Author: WalkMassachusetts

Testimony as prepared for Boston City Council Joint Committee on Planning, Development & Transportation Public Health – Docket #1074, Order for a hearing to discuss speeding cars as a public health emergency

Testimony as prepared for Boston City Council Joint Committee on Planning, Development & Transportation Public Health – Docket #1074, Order for a hearing to discuss speeding cars as a public health emergency

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Testimony as prepared for City of Boston City Council Joint Committee on Planning, Development & Transportation Public Health – Docket #1074, Order for a hearing to discuss speeding cars as a public health emergency and address infrastructure improvements; and Docket #1040, Order for a hearing to discuss pedestrian safety, traffic enforcement, and vision zero for the hearing scheduled on Monday, November 23, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. conducted via Zoom.

My name is Brendan Kearney, and I’m the Deputy Director at WalkBoston. WalkBoston is a statewide pedestrian advocacy organization whose mission is to make Massachusetts more walkable. We work with municipal staff, state agencies, community-based organizations and residents to make walking conditions safer, more enjoyable, and more equitable for all.Thank you to all the city councilors for having this conversation and sticking around. Thank you also for having public comments first. Coming to these meetings and participating on panels is part our job as advocates, so thank you for making sure that community members who showed up to speak are a priority.

Speeding is a huge public safety issue: the Governor’s Highway Safety Association Report “Speeding Away from Zero” released in 2019 shared that 28% of fatal crashes in 2017 in MA were speeding-related. Higher speed, regardless of limit, is a factor in every traffic fatality or serious crash: there is less reaction time for a person driving to brake or avoid a crash, and a fast moving vehicle inflicts higher blunt force trauma on crash victims.

Even though traffic volumes have been down (during pandemic), still increased rates of speed on the streets. Councilor Flynn has already identified here today a number of fatal crashes as well as crashes where people drove at high rates of speed into immovable objects. 

Last week, there was a session during MassDOT’s Moving Together conference about MassDOT’s “Speed Management to Prevent Serious Injuries and Fatalities” project. MassDOT announced that they have committed resources to study how speed limits are set for clarity to users / designers and to be able to base it on the context (meaning having slower speeds around places there are many people: main street districts, schools, senior centers, transit stops). Hope Boston can get to the front of the line on this!

Councilor Bok mentioned Systems Fixes, so I’ll try and frame my comments that way.

First, I’ll agree wholeheartedly w/ her suggestion on improving the Signal Policy: Need to improve our signals so they prioritize vulnerable road users – especially people walking – and give consistency from intersection to intersection for everyone with pedestrian-first signals. Councilor Flynn mentioned concurrent signals, which do work well when people driving are doing it at a slower speed so they can appropriately yield to people who have the legal right of way in the crosswalk. There are some exceptions: they are not appropriate at intersections with many turns, or at T intersections where 100% of people driving are turning a vehicle across the path of people walking in a crosswalk. No matter the setup — concurrent or exclusive for people walking — traffic signals should on be a shorter half cycles wherever possible, so that there is less delay for everyone. 

I’d like to also offer a few more Systems Fixes:

1. The City should and can lead when there are multiple jurisdictions. Many of the most dangerous roads for speeding are not Boston owned or have multiple jurisdictions (Boston, MassDCR, MassDOT). Would be great for the City of Boston to take the lead to advocate for changes and lead on some of these mixed jurisdiction places and get the stakeholders to the table to make safety changes. Becca will share more.

2. We need GOOD data. (Thanks for highlighting, Councilor Campbell.)
Boston Police should be fixing their database connections so that they are automatically sharing any crash data reports w/ MassDOT. That still doesn’t happen, though we’ve all been talking about it for years.

Thank you to the City Council for funding a band-aid to the problem w/ a data analyst position so that information is shared more readily with the transportation department, but the systems fix would be to get the BPD crash report system to connect directly to the state’s crash reporting system. The problem is that so much of the content lives within the narrative section. Those police reports have way more info about the crash than what EMS crash dataset includes which is shown on the Vision Zero Crash Map. Having that feeding into the MassDOT Crash Portal will possibly qualify the city for more funding programs to help fix dangerous streets.

Building on the data point, I’m glad that one of the commenters, Matt Lawlor, mentioned concerns around increased officer enforcement. In June 2020, WGBH reported out data showing that black people in Boston accounted for 70% of police stops despite being 25% of the population. 

Another data systems fix: Would also love to see data from those speed feedback signs. Is there a process for it getting collected & shared, or is that looked at when a project is going to happen? Is there an escalation or a next step? Meaning, does a Speed Feedback Sign location get upgraded to a speed hump if people continue to speed down a street?  

3. Figure out snow clearance for pedestrians, too. Important to show safety for pedestrians is key year round – from clearing curb cuts, to prioritizing the clearing of heavily traveled sidewalks and crosswalks. If sidewalks aren’t safely cleared, people walk in the street since those DO get cleared. Raised Crosswalks are a double win: they can slow speeding drivers and also makes it so a curb cut does not flood/freeze. We created a video showing the importance of clearing curb cuts after snow storms, that I’ll share a link to.

4. Councilor Mejia – I agree with your comment that there needs to be more overlap between development and transportation! One example of how we’re helping impact that: Urban Edge, Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation (JPNDC) and The Community Builders are redeveloping the Mildred C. Hailey apartments, I recently met with them through an invite from Carolyn Royce and the Egleston Square Neighborhood Association / Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council during one of their existing meetings, and offered suggestion that a new 4 leg intersection at Centre / Lamartine should include a raised and safe connection for the Southwest Corridor. They already have plans for better connections from the site to the Southwest Corridor, & fixing pedestrian access through the site. 

Thank you for the opportunity to be on this panel, and I welcome your questions.

Next WalkBoston Advocacy Committee, 11/11, 6pm – we’d love you to attend!

Next WalkBoston Advocacy Committee, 11/11, 6pm – we’d love you to attend!

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Want to get involved? We’ve re-started a board/volunteer driven Advocacy Committee, and we’d love you to take part!

The next WalkBoston Advocacy Committee meeting will be on Wednesday, November 11, 2020 at 6 pm. If you’re interested in attending, please complete this interest form to receive the Zoom link. At this meeting, we will be discussing ideas for activities and initiatives for the committee. We’ll be prioritizing ideas  into short, medium, and long term categories. Even if you’re unable to attend, we welcome your ideas by completing this idea generation exercise by Tuesday, November 10th. If you need to review our program statement please follow this link.

Middleborough walking map

Middleborough walking map

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Middleborough was a well-established Native American settlement abandoned due to disease before the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth in 1620. The Pilgrims were attracted to the water power on the Nemasket River and the spring fish spawn in Lake Assawompsett. Nearly 50 years of peace followed before the Pilgrims began persecuting Native American tribes. The whole town was burned down in King Philip’s War and the Pilgrims retreated to Plymouth, leaving little trace of the settlement.

In 1679 the Pilgrims rebuilt the town, recognizing its important location as the intersection of colonial roads between Plymouth and New Bedford, and between Taunton and Wareham on Buzzard’s Bay. They started damming the river to power new local industries. The first grist mill ground grain that otherwise had to be carried to Plymouth and back on horseback. Over the next decades they added saw mills, cotton mills, forges and furnaces for iron and shovel works, and factories for straw hats.

Middleborough dominated the New England cranberry industry. In 1816 a Cape Cod grower discovered that blowing sand in and around cranberry bogs increased the size and taste of the berry. Southeastern Massachusetts growers soon had 675 acres of bogs in place. They spent decades figuring out how to harvest and sell the berries without spoilage. In 1907, growers in Wisconsin, New Jersey and Massachusetts established nationwide standards for growing and selling berries, including canning berries. The headquarters for Ocean Spray Cranberries was established in Middleborough and is still there.

This map includes  Historic Residential Walk / South Main St. & Historic Commercial District / Centre Street.

Click for “WalkBoston’s Middleborough Walking Map” PDF
People’s Pike October 2020 Letter to Secretary Pollack

People’s Pike October 2020 Letter to Secretary Pollack

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October 30, 2020

Secretary Stephanie Pollack
Massachusetts Department of Transportation 10 Park Plaza, Room 4160
Boston, MA 02116

Dear Secretary Pollack:

The decade of construction and final result of the Allston Multimodal Project will have lasting impacts on every community between Boston and Worcester. It will change how people travel on the Commuter Rail, on I-90, and on local streets and paths. It will also change the quality of life and health for nearby residents, and the ecology and accessibility of the Charles River.

We recognize the significant challenges and complexities this project presents and your urgency to move forward. In this spirit, we recommend that you advance the project for environmental review in the following ways:

1. Select the ​Modified All At-Grade Option​ as the ​Preferred Alternative ​because it works for all modes of transportation and yields long-term benefits for the adjacent community, for commuters, for the river and parks, and the environment.

We reiterate our opposition to the Highway Viaduct, both the no-build option to repair the existing viaduct or the build option to construct a new Modified Highway Viaduct. We agree with the September 23 letter from BPDA Director Golden and Chief Osgood that the All At-Grade option is the right choice to leave a lasting positive legacy for Boston and the region. The All At-Grade option merits the most focus over the year ahead with detailed analyses about ways to minimize impacts to the Charles River.

The ​Modified All At-Grade Option​ has many advantages over the other alternatives, including the following:

  • Only the All At-Grade option relieves the toll payers on the Mass Pike and the taxpayers across the State from the very expensive burden of maintaining, repairing and eventually replacing a lengthy viaduct—a cost we are all bearing today.
  • While each option seeks to address the noise from the thousands of cars and trucks that can be heard across sections of Allston, Brookline, and Cambridge, only the All At-Grade option eliminates the additional noise generated by cars and especially trucks accelerating up and braking down the slope of an elevated viaduct, and takes away the raised platform from which this noise is projected.
  • It is the best choice to connect Boston and Brookline to the Charles River. It improves the urban design and development potential of the entire project area and it has the most support of any option under consideration both from the Allston residents who are most impacted by the highway and the hundreds of people from across the region who have voiced a preference during years of comment periods and public meetings.

2. Prioritize transit-centered mitigation and build for a transit-centered future.

A strong mitigation plan will benefit Metrowest residents and people living and working in Allston, Brookline, and Cambridge as well. A construction mobility plan focused on improved rail and bus services, with increased parking at suburban locations, is needed to provide realistic alternatives for the commuters who will be impacted by the reduction in turnpike capacity during construction and reduce cut-through traffic that threatens to overwhelm roads in Allston, Brighton, Newton, Cambridge, Brookline, and beyond if drivers seek routes around the Allston interchange during construction. MassDOT should identify when I-90 lane closures will begin and what transit improvements can be implemented before this impact occurs. Additionally, it is important to ensure that two Worcester Line tracks and six Turnpike lanes are available for peak travel throughout construction. Increased transit service during and after construction, along with other mitigation measures, must be binding and not subject to negotiation with the contractor.

Transit enhancements are supported by and benefit all stakeholders. We strongly recommend building a four track, three platform West Station as soon as possible in the construction process. In this project, MassDOT is currently not planning to include reconstruction of the Grand Junction Rail Bridge crossing the Charles River to accommodate two-track service. Extension of passenger service to Cambridge and beyond using the Grand Junction corridor is an important future project that will serve the Commonwealth’s economic development, climate change, and mode shift goals. Completion of a two-track bridge over Soldiers Field Road for the Grand Junction (Little Grand Junction Bridge) as part of this project is an important next step toward implementing this service, while also providing space for extension of the Paul Dudley White Path under the rail bridge and removing a segment of the path out of the narrow river channel.

3. Take a holistic approach to resilient design to fortify the Charles River, Allston neighborhood, and beyond from the impacts of climate change.

Recent comments by MassDOT suggest the agency views the highway viaduct as the most resilient option because of its elevation above future stormwater flooding. However, flooding is only one component of the many interrelated effects of climate change. The biggest contribution the Allston Multimodal project can make toward the Commonwealth’s ambitious carbon reduction goals and climate resilience is to encourage commuters to reduce single-occupancy vehicle trips by prioritizing high-functioning, affordable mass transit options during and after construction.

A resilient design for the I-90 Multimodal project is one that prioritizes the health and needs of neighboring environmental justice communities that have been disproportionately affected by the existing I-90 highway, provides access to parkland to neighboring communities to support neighborhood health, maximizes tree canopy and minimizes impervious surface to mitigate heat effects, improves the water quality and ecology of the Charles River, considers the carbon footprint to build and maintain transportation infrastructure, and address flooding by providing green stormwater infrastructure storage and treatment. ​​These objectives are best achieved by the Modified All At-Grade Option.

To explore how all of these elements can be achieved within the Modified All At-Grade plan, several of the below signed organizations have been working with landscape architects and urban planners at Perkins&Will and CBT (please see the attached document for more details about the variety of strategies and design approaches that should be evaluated to find the best solution). ​The ecological restoration strategies suggested by ​Perkins&Will and CBT​ for the I-90 project build off the Charles River Riverbank Vegetation Management Plan (RVMP) that has been adopted by other state agencies. If MassDOT adopts similar strategies for this project it will lead to a healthier river system and a more holistic rejuvenation of the river and river banks.

The river and public access must be protected during construction to safeguard the incredible public and private investment in the river over the last three decades. Mitigation measures must be thoroughly and transparently considered for each alternative in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement to ensure the least harm and most benefit to this important regional resource.

The existing Allston neighborhoods north and south of the Pike and the new neighborhood that will rise in Beacon Park must be walkable and bikeable neighborhoods with better connections to the Charles River. This can be accomplished with:

  • Footbridges to the river at Agganis Way and at the Commonwealth Ave and Boston University Bridge nexus.
  • A linear buffer park that connects the Agganis Footbridge and a new Franklin Street Footbridge.
  • A widened Paul Dudley White Path with separate biking and walking paths that are integrated as part of the reconstituted river’s edge and potentially on a boardwalk or elevated path where necessary.
  • Improved conditions for the edge of the river esplanade complementing the Magazine Beach across the river, and remediation of the current degraded condition of the river bank, and contaminated runoff that now flows untreated into the Charles River.
  • The new local streets being designed as part of this project should be designed for the City of Boston speed limit with as few lanes as possible to accommodate projected traffic, cycling, and parking requirements.

All of these improvements are essential mitigation for the highway elements of the project, and must receive a firm commitment as integral components of the Allston Multimodal Project.

4. Continue, expand, and improve the project’s advisory process.

While not always a perfect process, the existing Task Force has been an invaluable outlet for community members, impacted stakeholders, and MassDOT to communicate directly with each other about this project. An advisory process should be established and maintained for the entire duration of the project in the following ways:

  • Continue the Allston Multimodal Project Task Force through the completion of the Final Environmental Impact Statement, the certification by the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs and Massachusetts Environmental Policy Office that the project meets all state environmental requirements, the completion of all environmental permitting, and the filing of the federal Record of Decision.
  • Convene a Construction Mitigation Group immediately. Such a committee is essential for this project to provide guidance on the mitigation plan; oversight of construction mitigation measures, including noise, air, and vibration impacts; traffic disruption; and interim public transportation measures during the lengthy construction period. This group should include stakeholders from MetroWest as well as members of the Allston, Brookline and Cambridge communities, and those focused on the interests of the river.
  • Establish an Environmental and Design Oversight Committee for the duration of construction. The Big Dig had an effective oversight committee throughout the construction phase, ensuring that environmental project commitments were accomplished substantially as approved. Allston and Brookline contain state-designated environmental justice populations. The advisory committee should include a majority of individuals from the environmental justice population and representatives who are most directly impacted by the project.
  • Create a Working Group on Charles River Restoration and Climate Resiliency. Effective rebuilding and restoration of the edge of the Charles River that considers climate change impacts will require significant involvement of agencies outside of MassDOT, including the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Department of Environmental Protection, including its Waterways and Wetlands Sections, and the Army Corps of Engineers. In addition, advocacy organizations and private groups representing the boating community, park and pathway users, and the health and ecology of the river and its watershed should be an integral part of this Working Group, which will have a major set of tasks to identify, analyze, and decide on the best future of this valuable regional resource.

Taking a comprehensive approach that begins with an All At-Grade throat that minimizes impacts to the Charles River, ensures a strong mitigation plan for the Allson and MetroWest communities, and repairs the damage the highway and viaducts have caused to the nearby residents and the Charles River over the last 50 years is necessary and achievable.

We look forward to continuing to work with you to ensure the success of this project.

Sincerely,

350 MA Transportation Working Group
A Better City
Allston Brighton CDC
Allston Civic Association
Allston Brighton Health Collaborative
Boston Cyclists Union
Boston Society for Architecture
Brookline GreenSpace Alliance
Cambridge Redevelopment Authority
Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association
Charles River Conservancy
Conservation Law Foundation
Friends of Leverett Pond, Brookline
Kendall Square Association
LivableStreets Alliance
Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition
Massachusetts Sierra Club
MASSPIRG
Pioneer Institute
Transit Matters
WalkBoston
Worcester Chamber of Commerce
Harry Mattison, Allston resident and I-90 Task Force Member
Jessica Robertson, Allston resident and I-90 Task Force Member
Fred Yaloris, Cambridge resident and I-90 Task Force Member

Attachments (combined as one PDF):

●  City of Boston letter
●  Boston City Council resolution
●  City of Cambridge letter
●  Cambridge City Council resolution
●  Town of Brookline letter
●  I-90 Allston Interchange Riverfront Analysis and Design Exploration Presentation

FAQs – Beat the Bay State Team Challenge (November 2020)

FAQs – Beat the Bay State Team Challenge (November 2020)

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Have a question about the Beat the Bay State Team Challenge? We’ve put together a list of Frequently Asked Questions! (If you’re looking for FAQs for the 2021 event, they’re very similar – but will be published soon! The biggest 2021 change? We’ve added an in-person 5K).

Last updated: Wednesday, November 4th, 2020

Q: How do I log my miles? 

There are two ways you can do it. Remember, you need to be registered for the Beat the Bay State on RunSignUp in order to submit your miles.

1st way — It can be done through the RunSignUp results page for Beat the Bay State, which can be found on the top bar of the registration site. Click RESULTS on the top bar, and then the orange “Submit Virtual Results” button at the top of that page. The next screen will have participant lookup fields where you can search for your name. You will be able to submit miles you’ve covered by walking or running on the next screen by clicking the “Log Activities” button. This is also the best way to do it if one family member is logging miles for multiple people. (If you can’t find your name through the search, you may not be registered for the event yet.) 

2nd way — If you are logged in to RunSignUp with the same info you used to sign up for Beat the Bay State, you can go to your profile: https://runsignup.com/Profile

Scroll down to the event for Beat the Bay State, click “Submit Virtual Results.” You will be able to submit miles you’ve covered by walking or running on the next screen. Please note that the form fields will not appear until November 1st, since miles must be done between Nov 1st and Nov 30th. The submission form will remain open until December 1st at 12PM Eastern so you can log your final totals for the month of November. 

You can log your miles daily, every few days, weekly – it is up to you. Remember, as each member of your team logs miles, your team will move along a mapped route. We’ll also be sending weekly reminders via email and daily reminders to the Facebook group (see below) to have people log their activity. You do not need to have MapMyRun, Strava, or a GPS watch.

Q: I only track my steps. How do I log those?

Since each person’s stride is different, we’re using miles to have a way to compare teams. Your fitness tracker may also estimate the number of miles that you’ve logged. If you want to convert from steps to miles, you can use this calculator: https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/health/steps-miles.php 

Q: How do we know how far along our team is?

All team results / progress will be on the Results page. From there, you can click to your own Team Page, where you can see how you and your teammates are doing as individuals. You’ll also receive badges through RunSignUp and emails along the way as your team hits milestones on your 900 mile journey. (You can also access your team at the bottom of your Profile).

We’ll also send a weekly email to all participants giving everyone an overall event update and reminding people to submit their miles so their team total is accurate. 

Q: Can someone join our team even after November 1st?

Yes! There is no cutoff date for when someone can join your team to help log miles toward the 900 mile goal during the month. You can share your team page with them at any point.  

Q: Is there a hashtag I should use or a Facebook group for the event? 

Yes! Facebook no longer allows an event to last for more than 2 weeks, so we created a Facebook Group for this year’s challenge: https://www.facebook.com/groups/beatthebaystate  There will be weekly events within the Facebook group which will allow for additional individual prize opportunities.

You can also use hashtag #BeatTheBayState on your social media of choice to see other posts from people who are taking part during November. We’ll search public posts on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram and pick a few to feature in the weekly update email to participants! 

Q: I want a winter hat or a buff, but I didn’t purchase one when I first signed up. Can I still get one? 

Yes! You can access the store here. On the main RunSignUp page, you can also click “STORE” at the top. The store will let you buy something without going back through the registration process. If you’d like to order a large amount of items to distribute to your team, please contact Brendan (bkearney@walkboston.org) and he can arrange that with you.

Q: I ordered a hat or buff. When should it arrive? 

Oct 30th update: We’ve got the buffs and will start mailing them out soon, and should get the hats any day now! Brendan (bkearney@walkboston.org) is handling fulfillment, and you can arrange a pick up from him if you want your buff ASAP for your walks/runs. (He lives in Watertown, close to the Arsenal on the Charles.)

Q: Our team will mostly be families in my neighborhood doing walks/runs together. How many members of a family can log the miles?  For instance, if I am signed up but my son goes for a 2-mile walk, can I add his mileage to mine? 

Something to consider: our executive director created a team for her friends & family to join, and her children are each signed up as team members since they each wanted to know how many miles they contributed to the team during the month. The rule of thumb we’re using: if you’re old enough to sign yourself up, you should be your own team member on the team. (It is your call, though – if you want to have your son signed up as a user, that’s great! But if you find it easier to combine those miles with yours, go for it.) 

Q: Are there prizes? 

There are prizes for the team that finishes the 900 miles first, biggest team (most participants), and the most money raised (both individual and team). These links will provide rankings: Team rankings | Team participants | Top Individual Fundraisers | Top Team Fundraisers 

There will be weekly events within the Facebook group which will allow for additional individual prize opportunities, so we’d encourage you to join the Beat the Bay State Facebook Group.

Q: Does my registration fee or swag purchase go toward our team fundraising goal?

Registration fees and swag purchases do not go toward fundraising goals. The biggest team does not always raise the most money: we want to make sure we recognize both efforts!

Q: Fundraising: How do I create a page? 

Team captains are required to create a team fundraising page when setting up the team, and participants have the option to create individual pages. (There is no fundraising requirement to participate). If you would like to become an individual fundraiser, click here. At the bottom of that page, make sure to join your team’s fundraiser so your individual fundraising total will be combined with your team.

Q: Can we keep going if/when our team hits 900 miles?

Yes! While your team marker won’t move around the map again, you’re able to keep adding to your total team miles tracked for the month. 

Q: I have a question about something that isn’t covered here.

Send us a message through the RunSignUp page (contact form at the bottom) so someone can get back to you. https://runsignup.com/baystate