Category: Announcement

July 2022 Network Meeting Recap

July 2022 Network Meeting Recap

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At the July monthly meeting of the WalkMassachusetts Network, StreetsBlogMASS Editor Christian MilNeil and Reporter Grecia White presented their work to report on transportation issues across Massachusetts, which now includes reporting stories in Spanish and covering a variety of intersectional topics such as public bathroom access and the effects of disrupted T service on riders. 

You can view a recording of the meeting and their presentation here as well as a recording of our May meeting with MassDOT and their presentation on their new speed management guidance. You can read more of Grecia and Christian’s work at mass.streetsblog.org, or contact them here if you’ve got a story to pitch! 

The WalkMassachusetts Network meets every third Wednesday of each month at 1 pm, with the next being August 17, 2022, where the topic of discussion will be public amenities that support walkability — particularly public bathrooms. You can register for next month’s meeting here.

Statewide Fatal Crashes In MA, June 2022

Statewide Fatal Crashes In MA, June 2022

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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 ten fatal crashes listed in the MassDOT Crash Portal in May. In this post, we’ll look at crashes in MA in June 2022. The information in the chart below is compiled from news reports, and was checked against the MassDOT Crash Portal Dashboard “Fatal Crash Information.” The Google Street View images included below use the address listed in the crash portal.

  • Of the 44 fatal crashes in Massachusetts in June in the MassDOT Crash portal, five were identified as people walking.
  • The average age of pedestrians hit & killed in June was 51.5. (One person’s age has not been released.)
Date 6/1/2022, 10:09 AM
Location 72 King St.
Town Northampton
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 75
Sex M

WWLP reported that a person was struck by the driver of a vehicle on King Street in Northampton. We could not find any additional news coverage of this crash. If you have any information, please let us know.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this road is under local jurisdiction. There is one travel lane in each direction, street parking on each side, and sidewalks on both sides. The speed limit is 25mph.

Date 6/3/2022, 11:30 PM
Location 235 Alewife Brook Parkway
Town Cambridge
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 63
Sex M

We could not find any news coverage of this crash. If you have any information, please let us know.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this road is under MassDCR jurisdiction. A short section of the rotary is also under MassDOT jurisdiction. There are two travel lanes and a shoulder as the roadway approaches the rotary, a divided median, two travel lanes as it leaves the rotary, and sidewalks on both sides. The speed limit is 30mph.

Date 6/4/2022, 1:03 AM
Location Storrow Dr. EAST, west of Leverett Cir.
Town Boston
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 22
Sex M

Lynn’s Daily Item reported that 22 year old Brandon Jennings was struck and killed by Miguel Rodriguez, 36, who was driving on Storrow Drive near the ramp to the Tobin Bridge and Interstate 93 north. Rodriguez fled the scene. Another person driving on Storrow Drive at the time witnessed the crash and followed the driver to Lynn, reporting the location and license plate number to police.

Rodriguez has been charged with motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence of liquor, operating under the influence of liquor, leaving the scene of a crash that resulted in injury or death, and failure to stop or yield.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, sections of this part of the road are under local jurisdiction while others are under MassDOT jurisdiction. There are three or four travel lanes in each direction, a divided median, and sidewalks on both sides. The speed limit is listed at 30mph.

Date 6/22/2022, 3:57 AM
Location 1576 State St.
Town Springfield
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 46
Sex F

We could not find any news coverage of this crash. If you have any information, please let us know.

State Street was the deadliest street in Springfield for pedestrians in 2021. In early June 2022, WWLP reported that the City of Springfield initiated a pilot effort to slow drivers down on the section of State Street near the library:

Those temporary improvements will include narrowing the roadway from two lanes on each side of the road down to one with traffic cones and barricades in order to study the effect of the changes to pedestrian safety.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this road is under local jurisdiction. There are two travel lanes in each direction and sidewalks on both sides. The speed limit is 30mph.

Date 6/24/2022, 9:55 PM
Location I-95 NORTH, MM 20.6
Town Walpole
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age
Sex UNK

We could not find any news coverage of this crash. If you have any information, please let us know.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this road is under MassDOT jurisdiction. There are three travel lanes on the north side, a shoulder, and a divided median. The speed limit is 65mph.

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).

Event – WalkBoston Walk: Franklin Park (August 24, 2022)

Event – WalkBoston Walk: Franklin Park (August 24, 2022)

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This event was originally scheduled on July 20th, but was rescheduled due to a heat emergency declared by the City of Boston. We hope you’ll be able to join us for our new date: August 24th!

Join us on the new date of August 24th 2022 at 5:30PM for our next walk which will focus on Franklin Park, and is part of Olmsted Now: Greater Boston’s Olmsted Bicentennial taking place in 2022 (this was originally scheduled for July, but it was rescheduled due to the heat emergency). It is also our second group walk of the year, following the Bob Sloane / Muddy River Walk in June. Updates will be available on this page & sent to all registered attendees before the event.

WalkBoston walks typically last 90 minutes, covering 1-1.5 miles and include stops along the way to hear from 3-4 people/organizations who are working on walking-related efforts in the community.

HOW TO GET TO THE START

We’ll start and end at near the Zoo at the William J. Devine Golf Course Clubhouse (1 Circuit Dr, Dorchester, MA 02121), where food and drink is available for purchase. If you’re coming from downtown, consider taking the Orange Line to Jackson Square and riding the 22 Bus via the new Columbus Avenue Bus Lane! Prefer to walk a little more through Franklin Park? You can also get off the Orange Line at Green Street and walk through the park via the Glen Road entrance. Parking is also available nearby.

ROUTE

The walk will focus on Franklin Park, and is part of Olmsted Now. The walk will start and end at the Franklin Park Clubhouse (1 Circuit Dr, Dorchester, MA 02121), which will be open for food/drink at the end.

Transportation close to the clubhouse:

  • 14, 16, 22, 28, 29, 45 buses all are a short walk from the Franklin Park Clubhouse, and can connect you to the Orange and Red lines
  • BlueBikes – Franklin Park Zoo / Franklin Park Rd at Blue Hill Ave
  • Parking is available in a lot by the Clubhouse as well as along Circuit Drive

SPEAKERS

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

This walk is the second in a series of walks that WalkBoston is organizing for Olmsted Now:

Parks and public places are for everyone. Frederick Law Olmsted — reformer, writer, Boston transplant and America’s first landscape architect — is about to turn 200. Olmsted Now, Greater Boston’s Olmsted Bicentennial, is an invitation to actively shape a more equitable, verdant and vibrant city. Show up. Be seen. Share your story.

First Annual Bob Sloane Walk: Muddy River

First Annual Bob Sloane Walk: Muddy River

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Thank you to everyone who came out to join us for our first Annual Bob Sloane Walk (and first in-person event in almost 2 years) on June 7th!

It was wonderful to see so many friends and advocates.

Special thanks to our partners at Olmsted Now and our guest speakers: Isabel Schulman and Sophia Bass Warner, National Park Service; Bill Smith, Town of Brookline, Department of Public Works; Charlotte Fleetwood, Boston Transportation Department; and Veronika Trufanova, Emerald Necklace Conservancy.

Thank you for helping us honor Bob Sloane’s legacy and continue his advocacy work. We look forward to seeing more of all of you soon!

Below are a few more photos from the event, we hope you enjoy them and that you had a great time walking with us. For more about Olmsted Now, Greater Boston’s Olmsted Bicentennial, head to OlmstedNow.org