Daily Hampshire Gazette: “Grant to support walkability in Hilltowns”
The Hilltown CDC applied for the grant in partnership with the Northern Hilltowns Councils on Aging, Walk Boston and Healthy Hampshire…
A walk audit under the program would be conducted by Walk Boston, and involves walking an area with town leadership and other interested parties to experience what the streets are like.
Posted January 14, 2021
Boston Herald: “Horror in Charlestown: Pedestrian killed after getting struck, dragged for a mile by vehicle”
During the first five days of the new year, there have already been multiple fatal pedestrian crashes in Massachusetts, including a hit-and-run in Springfield over the weekend, said Brendan Kearney of the WalkBoston advocacy group.
“The number of large vehicles involved with fatal crashes, especially involving people walking or biking, is a huge concern,” he said. “And that’s not just in Boston, but across the state and across the country.
“There are bad sight lines on these vehicles,” Kearney added. “And it’s putting everyone in a bad situation when we have large vehicles and streets where people can drive fast.”
During the coronavirus pandemic, there have been fewer cars on the roads but drivers are speeding at a higher clip, he said.
“That’s something we’ve seen across the state,” Kearney said.
Posted January 5, 2021
Boston Globe: “We asked some of Boston’s leaders (who aren’t running for mayor) what the city’s next mayor should do. Here are their answers”
Stacey Beuttell, executive director of WalkBoston, said one of the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic is that streets and sidewalks can have many uses, from dining to art to providing a place to gather. The Walsh administration expanded outdoor dining this summer and fall but she’d like to see the next mayor do more, to make those sort of street closures and sidewalk activations permanent and push more of them into the neighborhoods where most Bostonians live. “So many different walking spaces have been loved again, as places where people can simply be and exist, as opposed to parked cars,” she said.
Posted January 10, 2021
Thank you to all the participants in our first ever “Beat the Bay State” Team Challenge during the month of November. Over 450 people took part across 31 teams! The challenge was a way for people of all ages to participate in outdoor physical activity of walking and running over the 30 days of the competition. It also made it possible for teams to stay socially connected and have something fun and different to talk about when confronted with another Zoom meeting! We’d love your feedback: how’d it go, and what can we do to make it even better next year? Shoot Brendan an email or tweet us @WalkBoston.
Congrats and thank you to everyone who participated. Below we’ve highlighted those teams that had the most participants, raised the most money, and finished the Beat the Bay State Challenge first!
A total of 18 teams achieved the goal to reach 900 miles over the 30 days of November. Well done!
| Date of Completion | Group Name |
| 2020-11-06 20:04:03 EST | GFRC Growlers |
| 2020-11-07 08:46:03 EST | North Medford Club |
| 2020-11-08 19:22:02 EST | Wicked Running Club |
| 2020-11-10 10:05:02 EST | Team RBG (Run, Beer, Grub) |
| 2020-11-10 21:35:03 EST | The LMG |
| 2020-11-19 08:09:02 EST | MassDOT |
| 2020-11-22 07:45:03 EST | Transportation for Massachusetts |
| 2020-11-22 20:36:02 EST | MPA-CPEA |
| 2020-11-22 22:50:02 EST | BarrRamblers |
| 2020-11-23 08:18:02 EST | Random Roamers |
| 2020-11-23 21:28:03 EST | WalkBoston |
| 2020-11-24 10:29:03 EST | UMass Transportation Center |
| 2020-11-25 06:45:02 EST | UMass ITE |
| 2020-11-29 15:30:05 EST | Toilet Paper Finish |
| 2020-11-29 16:10:04 EST | Toole Design |
| 2020-11-29 22:49:04 EST | HRBK Squad |
| 2020-12-01 08:02:28 EST | The Gait Keepers |
| 2020-12-01 09:19:03 EST | HMFH / MDS |
*Teams were able to log their miles on Dec 1st until 12pm for any activities completed during November
While the Beat the Bay State goal was to log 900 miles to virtually circle Massachusetts, that wasn’t the finish line for a few teams: it was just the beginning! Congratulations to these four teams that went above and beyond to “Beat the Bay State” more than once during the month of November:
See the full team results list | See the full individual results list
Boston Beer Company will be providing cases of beer to the 3 largest teams as a prize. We’ll be in touch with your team captain to coordinate a pick-up / drop-off!
Between registration fees, swag purchases, sponsorships, and donations, the event raised $25K. This money supports WalkBoston’s work to advocate for wider sidewalks, support main street businesses and make streets safer for all — all components of our statewide work to make Massachusetts more walkable. Thank you!
See the full team fundraiser list | See the full individual fundraiser list
Again, we’d love your feedback: how’d it go, and what can we do to make it even better next year? Shoot Brendan an email or tweet us @WalkBoston
On January 13th at 7:30pm, WalkBoston is co-hosting the next StreetsblogMASS book club event. We hope you can take part! the event is free, but a suggested donation of $20 will help support WalkBoston and the ongoing journalism of StreetsblogMASS. Read on for more information, or RSVP here.
The next title in the StreetsblogMASS book club is Right of Way: Race, Class, and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America, by former StreetsblogUSA editor Angie Schmitt.
Schmitt’s book investigates how pedestrian deaths have increased by 50 percent in the past decade, and how our nation’s persistent patterns of racism and economic inequality play into this under-reported public health crisis.
This event is co-hosted by WalkBoston, a 501c3 nonprofit pedestrian advocacy organization that makes walking safer and easier in Massachusetts to encourage better health, a cleaner environment and more vibrant communities.
StreetsblogMASS editor Christian MilNeil will host an online discussion with the author on January 13th at 7:30pm, and we hope you can join us. To participate:
Special thanks to the Helen & William Mazer Foundation for generously sponsoring this event.
