Author: WalkMassachusetts

New Virtual Walk Audits: Worcester and Framingham

New Virtual Walk Audits: Worcester and Framingham

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BY LEIGHANNE TAYLOR / WALKBOSTON PROGRAM MANAGER

Walk audits—one of WalkBoston’s most effective tools to change the built environment and build a constituency of walking advocates—face an obvious hurdle during the pandemic: we can’t meet in person. With more people walking than ever before, we could not hit pause and wait until it is safe to gather again. We adapted our walk audit process to be virtual to continue improving walking conditions. We have conducted four virtual walk audits since the pandemic began: in Salem, Springfield, Fitchburg, and Worcester—we wrapped up the latter two in January and discuss them below.

Fitchburg’s Intermodal Center Virtual Walk Audit is the second walk audit in a statewide project examining the connections between social infrastructure and walkability within transportation-oriented development (TOD) areas. Neighborhood data and resident perspectives will be captured in virtual conversations and self-led walk audits in five Gateway Cities in Massachusetts. This project is co-hosted by WalkBoston and MassINC, with support from the Solomon Foundation.

The Worcester Virtual Walk Audit was conducted by WalkBoston, WalkBike Worcester, and the Worcester Department of Public Health Mass in Motion Program. Residents requested the virtual audit, which is serving as a pilot program for Worcester’s upcoming Complete Streets Prioritization process.

How We Made Our Walk Audits Virtual

  • Session 1: Participants convene on Zoom for a Ped101 workshop to share their walking concerns, learn about walkability basics, and review the self-led walk audit process.
  • Self-led walk audit: Participants have two weeks to walk the specified route, and document photos and written observations about the walking environment.
  • Session 2: Post-walk, participants reconvene on Zoom to discuss and set plans for next steps.

We use Google Sites to share recordings of our Zoom meetings so those unable to attend the first session can watch and provide feedback on their neighborhood’s walkability. The recommendations made during the second session are summarized into a PowerPoint report and memo for participants to use and turn into actions.

Virtual walk audits have served as a valuable tool for conducting our community-partnered work in a socially- distanced world. While we look forward to resuming our in-person walk audits, we plan to leverage these digital engagement strategies in the future to hear from those unable to attend in-person. If you’re having success with virtual community engagement, we’d love to trade notes —get in touch!

This article was featured in WalkBoston’s January/February 2021 newsletter.
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Save the Date: Annual Celebration – 3/24, 5pm

Save the Date: Annual Celebration – 3/24, 5pm

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Join us on March 24th (on Zoom) to celebrate & honor this year’s Golden Shoe winners!

Each March, we hold our Annual Celebration to honor achievements in walkability and to highlight the contributions of our wonderful volunteers, board members, and the many individuals and corporations who support us each year.

Our Golden Shoes Awards recognize individuals, agencies, municipalities and companies exemplifying the ideals of WalkBoston’s mission.

Congratulations to our 2021 Golden Shoes!

  • Frank Caro (in memoriam)
  • Kate Fichter and the MassDOT Shared Streets Grant Program Team (with special recognition to the Barr Foundation and Solomon Foundation)
  • Karen Cord Taylor

This year, we’re featuring a panel of speakers instead of a standard keynote address. The panel will be moderated by WalkBoston’s executive director Stacey Beuttell. Speakers include:

  • Tracy Corley, PhD – Director of Research and Partnerships at the Conservation Law Foundation
  • Mike McGinn – Executive Director at America Walks
  • Jodie Medeiros – Executive Director at Walk San Francisco
  • Alex Train, AICP – Director, Department of Housing and Community Development for the City of Chelsea

Registration is on a pay-as-you-can basis. Suggested donation $30.

Registration is open!

Corporate Support Flyer 2021

Corporate Support Flyer 2021

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Why invest in WalkBoston?

Walkability contributes to the quality of life in a town or neighborhood, encouraging residents and visitors to shop locally; helping to attract retail, workplaces and associated employees; and raising real estate values, civic pride, and community involvement.

An investment in WalkBoston shows a commitment to promoting walkable business districts and neighborhoods. It shows your dedication to healthier, more productive employees and safer, more vibrant communities.

WalkBoston Sponsor Package (PDF)

2020 Statewide Fatal Crashes – Year in Review

2020 Statewide Fatal Crashes – Year in Review

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Each month in 2021, we plan to post about the fatal crashes from the previous month, and share any trends that we see. For January, we wanted to look back at the previous year. The information in the chart below is taken from the MassDOT Crash Portal Dashboard “Fatal Information by Year.”

Type 2019 2020
Bicyclist 5 10
Motorcycle operator 47 51
Motorcycle passenger 2 3
Operator 166 186
Other 1 2
Passenger 38 33
Pedestrian 76 50
Total Fatal Crashes 335 335

There were 335 fatal crashes statewide in Massachusetts in 2020, the same number of people that died on Massachusetts roads as in 2019.

This dangerous trend was identified as early as May, and MassDOT urged people driving to slow down. At the time, MassDOT reported that the rate of fatalities on Massachusetts roadways doubled in April: with 50% less traffic recorded on major highways, 28 individuals died in crashes, compared with the month of April 2019 when there were 27 deaths on roadways in the state. Later in the year, we helped develop PSA graphics through the Department of Public Health’s Mass in Motion program for use by community coordinators focused on drivers & the need to slow down for everyone’s safety.

There were significantly less fatal pedestrian crashes this year than last year – but almost every other mode of transportation saw higher fatal crashes.

Pedestrian Fatalities by Age in 2020? Disproportionately older adults. 

Adults 65+ accounted for 40% of the pedestrian fatalities in the last year. How does that compare to the population? According to the Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative’s 2018 MA Healthy Aging Data Report, about 15% of people in Massachusetts are age 65+.

Chart from MassDOT crash portal – Pedestrian Fatalities by Age in 2020. Available at https://apps.impact.dot.state.ma.us/cdp/dashboard-view/39

The includes names of many of the 58 people walking who were hit/killed in 2020.

If you have an update about a community member who was killed in one of these crashes, please contact Brendan so we can update the 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:  | | | | |

The MassDOT portal says 50 for 2020, but the WalkBoston list says 58. Why the discrepancy?

It is possible there were crashes that were not on roadways. We compile our pedestrian crash fatality list manually via news & social media alerts in order to give communities more information to help push for safer streets, and to make sure to remember there are people behind the statistics. The MassDOT list may categorize crashes differently, just as the city of Boston Vision Zero Map does not include fatal crashes that take place on state roads, private property, or crashes on commuter rail tracks. (For example: the WalkBoston list includes Bernardin Etienne, 62, who was struck & killed in the MBTA Bus Yard in Charlestown on September 21st; Bernardin isn’t included on either MassDOT or BTD’s list since it took place in a parking lot.) Additional disclaimer from MassDOT crash portal: The compilation of data is based on preliminary data we receive from a variety of local sources. Some of the data may differ slightly from information provided by NHTSA as this dashboard does not use imputation methods. Information is subject to change when/if updated information becomes available.

The rolling 5 year average for pedestrian fatalities in Massachusetts will drop from 77 for the 2015-2019 period to 70 for the 2016-2020 period, the lowest 5 year average since 2009-2013.

These Performance Measures Were Developed By The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA). You can access any state’s data at this link.

AAA Foundation Virtual Town Hall: Monday, February 1st, 11am

On Monday, February 1st at 11am, Executive Director Stacey Beuttell will be a panelist for the AAA Northeast Virtual Town Hall which will feature their recent study “Tread Carefully: Examining the Rise in Pedestrian Deaths,” examining data from 2009-2018. You can sign up here & ask a question in advance.