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Continued emphasis on snow clearance for pedestrians!

By WalkMassachusetts | January 12, 2023

MassDOT’s recently published Snow and Ice Control Program details many of the steps that MassDOT will take to deal with the impacts of its application of chemicals on roadway, a required filing to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental and Energy Affairs (EEA).

In 2021, WalkBoston urged regulators to require MassDOT to include specific, trackable and verifiable progress toward meeting the scope of pedestrian needs in its next filing on the MassDOT Snow and Ice Control Program, and to use its own Pedestrian Plan commitments as the baseline for reporting.

At the end of December 2022, MassDOT released an update, which includes these passages:

“Chapter 1 provides an update on MassDOT’s roadway lane-miles and describes new measures to build capacity to address the snow and ice removal needs on sidewalks and pedestrian facilities as identified in the 2019 Pedestrian Transportation Plan and as requested by the WalkBoston following review of the 2022 ESPR SOW Plan.”
“New for the 2022/23 winter, MassDOT plans to hire more ‘seasonal’ snow and ice employees that report directly to MassDOT to help with sidewalk clearing as well as other activities. MassDOT will continue to evaluate vendor reimbursement rates and pay codes to enlist more contractors for sidewalk maintenance services and better reflect the variable snow removal efforts for large storms versus smaller storms. MassDOT also provides grant funding of up to $50,000 to help municipalities purchase snow removal equipment for pedestrian and bicyclist facilities through its Shared Streets and Spaces Grant Program. Details on eligible projects can be found at the following link: https://www.mass.gov/shared-streets-and-spaces-grant-program“

We are pleased that MassDOT has made new commitments to improve their maintenance of state owned sidewalks. WalkBoston will follow up with MassDOT at the end of the 2022/23 winter season to learn how the new initiatives have been carried out, whether they have proved successful, and to find out whether the agency will plan any additional adjustments to continue making improvements. Check out the links below to read the report for yourself!

Documents

“Act to Reduce Traffic Fatalities” has been signed into law!

By WalkMassachusetts | January 4, 2023

Good news to start the new year: the “Act to Reduce Traffic Fatalities” has been signed into law! Thank you to Governor Baker, Representative Mike Moran, Representative William Straus, and Senator William Brownsberger for supporting this legislation at the end of the session. This bill has been a focus of the MA Vision Zero Coalition for the last few years. In November, the MAVZ Coalition sent a letter that encouraged the swift adoption before the end of the two year session:

“As we have patiently waited for this bill to become law, people have continued to die on our roadways. In September alone, we saw three fatal pedestrian crashes in Massachusetts that involved large trucks — Matthew Barker was killed while walking in Cambridge on September 1st, an unnamed person was killed in Chicopee after being struck by a dump truck on September 17th, and 98-year old Virginia “Ginny” Hale was killed after being struck by a box truck in Rockport on September 22nd. H.5103 will support not only the safety of people walking and biking, but any of our citizens who are out on our public ways without the protection of steel, seatbelts, and airbags. We encourage rapid action to pass this law to make our roads safer now, not later.”

Read more about the bill’s passage in the Boston Globe: “Pedestrians, cyclists gain protections with new law meant to reduce traffic deaths”

Read more analysis and thanks from MassBike: “An Act to Reduce Traffic Fatalities is Signed Into Law!”

Read Senator Brownsberger’s detailed look at sections of the bill: “Protecting Vulnerable Road Users“

WalkBoston Testimony for Somerville Traffic Commission hearing, 12/20/2022

By WalkMassachusetts | December 21, 2022

Submitted in advance on 12/20/2022 via email.

My name is Brendan Kearney, I’m the Deputy Director of Advocacy for WalkBoston, the statewide pedestrian advocacy organization in Massachusetts. The term “jaywalking” was created by the auto industry in the 1920s to divert blame from drivers who were hitting and killing people. A century later it has proven to be a highly successful marketing effort.

I’m writing to support the petition that restores the right for people walking to cross the street when it is safe to do so, even where a crosswalk or traffic signal is not present. We acknowledge that people walking must exercise reasonable care for their own safety and yield to people driving if a pedestrian is not crossing in a crosswalk.

We think it is important to share what this petition isn’t: this is not the right to walk or run into the path of a vehicle that is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield the right of way (Section 12-4(a) in Somerville’s Traffic Regulations).

There are significant equity concerns around jaywalking enforcement. Jaywalking laws contribute to racial profiling. A report by ProPublica and Florida-Times Union found Black people in Jacksonville, Fla. were three times as likely to be stopped and cited as white people. Similar patterns have been seen elsewhere; Streetsblog NYC reported that nearly 90 percent of people issued jaywalk citations in New York in 2019 were Black and Brown. In response, efforts to decriminalize jaywalking have been mounted in a number of places, including Virginia and California.

This proposed Somerville regulation change reflects how many people already use our streets in Massachusetts and how our communities are designed. There is not always a crosswalk where people want or need to cross the street. There have been ill-conceived bills at the State House over the last few sessions that would effectively make it illegal to cross anywhere outside a crosswalk. WalkBoston will continue to testify and speak out against those preposterous bills, and we encourage you to as well. Any proposed bills to crack down on jaywalking places an unnecessary burden on pedestrians without making anyone safer.

I am grateful to residents in Somerville for moving this effort forward, and encourage you to adopt this change.

Brendan Kearney
Deputy Director – Advocacy, WalkBoston

Statewide Fatal Crashes In MA, November 2022

By WalkMassachusetts | December 21, 2022

Each month, we post about the fatal crashes in Massachusetts from the previous month, and share any trends that we see. For the full list of monthly posts, head here. Earlier this year, we released a year in review for 2021 to highlight common issues.

Last month, we took a look at crashes listed in the MassDOT Crash Portal in October; twelve were identified as people walking. In this post, we’ll look at crashes in MA in November 2022. The information in the chart below is compiled from news reports, and was checked against the MassDOT Crash Portal Dashboard “Fatal Crash Information.” Any Google Street View images included below use the address listed in the crash portal.

Of the 32 fatal crashes in Massachusetts in November in the MassDOT Crash portal, 9 were identified as people walking.
The average age of pedestrians hit & killed in November was 51.5.
At least 3 of the crashes were hit & runs.
2 of the crashes were on the same street in Chicopee less than a mile apart.

Date	11/10/2022, 6:00 AM
Location	68 Franklin St.
Town	Framingham
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	62
Sex	M

The Framingham Source reports that a 62-year old man was struck and killed by the driver of a vehicle around 6am on Thursday morning.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Franklin Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side. The speed limit is 25mph.

Date	11/11/2022, 10:21 PM
Location	476 Southern Artery
Town	Quincy
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	53
Sex	M

A 53-year old man was struck and killed at 10:21pm on Friday evening. We could not find any additional news coverage of this incident.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Southern Artery is under local jurisdiction. It is a two way street, with two lanes in each direction and additional left turn lanes at the nearby intersection. There is a sidewalk on each side. The speed limit is 30mph.

Date	11/17/2022, 4:59 AM
Location	US-3 NORTH, MM 91.6
Town	Tyngsborough
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	26
Sex	M

NBC Boston reports that 26-year Felix Romero was struck and seriously hurt at 4:59am in a hit and run crash on Thursday morning. He was standing outside his car after being involved in a minor crash with another vehicle on Route 3 when he was struck. Felix was rushed to a hospital where he died from his injuries.

State police said the driver of the white box truck left the scene of the crash and may have crossed into New Hampshire.

NBC Boston spoke with his family:

His family is asking the driver to please come forward, saying, “We need you to come forward, we want justice for our son, we want justice for our kid.”

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, US-3 NORTH is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is a full access control highway, with three lanes in each direction and a shoulder. The speed limit is 55mph.

Date	11/21/2022, 10:45 AM
Location	94 Derby St., Suite 275
Town	Hingham
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	65
Sex	M

Boston 25 News reports that 65-year old Kevin Bradley, a professional who was onsite supporting recent construction at the Apple store, was struck and killed by 53-year old Bradley Rein, the driver who crashed his SUV through the Apple Store’s glass facade at Derby Street Shops at 10:45am Monday morning. 19 other people were injured. Officials said it was not clear how fast the vehicle was traveling.

Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz announced charges of reckless homicide by a motor vehicle and reckless operation of a motor vehicle.

More from Boston 25 News:

Dr. Jason Tracy, Chief of Emergency Medicine at South Shore Hospital, said 17 people in total arrived at the ER suffering from “all types of traumatic injuries,” including head trauma, lower extremity injuries, and “mangled” limbs.

Tracy added that some of the victims were immediately taken in for surgery and that others will eventually need to be operated on. A number of those patients sustained life-threatening injuries, according to Dr. Chris Burns, the hospital’s trauma chief.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Derby Street is under MassDOT jurisdiction. However, this crash did not happen on MassDOT’s section of the roadway, it happened in the Derby Street Shops parking lot and into the Apple Store building, which is private property. There are trees and bushes, a large patio, and sidewalk between the parking lot and the building. The speed limit for the parking lot is unclear.

Date	11/21/2022, 7:16 PM
Location	108 Forest Ave.
Town	Brockton
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	50
Sex	M

The Enterprise News reports that 50-year old Carlos Brito was struck and killed in a hit and run crash by the driver of a Nissan Murano SUV vehicle around 10pm on Monday evening. The driver left the scene and is still at large.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Forest Ave is under local jurisdiction. It is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side. The speed limit is 30mph.

Date	11/26/2022, 10:45 AM
Location	221 Cocasset St.
Town	Foxborough
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	57
Sex	M

WCVB reports a 57-year old Michael Shaw was struck and killed by the 35-year old driver of a vehicle around 10:45am on Monday morning at the T-intersection of Cocasset Street and Oak Street.

A Boston.com article references Facebook comments about the intersection:

On Facebook, several locals commented to urge police to have the town put in a traffic light at the intersection of Cocasset and Oak Streets.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Cocasset Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on one side along both Cocasset and Oak Streets, with a crosswalk at the intersection connecting the sidewalks. A flashing yellow/red light at the T intersection can be seen on Google Street View, with a stop sign at the Oak Street approach to the intersection. The speed limit is unclear, with 40mph and 35mph both listed in the database.

Date	11/28/2022, 5:52 PM
Location	552 Chicopee St.
Town	Chicopee
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	68
Sex	M

Western Mass News reports that 68-year old William Matteson was struck and killed by the driver of a vehicle on Chicopee Street in Chicopee after 5pm on Monday evening. 42-year-old Benjamin Goraj of Chicopee was arrested on charges including motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence and operating under the influence (third offense).

Reporters spoke to Phylisity Sherokow, who lives nearby:

“This street, everybody’s speeding all the time,” Sherokow said. ” I think the police are trying their best to enforce the speed laws, but it’s Chicopee Street. People are flying down it at all hours of the day and night, and I walk to the stores myself sometimes. My husband, my family, we walk to the stores, just to get some fresh air, get a little walk, and it’s really sad.”

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Chicopee Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side. The speed limit is 35mph.

Date	11/29/2022, 7:48 PM
Location	I-190 NORTH, MM 4.6
Town	West Boylston
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	21
Sex	F

A 21-year old woman was struck and killed by the driver of a vehicle around 8pm on a Tuesday evening. We could not find any additional news coverage of this incident.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, I-190 NORTH is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is a full access control highway, with three lanes in each direction and a shoulder. The speed limit is 65mph.

Date	11/30/2022, 4:55 PM
Location	945 Chicopee St.
Town	Chicopee
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	62
Sex	M

MassLive reports 62-year old Gary Turcotte was struck and killed in a hit and run by the driver of a vehicle around 5pm on Wednesday evening. The driver left the scene. This crash is less than a mile from a fatal crash that happened two days earlier on Chicopee Street at a similar time of evening.

Chicopee Street resident Susan Santoro started a handwritten petition — signed by over 400 people — asking for better traffic safety, including the installation of speed tables. From Western Mass News:

Santoro knew both victims well and she lives on Chicopee Street herself. She said over the past few years she’s lived there, she’s had serious concerns about drivers. “They will not stop for you. Even though the pedestrians have the right of way, you don’t have a right-of-way on this street,” Santoro noted.

Updates

If you have an update about a community member who was killed in one of these crashes, please contact Brendan so we can update our 2022 list. WalkBoston has maintained a list each year since 2016, pulling the information from news reports, social media, and from people like you that share the information with us.

Yearly trackers: | ||||| 2022

Report: Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA (2021)

Reminder about the data from the MassDOT portal

MassDOT makes no representation as to the accuracy, adequacy, reliability, availability or completeness of the crash records or the data collected from them and is not responsible for any errors or omissions in such records or data. Under no circumstance will MassDOT have any liability for any loss or damage incurred by any party as a result of the use of the crash records or the data collected from them. Furthermore, the data contained in the web-based crash report tool are not an official record of what transpired in a particular crash or for a particular crash type. If a user is interested in an official copy of a crash report, contact the Registry (http://www.mass.gov/rmv/). The City of Boston Police Department may be contacted directly for official copies of crash reports and for crash data pertaining to the City of Boston. In addition, any crash records or data provided for the years after 2018 are subject to change at any time and are not to be considered up-to-date or complete. As such, open years’ of crash data are for informational purposes only and should not be used for analysis. The data posted on this website, including crash records and other reports, are collected for the purpose of identifying, evaluating or planning the safety enhancement of potential crash sites, hazardous roadway conditions or railway-highway crossings. Under federal law, this information is not subject to discovery and cannot be admitted into evidence in any federal or state court proceeding or considered for other purposes in any action for damages that involves the sites mentioned in these records (see 23 USC, Section 409).

Walking related books for your holiday shopping needs

By WalkMassachusetts | December 8, 2022

It’s the holiday season! We pulled together a list of books that you might consider for your gift giving needs, including from authors who have talked at WalkBoston events. We encourage you to buy books from your local bookstore, or find a store near you via Bookshop. At the bottom, we’ve included a list of a few Massachusetts bookstores you might consider supporting in person or through their online ordering form.

Books (listed alphabetically by author first name)

Angie Schmitt, “Right of Way: Race, Class, and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America”
Anthony Flint, “Wrestling with Moses: How Jane Jacobs Took on New York’s Master Builder and Transformed the American City”
Ben Shattuck, “Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau”
Bob Sloane, “WalkBoston: Walking Tours of Boston’s Unique Neighborhoods”
Chuck Marohn, “Confessions of a Recovering Engineer”
Janette Sadik-Khan and Seth Solomonow, “Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution”
Jeff Speck, “Walkable City (Tenth Anniversary Edition): How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time”
Karilyn Crockett, “People Before Highways: Boston Activists, Urban Planners, and a new movement for city making”
Rebecca Solnit, “Wanderlust: A History of Walking”

Books for kids (or the young at heart) on your list

D B Johnson, “Henry Hikes to Fitchburg”
Dr Seuss, “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!”
Robert McCloskey, “Make Way for Ducklings”
For more options, check out this “Walking Books for Kids” list we put together a few years ago; some of the titles may be out of print or harder to find. (At this point, we’d discourage gifting And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street; in 2021, Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced they have ceased publication of it since it portrays people in ways that are hurtful and wrong, including racist imagery.)