Category: Announcement

WalkMass Network Call July 17, 2024: How Can Spatial Thinking Enhance Pedestrian Advocacy?

WalkMass Network Call July 17, 2024: How Can Spatial Thinking Enhance Pedestrian Advocacy?

How Can Spatial Thinking Help in Advocating for Pedestrians?

Speaker: Professor Sumeeta Srinivasan, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University, WalkMassachusetts Board Member

Yesterday, Professor Sumeeta Srinivasan spoke about how GIS, or Geographic Information Systems, includes analytic tools that help make maps and conduct spatial analysis. In this brainstorming session, we explored ways communities can use GIS to advocate for themselves.

Key Resources and Examples:

  1. Kate McKlean’s Sensory Mapping Projects
  2. Cool Walks in Barcelona
  3. ShadeMap – Shade Equity Analysis
  4. Tree Canopy Assessments
  5. MapStore – GIS Mapping Tool
  6. WalkMA Example Storymap: Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA 2023
  7. Fort Collins Walk Audit
  8. South End Neighborhood Evening Walk Assessment, Springfield

If you are interested in connecting with us about audits and improving walkability, please contact us. We would love to hear from you!

 

Cambridgeport Summer Series Walk July 11th 2024

Cambridgeport Summer Series Walk July 11th 2024

“Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Everyday, I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it.” –Søren Kierkegaard

As part of the Summer Walk Series, last week WalkMassachusetts had the pleasure of hosting a walk through Cambridgeport. This event aimed to bring together pedestrians (and some cyclists!) to explore the city on foot and to learn about local projects, area history, and built environment changes. 

The two-mile walk started on the south side of the B.U. Bridge, brought participants through Magazine Beach Park and continued northeast along Magazine Street to Massachusetts Ave. Our group of 30 pedestrians met with a variety of guest speakers who shared valuable information about the B.U. Bridge Safety Alliance, Magazine Beach Park, the Allston Intermodal Project, St. Augustine African Orthodox Christian Church, and the history of the Inner Belt and anti-highway activism in Cambridge. Exploration of this landscape along with its varied histories, projects, and organizations helped to illuminate the struggles, changes, and cultural dynamics of the built environment–aspects which may often go unnoticed but that nonetheless inform our everyday experiences. 

At the beginning of the evening, co-executive director Althea Wong-Achorn asked everyone to think about how heat affects the pedestrian experience and what types of interventions (i.e. increasing tree and vegetable cover, cool pavements) could be made to improve the experience. The air temperature hovered in the high 80s while surface temperatures in the parking lot where we met adjacent to the B.U. Bridge reached 113 degrees. In comparison, the surface temperature in Magazine Beach Park, thanks to the cooling effects of its vegetation, was 76 degrees.

As we crossed over the Charles River, our group remarked on the challenging pedestrian and bike infrastructure on and around the B.U. Bridge, including unprotected bike lanes, complicated pedestrian crossings, narrow footpaths, and a dangerous roundabout for all road users. Once in Magazine Beach Park, the calmness of the urban, riverfront park was met with the constant hum of traffic emanating from the elevated section of I-90 across the water in Allston. A final observation was the pleasant, tree-shaded streets of Cambridgeport.  

All in all, this walk was a delightful opportunity to come together, share knowledge and experience, and take pleasure in the simplicity of walking. It provided participants with a chance to broaden their perspective, connect with each other, learn about Cambridgeport, discover something new and at the very least to get outside. Thank you to everyone who braved the heat to join us. We look forward to seeing you on our next walk!

We also want to thank all of our wonderful speakers: Ken Carlson, BU Bridge Safety Alliance; Stacey Beuttell, Senior Director, Nature in the City Program, Mass Audubon; Fred Yalouris, Allston I-90 Task Force; Reverend Kit Eccles, Pastor of St. Augustine’s Church; Steve Kaiser, traffic engineer and author; Kit Rawlins, Assistant Director, Cambridge Historical Society. In particular we appreciate the hard work and organizing efforts of Cathie Zusy and Anita Johnson for making this walk possible! For more information on the histories, projects, and organizations highlighted on his walk, please visit the links below:

Join WalkMass and WalkBike Worcester at Union Station for a walk on May 23 at 5:30pm!

Join WalkMass and WalkBike Worcester at Union Station for a walk on May 23 at 5:30pm!

We look forward to seeing you on May 23rd at 5:30pm for our latest walk!

What: WalkMass – 2024 Bob Sloane Walk (Worcester)
When: May 23, 5:30pm-7:30pm
Where: starting at Union Station (2 Washington Sq, Worcester, MA 01604)
Price: Free, but donations are welcome to support our work.
RSVP here: https://www.givesignup.org/TicketEvent/BobSloaneWalk2024

Each spring, we lead a free walk with a ~1-1.5 mile route that includes ~2-4 stops along the way where we hear from a guest speaker. We start or end near public transit, and usually end at a place where people can mingle/have a drink if they’d like to continue conversations. This year’s Spring kickoff walk will be in Worcester in conjunction with WalkBike Worcester and start at Union Station (2 Washington Sq, Worcester, MA 01604).

Route description (updated 5/22):

  • This year’s route will start at Union Station with a welcome from Brendan Kearney (WalkMassachusetts) and Karin Valentine Goins (WalkBike Worcester). We’ll also hear from Soloe Dennis (Worcester Department of Public Health), recent department winner of a Golden Shoe Award
  • We will head towards Worcester City Hall where we’ll hear from Steve Rolle (Department of Transportation & Mobility) who will speak here about Main Street project and Complete Streets policy. Of note: the Worcester Mobility Action Plan Draft just went out for public comment/review.
  • We’ll stop by Worcester Public Library, the site of a new Miyawaki Forest (on what was previously 8 parking spots) where we’ll hear from staff from the Department of Sustainability & Resilience. 
  • We’ll continue to Green Street and past the site of Worcester Public Market to hear about the reconstruction of the notorious Kelley Square intersection from Tom Emerick (MassDOT) and Erin Thompson (VHB).
  • We’ll end at a restaurant nearby (El Patron, 192 Harding St, Worcester, MA 01604) where you can grab a drink or a bite to eat at their outdoor space and continue to chat with fellow attendees. We’ll head indoors to Wachusett Brew Yard is there is inclement weather. 
  • The walk route is fully accessible, and we will have a small portable PA system to try and ensure that each speaker can be heard by the entire group. We have tried to identify speaker spots near plazas or wide sidewalks where we can gather closer to the speaker.
  • View a PNG image of this route.

Getting there via the MBTA Commuter Rail: As of 4/17/2024, the 4pm train from South Station arrives to Worcester ~5:25pm. If someone comes on the next train, they can meet us on the route that we’ll share in advance on this page. Trains headed back to Boston at 7:55pm & 8:55pm would allow you to take part in the walk and have a drink or food at the end of the walk. We encourage you to use public transportation, walk, or bike to the start so that it is easy for you to head out afterwards. There are also parking lots available in/around the area of our route. 

This walk is in honor of Bob Sloane. Bob was a co-founder of WalkBoston (now WalkMassachusetts) and passed away in May 2021. He was a true pioneer in walking advocacy and a pillar of our organization, and we honor his legacy by hosting a walk each year in his name. Updates will be available on this blog post & sent to all registered attendees before the event.

We hope to see you on 5/23 at 5:30pm; sign up today!

PS: While we will be using a slightly different route, you might enjoy looking back at a write up after a walk we organized in 2015:

Worcester: Strengthened relationships to ensure Main St. project works for walkers Hillary Borcherding
Forty people joined WalkBoston, WalkBike Worcester, and co-hosts in a walk from Union Station to the Blackstone Tap. Steve Rolle of the City of Worcester kicked off the event by discussing Union Station’s transformation into a multimodal facility. At McGrath Boulevard, Heather Gould of Economic Development spoke about streetscape improvements and the Blackstone Valley’s Bikeway. Allen Fletcher from the Canal District Alliance spoke of his personal walking route and the joy of getting to know his neighborhood on foot. Finally, the City’s Phil Neddrie described Union Hill improvements and the public-private partnerships revitalizing the neighborhood. Beyond a great event, this was an opportunity to deepen the relationship between advocates and the City. People shared their hunger for a vibrant, walkable North Main Street, which is currently under design for construction. For the past two years, WalkBike Worcester has advocated for fewer vehicle lanes, more room for walking, bike lanes, and safer ways for pedestrians to cross. Thanks to this work, the Worcester walk and the MassDOT Road Safety Audit, MassDOT now recommends a narrower three-vehicle lane option [vs. the current four/two each way]. Indications look favorable that the City will follow this recommendation. 

WalkMassachusetts releases annual fatal pedestrian crash report alongside new tools for residents to advocate for safer streets in their own communities

WalkMassachusetts releases annual fatal pedestrian crash report alongside new tools for residents to advocate for safer streets in their own communities

BOSTON, Mass. March 29, 2024 – In 2023, one in every five (20%) fatal motor vehicle crashes in Massachusetts involved a person walking getting hit by the driver of a car. Forty cities and towns experienced at least one fatal pedestrian crash over the course of the year, with eight municipalities seeing multiple crashes. More than half (54%) of the deaths occurred in environmental justice communities. 

These insights come from Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA (2023) WalkMassachusetts’ third annual report tracking pedestrian deaths from motor vehicles around the Commonwealth. Along with calculating the number of pedestrian deaths, the report provides time-of-day, geographic, and other insights to inform solutions for safer streets.

“We are heartbroken each year learning the stories of people walking who lose their lives in these senseless, and largely preventable, crashes,” said Brendan Kearney, co-executive director of WalkMassachusetts. “One factor emerges again and again in these crashes: vehicle speed. Our roads are designed for people to drive too fast. We witness residents across the Commonwealth wanting to advocate for changes in the streets in their own community – and we stand ready to help.”

Older adults (people aged 65 or older) continue to be disproportionately harmed, making up 31.9% of victims while representing only 18% of the state’s population. 

“People of all ages deserve to be safe as we move within and between our communities,” said Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative (MHAC) Executive Director James Fuccione. “For older adults to be active, engaged and included in community life means having infrastructure that prioritizes safety and connection to things we all find meaningful. This data is proof that there is more to be done as we collectively need to advance and quicken the progress being made.”

With over three-quarters of fatal pedestrian crashes in 2023 happening on local streets controlled by a city or town (76.8%), WalkMassachusetts is introducing a new resource to educate and empower people to create safer streets in their own communities: the Walk Audit Academy video series. This series will provide guidance on the elements of what creates a safe street and how to organize a group of friends and neighbors to take action on specific streets.

In addition, WalkMassachusetts is offering a Walk Audit Academy training program, where staff will work with a cohort of three to five groups within a community in a hands-on manner.

People can learn more about both programs here or at www.walkmass.org/waa

“Las auditorías peatonales y los días de demostración con intervenciones temporales permiten a las personas dar su opinión y ver posibles cambios en una calle,” said Noemy Rodriguez, Waterfront Initiative Organizer with GreenRoots in Chelsea. 

[Translation: Walk audits and demonstration days with temporary installations allow people to give feedback and see possible changes to a street.]

WalkMassachusetts’ efforts align with other promising programs being led by MassDOT, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), and local cities, including:

  • At least 10 Regional Vision Zero planning efforts are just starting, with funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) discretionary grant program. This is a sign that planning investments on a regional level have happened since our report in March 2023 to respond to safety issues on our roadways.
  • MassDOT has provided 281 school zone assemblies to 130 communities, and is developing a multi-year program to enhance bus stop crossings where pedestrian risk is high or there is a high potential for walking; they are starting with State-owned roadways (reviewing 212 bus stop locations).
  • The City of Boston has rolled out a “Safety Surge,” which focuses on three main areas: Speed Humps, Safer Intersections, and Safer Signals.

Other key crash data from the report

While total pedestrian deaths have dipped slightly from last year’s all-time high of 101 deaths, this year’s total of 69 deaths sits at the average of pedestrian deaths over the past 22 years. Other key insights include:

  • Boston, Springfield, and Brockton have had at least three fatal crashes each year that WalkMassachusetts has released a report.
  • More than three quarters (76.8%) of the fatalities took place on streets controlled by municipalities. Less than 20% (18.8%) were on MassDOT roads.
  • Almost 70% of the fatal pedestrian crashes occurred in the dark (before sunrise or after sunset).
  • More than half (54%) of fatal pedestrian crashes took place in Environmental Justice Census Block Groups.
  • 70.8% of the vehicles people were driving in these fatal crashes were passenger cars, while 21.5% were light trucks. (All vans, minivans, pickups, and SUVs are combined into the “light truck” category.)
  • 7 crashes were hit-and-run resulting in 8 deaths, where the driver left the scene of the crash.

###

About WalkMassachusetts

WalkMassachusetts makes walking safer and easier in Massachusetts to encourage better health, a cleaner environment, and more vibrant communities. Founded in 1990 as WalkBoston, the organization envisions a Massachusetts where people walking – no matter their race, identity, age, ability, or lived experience – feel safe, connected, and valued on our streets and sidewalks.

Presenting the 2024 Golden Shoe Awards!

Presenting the 2024 Golden Shoe Awards!

Our Golden Shoes Awards recognize individuals, agencies, municipalities and companies exemplifying the ideals of WalkMassachusetts’ mission. The winners accept their award during our Annual Celebration on April 10th, which will be in-person starting at 5:30pm (and live streamed starting at 6:30pm) from the Venture Cafe @ 1 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02142. Register here to join us in celebrating & honoring their work!

This year’s Golden Shoe Awards go to…Noemy Rodriguez, First Resource Companies, and The City of Worcester’s Division of Public Health. Congrats to all the winners!


Noemy Rodriguez

Noemy Rodriguez‘s dedication to community engagement and language justice is commendable. Her leadership in the Caminatas initiative has created a space for local community members to address walkability and environmental justice.

We sincerely appreciate Noemy and GreenRoots for their inspiring leadership, which highlights the transformative impact of grassroots organizing in communities. Learn more about Noemy.


First Resource Companies

WalkMassachusetts applauds your efforts to install pedestrian safety measures, especially in Springfield. A new crosswalk and installation of a Rapid Flashing Beacon at the Mason Square Apartments at Indian Motorcycle has provided additional pedestrian safety in the area. Additionally, we acknowledge the positive impact of many of First Resource’s projects on creating walkable community nodes. Your commitment to fostering pedestrian-friendly environments is truly admirable and contributes significantly to the well-being of the community. Read more about First Resource Companies.     


The City of Worcester’s Division of Public Health

WalkMassachusetts extends its gratitude to the City of Worcester Division of Public Health leadership team for their dedication to improving the pedestrian experience and fostering an age-friendly Worcester. We will be recognizing Director Soloe Dennis, Sandy Amoakohene, and Ydalia Heimann with this award. We commend Worcester DPH for their commitment to meaningful community engagement and for setting an example for future Walk Audit Academy cohorts. Your efforts have laid the groundwork for the implementation of Vision Zero strategies in Worcester, and we eagerly anticipate collaborating with you to create safer, more equitable, and inclusive streets and neighborhoods for all residents.  Learn more about the City of Worcester Division of Public Health and the city’s Vision Zero efforts.


Keynote Speaker

Our 2024 Annual Celebration Keynote Speaker this year is Monica Tibbits-Nutt. 

Monica Tibbits-Nutt is the current Secretary and CEO of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Her responsibilities include overseeing the four divisions of MassDOT, namely Highway, Rail and Transit, Registry of Motor Vehicles, and Aeronautics. She is also a member of the Massport and MBTA Board of Directors. Tibbits-Nutt has extensive experience in transportation planning, urban design, and transit equity. She is committed to educating transportation stakeholders and the public about the planning process and serves as the Vice President of the non-profit Youth Engagement Planning. She is an active member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and is a LEED Accredited Professional in Building Design & Construction with the U.S. Green Building Council. Prior to her appointment as Secretary, she served as Undersecretary of MassDOT and Executive Director of the 128 Business Council. Learn more about Monica.

We hope you’ll join us on Wednesday, April 10th at 5:30pm to celebrate our wonderful honorees!

To read about previous Golden Shoe winners, click here.