Awards recognize individuals, agencies, municipalities and companies exemplifying the ideals of WalkBoston’s mission. The winners accept their award during our Annual Celebration, which will be in-person (and livestreamed) from the Venture Cafe @ 1 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02142. Register here to join us in celebrating & honoring their work!

This year’s Golden Shoe Awards go to… Fred Salvucci, Merrimack Valley Fare-Free Program & Bus Transformation, and MassTrails. Congrats to all the winners!

Fred Salvucci is being honored for his lifelong work as a civil engineer, educator, transportation advocate, and coalition builder. From expanding Boston’s transit system to being a key developer of the Big Dig project, Fred’s tireless dedication to the wellbeing, connectivity, and prosperity of his beloved city continues to inspire us today. Read Fred’s bio here.

The Merrimack Valley Fare-Free Program & Bus Transformation – WalkBoston celebrates a collaboration that resulted in a fare-free bus pilot that became permanent in the Merrimack Valley! Along with increasing accessibility for low-income riders and the frequency of bus operation, the recent rebrand of the MVRTA into MeVA deliberately speaks to the community’s Spanish-speaking riders. From its tagline “Let’s go/íVamos!” to the buses’ cheerful new color scheme, MeVa’s visionary approach to public transit has tremendously increased ridership across the Valley. 

“MassTrails,” inter-agency initiative of the Commonwealth led by the Governor’s Office in collaboration with the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Conservation and Recreation, has developed a unified vision for a trails network across the Commonwealth. The Team has recently completed its fourth round of grant awards funding $11.8 million in MassTrails Grants to 81 projects throughout the Commonwealth. Read more about MassTrails here.

 

Our 2023 Annual Celebration Keynote Speaker this year is Dr. Karilyn Crockett!

Dr. Crockett’s research focuses on large-scale land use changes in twentieth century American cities and examines the social and geographic implications of structural poverty and racial formations. Karilyn’s book “People before Highways: Boston Activists, Urban Planners, and a New Movement for City Making” (UMASS Press 2018) investigates a 1960s era grassroots movement to halt urban extension of the U.S. interstate highway system and the geographic and political changes in Boston that resulted. Read more about Karilyn’s work on our website.

We hope you’ll join us on Tuesday, April 4th at 5:30pm to celebrate our wonderful honorees!

To read about previous Golden Shoe winners, click here.

Green Line Extension Opening

Green Line Extension Opening

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WalkBoston’s Program Coordinator Ava Dimond had the opportunity to attend the Green Line Extension’s (GLX) official opening ceremony in the Tufts Joyce Cummings Center on Monday, Dec. 12th. She stepped onto the Green Line at Haymarket station and comfortably rode it all the way to the Medford/Tufts stop, passing 5 new stops along the way at College Avenue, Ball Square, Magoun Square, Gilman Square, and East Somerville. The Green Line Extension is anticipated to carry riders on more than 50,000 trips each day, allowing residents of Cambridge, Somerville, and Medford to streamline their trips to downtown Boston and beyond. 

As the audience filed in and buzzed about the how the first rides went that morning (starting with an extremely well-attended 4:45 a.m. train departing Tufts), university a capella groups Essence and the Beelzebubs gave fabulous performances while Jumbo (the Tufts mascot) ambled around wearing a Charlie Card on a green lanyard. Speakers at the event included Tufts’ President Tony Monaco, Governor Charlie Baker, Senators Liz Warren and Ed Markey, Mayors Katjana Ballantyne and Breanna Lungo-Koehn, as well as officials from the T, many wearing green.

Like much of the media surrounding the GLX, the tone was celebratory and optimistic— but every speaker dutifully acknowledged the project’s enormous expense, major challenges from its inception decades ago, and seemingly endless delays. Having been officially in the works since 1991, the $2.3 billion project stalled over and over again due to lawsuits, funding struggles, and later, the COVID-19 pandemic. As trains serenely rolled in and out of the Medford/Tufts station just behind the speakers, it was hard not to reflect on the immense amount of community organizing, political will, and physical labor the GLX and the adjoining Community Path Extension (CPX) entailed. Some speakers, like Sen. Warren, alluded to the hope that one day soon Medford/Tufts will be just another stop until the Green Line and Community Path reaches Route 16. Many dream that this project represents a new beginning, and not the end, of an accessible, reliable, and affordable 21st century transit system for the Greater Boston area. 

We were glad to see Mayor Ballantyne take the time to shout out the Community Path Extension. In 2015 and 2016, the CPX’s future looked uncertain due to ballooning Green Line Extension costs. Thanks to the persistent lobbying by local officials, committed residents, and advocacy groups such as Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership (STEP), the Conservation Law Foundation, and more, the CPX became a reality. WalkBoston would especially like to congratulate Friends of the Community Path, a longtime supporter and collaborator on walkability, on this exciting success. When the Path’s current extension project is finally completed, “bicycle users and pedestrians will be able to enjoy a continuous off-street pathway between Davis Square and Paul Revere Park on the banks of the Charles River in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood.” We look forward to walking the path soon!