Gorgeous morning for a Charlestown walk audit with the Mystic River Watershed Association and friends. Big idea is to find new connections from the neighborhood to the waterfront and to highlight the parts of the Harbor Walk that already exist.
On Thursday, June 28, 2018, WalkBoston conducted a walk audit along Route 28 as part of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s (EOPSS) Pedestrian Safety Planning Initiative for High-Fatality Communities. The EOPSS Pedestrian Safety Planning Initiative builds municipal staff understanding and awareness of the components of a safe walking environment. WalkBoston is working in partnership with EOPSS to address walking safety concerns in Massachusetts communities with high pedestrian crash rates, with the goal of reducing pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries in the Commonwealth.1 In Yarmouth, WalkBoston met with representatives from the Department of Public Works, Community Development, and the Police Department prior to the walk audit to identify an area in need of pedestrian infrastructure improvements.
Read the full report here:
WalkBoston-WalkAudit-Route28-Yarmouth
May 31, 2018
Secretary and MBTA CEO Stephanie Pollack
Mass DOT
Re: Realizing the Proposed Mystic River Crossing and Head House Connection to Assembly Orange Line Station
Dear Secretary Pollack,
The undersigned organizations strongly request that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation work with the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation to submit a BUILD application to fund the Proposed Mystic River Crossing and Head House Connection to Assembly Orange Line Station to USDOT by the deadline of July 19. In the event that the grant application is not feasible, we ask that MassDOT develop an alternative public‐private funding strategy.
This project would be a great candidate for this unique Federal funding program in that it has local and regional importance and support, has a recently completed basic design with cost estimates, and has private development funding that the Federal program values.
So that there is sufficient time to prepare first‐class competitive proposal, we would like to request a meeting with you or your staff as soon as possible to discuss this opportunity and help decide which agency would serve as the primary applicant. We have more than a dozen advocacy groups who have a vested interest to see this project built and are willing to assist with the grant application.
Regional transportation benefits of the proposed Mystic River crossing include:
Please note that there is a webinar, “How to Compete for BUILD Transportation Grants – All Applicants” on Tuesday, June 5 from 2:00-4:00 PM EDT. Details: https://www.transportation.gov/BUILDgrants/outreach https://www.transportation.gov/BUILDgrants https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/policy-initiatives/tiger/308656/build-vs-tiger-fact-sheet-042018-1049am.pdf
Lastly, we would like to reiterate the importance of public-private partnerships in funding this type of infrastructure. As Dante Ramos stated in his Boston Globe article from February 23, 2018:
“Even as everyone pays lip service to the need for carbon-free transportation — and even as we enjoy the fruits of past investments on the Charles River Esplanade and elsewhere — we’re treating tomorrow’s green infrastructure like an optional frill, to be funded by voluntary contributions from rich abutters.”
Three pedestrian bridges, similar in scale to this one, have been built or are in-progress along the Charles River (North Bank, South Bank, Fanny Appleton/Longfellow), totaling more than $50 million. We ask that the same investments be made in the Mystic River, a region with the highest population densities and environmental justice communities.
We look forward to hearing positively about this request and meeting your staff. If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact the undersigned or any of the other organizations.
Thank you for your consideration of this important opportunity.
Alan Moore,
Co-President Friends of the Community Path, Somerville
617-455-2103, alan@pathfriends.org
Amber Christoffersen, Greenway Director
Mystic River Watershed Association
781-316-3438 amber.christoffersen@mysticriver.org
NOTES: Conceptual Design of the bridge: https://www.mass.gov/files/mystic-river-bicycle-and-pedestrian-crossing-presentation- 2-14-18.pdf
Co-Signing Organizations:
Bike to Sea
Border to Boston Rail Trail
Boston Cyclists Union
East Coast Greenway
Friends of the Community Path
Friends of the Grand Junction Path
Friends of the Mystic River
GreenRoots
A Greater Greener Boston
LivableStreets, Emerald Network
MassBike
Medford Bicycle Advisory Commission
Mystic River Watershed Association
Somerville Bicycle Committee
Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership (STEP)
WalkBoston
CC:
Luis Ramirez, MBTA
Jackie DeWolfe, MassDOT
Pete Sutton, MassDOT
Leo Roy, DCR
Dan Driscoll, DCR
Ruth Helfeld, DCR
Representative Christine Barber
Representative Mike Connolly
Senator Patricia Jehlen
Representative Denise Provost
Brad Rawson, City of Somerville
Mike Tremblay, City of Somerville
Matt McLaughlin, Somerville
Alderman Arn Franzen, City of Somerville
Tony Sousa, City of Everett
Tom Philbin, City of Everett
Jay Monty, City of Everett
John Ziemba, Mass. Gaming Commission
Joe Delaney, Mass. Gaming Commission
Robert DeSalvio, Encore Boston Harbor
Chris Gordon, Encore Boston Harbor
John Tocco, Encore Boston Harbor
Zoya Puri, Encore Boston Harbor
April 11, 2018
Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)
c/o Alexandra Kleyman AICP
TIP Manager
Transportation Building
10 Park Plaza, Suite 2150
Boston, MA 02116
Re: Sullivan Square/Rutherford Avenue Design Project (SS/RA Design Project)
Dear MPO Council and Staff,
WalkBoston has been engaged in and following the planning and design of Sullivan Square/ Rutherford Ave. for many years. The redesign of the streets and roadways for this part of Boston should reflect what the people of Charlestown, Somerville and Everett deserve as a hub for walking and transit, and should create opportunities for the redevelopment of what has long been a neglected, dysfunctional and unsafe auto-centric wasteland.
We believe that the decisions about designs for both Sullivan Square and Rutherford Avenue should be made based on a thorough review of all of the options available for the roadways. Special attention should be given to providing a primarily at-grade street system with opportunities for at-grade redevelopment of parcels (that do not require air rights or decks) as this will provide the greatest opportunity to create a sense of place, answer the long-term transportation needs of this dense urban location, provide for safe mobility for all street users and allow for climate resilient designs.
We write to the MPO to request that funding for the project be deferred in the TIP so that there can be sufficient time for review of the alternatives that have been developed by Northeastern Professor Peter Furth at the request of Charlestown residents. The designs that he has developed provide opportunities to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety, add landscape improvements and enhance development opportunities.
Thank you for your attention to this significant project.
Sincerely,
Wendy Landman
Executive Director
March 8, 2018
Michael Rooney
Boston Planning and Development Agency
One City Hall, Ninth Floor
Boston, MA 02201
RE: WalkBoston comments on 1000 Boylston Street
Dear Michael:
WalkBoston appreciates the opportunity to comment on the Draft Project Impact Report (DPIR) for the proposed development at 1000 Boylston Street in the Back Bay. This project will significantly improve the pedestrian realm by activating a currently desolate stretch of sidewalk with new ground-floor retail uses and streetscape improvements.
We encourage the proponent to clarify their plans for crosswalk improvements. The orientation of pedestrian ramps to crosswalks is not clearly discernable from Figure 3.35 in the DPIR (“Streetscape Improvement Plan”), but several crosswalks as depicted appear to utilize apex ramps, meaning that a single ramp at a street corner serves two crosswalks at a 45-degree angle to both. Such ramps can have the unintended consequence of directing people with visual impairments or mobility aids into the middle of the intersection, posing hazards to their safety. To avoid this WalkBoston recommends the utilization of two perpendicular ramps at street corners, such that each ramp serves one crosswalk at a direct approach. We urge the proponent to explicitly incorporate such perpendicular ramps into their streetscape designs at the intersections of Boylston/Dalton/Hereford Streets and St. Cecilia/Cambria Streets, and to adjust the placement of crosswalks accordingly as needed.
In addition, the southeast corner of the intersection of Boylston/Dalton Streets, as depicted in Figure 3.35, appears to have a wider turning radius for motor vehicles than the southwest corner of the intersection. Wide turning radii induce motor vehicles to travel at high speeds, posing safety risks to pedestrians. We urge the proponent to extend the curb at the southeast corner of the intersection to narrow the turning radius, thus calming traffic and also reducing crossing distances for pedestrians.
Thank you for considering these issues and please feel free to contact us with any questions.
Sincerely,
Wendy Landman
Executive Director
Cc: Vineet Gupta, Boston Transportation Department Charlie Denison, LivableStreets Alliance