Category: Announcement

Walking Toward Safer, Healthier Streets in Brockton

Walking Toward Safer, Healthier Streets in Brockton

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This summer, WalkMassachusetts and Old Colony Planning Council partnered with community members to complete a series of walk audits across four Brockton neighborhoods: Campello, Montello, East Side, and West Side. Each audit brought together residents, local leaders, and advocates to identify barriers, share personal experiences, and recommend solutions to make walking safer, more accessible, and more enjoyable for everyone.

Why Walk Audits Matter

A walk audit is a hands-on way for community members to assess the safety and comfort of their streets. Participants walk a set route together, observe conditions, and document challenges and opportunities. The result is a community-driven report that highlights both short- and long-term improvements, shaping future investments in infrastructure and public space.

Key Findings from the Brockton Walk Audit Series

Montello (May 21, 2025)

  • Concerns: Faded crosswalks, broken sidewalks, high vehicle speeds, and chronic flooding.
  • Recommendations: Restriping and relocating crosswalks, repairing sidewalks, permanent traffic calming (curb bump-outs), and engineering drainage solutions.
  • Community Insights: Stakeholders highlighted Montello’s strong access to public transportation, but emphasized the need for safer crossings, more shade, and clear wayfinding for pedestrians.

Campello (June 26, 2025)

  • Concerns: Missing bus stop signage, poorly maintained crosswalks, excessive litter, and sparse tree canopy.
    Recommendations: Replace street signs, repaint high-visibility crosswalks, install trash bins, and coordinate street tree planting with the Greening the Gateway Cities Program.
  • Community Insights: Campello’s busy streets and active businesses show promise, but participants noted obstacles like lifted concrete and the need for improvements near Vicente’s Supermarket.

West Side (July 23, 2025)

  • Concerns: Lack of crosswalks to key features like bus stops, overgrown vegetation along sidewalks, litter from car crashes, and limited tree coverage.
    Recommendations: Add more crosswalks at intersections, maintain vegetation regularly, create a public-private waste management partnership with local businesses, and expand shading through tree planting.
  • Community Insights: Residents noted the disparities in walkability between different Brockton neighborhoods. West Elm Street stood out as an example of well-paved sidewalks with space for wheelchairs and strollers—highlighting how streetscape improvements here could be a model for Belmont and Moraine Streets.

East Side (August 14, 2025)

  • Concerns: Short walk signal times, lack of ADA compliance, missing sidewalks, and minimal shading.
  • Recommendations: Lengthen signal times, install ADA-compliant ramps, add raised crosswalks along key locations such as Caffrey Towers and Brockton Hospital. Implement shading systems with trees or sunshades as shopping plazas are developed.
  • Community Insights: Residents shared concerns about accessibility challenges for people with disabilities and older adults. They also pointed to shaded bus stops as a model for what the rest of the neighborhood needs.

Moving Forward

These walk audits show both the strengths and opportunities in Brockton’s neighborhoods. While each area has unique challenges, common themes emerged:

  • The need for safer crossings and clearer street signage.
  • The importance of shade, seating, and trash management to create a more welcoming environment.
  • The opportunity to leverage Brockton’s strong transit access to encourage walking as a safe, reliable option for all.

With community voices at the center, these reports provide a roadmap for improvements that can build healthier, more connected neighborhoods across Brockton.

📑 Explore the full reports here:

Blogpost by Emma Itri, Development and Communication Coordinator

Shared Spaces Tremont Street Site Visit April 2025

Shared Spaces Tremont Street Site Visit April 2025

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We are ‘Shared Spaces’, a coalition of advocates from the community, Boston Center for Independent Living (BCIL), Riders’ Transportation Access Group (RTAG), Transportation for Massachusetts (T4MA), WalkMass, Boston Cyclists Union (BCU), and MassBike.

Our mission is to promote collaboration and understanding of the challenges associated with shared spaces – such as bike lanes, sidewalks, crosswalks, and bus stops statewide. We are committed to advocating for safety and accessibility in the design of these shared spaces, with a focus on the unique experiences of individuals with disabilities. Through education, outreach, and active engagement, we will advocate for and support inclusive policies that enhance the safety and accessibility of shared spaces for all people with disabilities, pedestrians, bicyclists, drivers, and transit riders.

We organized this site visit to bring together individuals from the city and provide them with a firsthand understanding of these shared spaces, their limitations, and potential conflicts—this initiative aimed to promote more informed decision-making. Additionally, the visit facilitated relationship-building between our communities, allowing for a more authentic and accurate experience of these shared spaces.

We want to express our gratitude to the participants of this site visit, which included representatives from the MBTA’s System-Wide Accessibility Department, the City of Boston’s Commission for Persons with Disabilities, the City of Boston’s Street Cabinet, the Boston Transportation Department, and the Institute for Human-Centered Design. Thank you for your time, consideration, and efforts to make our streets safer for vulnerable users.

Please find at the link below a summary of the key observations from our group’s site visit of Tremont Street on April 14, 2025. We have included photos and can provide more examples if that is helpful. We recognize that some of our recommendations outline ideal scenarios. However, any improvement to roadway safety benefits all users. If achieving the ideal is not possible, we should still take action. Slowing down all users minimizes harm in case of conflicts.

Read the PDF report

Introducing new board members

Introducing new board members

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We’ve added new board members who bring valuable skills to the organization: Bill Decker, Rick Plenge, Tanya Roy.

Bill Decker, board member
William Decker
Bill Decker has been a senior human resources executive for 40 years, providing HR solutions to businesses in multiple industries at all phases of their life cycle. He has specific expertise in organizational restructuring and change management, executive compensation, talent strategy, acquisition/retention, leadership and succession planning. He currently serves as Senior Human Resources Executive for Odyssey Systems in Wakefield, Mass. A Boston resident who enjoys the freedom and opportunity to walk instead of driving whenever possible, Bill joined the WalkMassachusetts board in June 2025. He was compelled by the organization’s commitment to providing the environment and infrastructure where people of all ages can safely and comfortably to walk or bike on the streets throughout our communities.
Rick Plenge, board member
Rick Plenge
Rick Plenge is an avid walker and promoter of safe and accessible pedestrian facilities through his work as the New England Active Transportation Service Leader with VHB in Boston. He has worked across North America observing, planning and designing multimodal facilities and is excited to leverage his lived experiences in supporting the vision and values of WalkMassachusetts. He continues to evolve his understanding of emerging pedestrian safety and accessibility best practices through his work on the Transportation Research Board Pedestrian and Bicycle Committees as well as through his role as a National Complete Streets Instructor. He lives in Beverly with wife and three dogs and takes pride in being a consistent top finisher in Beat the Bay State Challenge.
Tanya Roy, board member
Tanya Roy
Tanya Roy spent her professional career in investments before transitioning to the nonprofit sector, where she applies her financial and management background to mission-driven organizations. She served on the board as treasurer of the Wellesley College Students’ Aid Society, which provides financial support to in-need students. She currently serves as treasurer and board member of the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, advancing initiatives in voter rights, civic engagement and advocacy. A passionate walker, cyclist, swimmer and runner, Tanya’s involvement with WalkMassachusetts combines her active lifestyle with an organization whose mission she deeply values. Tanya holds a B.A. from Wellesley College and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

We’d also like to thank you to our board members who rotated off the board at the end of their term this June: Paula Gold, Emma Rothfeld Yashar, Carol Steinberg.

2025 Bob Sloane Walk – North Station, North Point, Charles River Basin

2025 Bob Sloane Walk – North Station, North Point, Charles River Basin

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Save the date: May 27, 2025, 5:30pm
Annual Bob Sloane Walk
North Station, North Point, Charles River Basin

Start: Lovejoy Wharf (off Causeway Street). Look for a WalkMassachusetts sign.
View the location on Google Streetview.
End: Lingo Cafe + Bar in MassDCR’s North Point Park. Register

Each spring, we lead a free walk with a ~1-1.5 mile route that includes ~2-4 stops where we hear from a guest speaker. We start or end near public transit and usually end at a place where people can mingle or have a drink if they’d like to continue conversations. Since this is a point-to-point 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.

On this walk, we’ll be looking at changes in/around the Charles River Basin near North Station and hearing from speakers at points along the route. There has been a lot happening in this pocket of the city since we last led a walk here back in 2017! We’ll see and learn more about:
• Bill Russell Bridge, formerly known as the North Washington Street Bridge
• Planned Draw One bridge behind North Station. Advocacy needed for missing pedestrian link!
• Graffiti artist-in-residence at Charles River Conservancy’s Lynch Family Skatepark

Help create events like this by joining our Events committee: contact the chair, Linda Sharpe.

This annual walk is named for 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.

Map of pedestrian fatalities in 2024
2024 Crash Report finds older adults, people with disabilities, and EJ communities still most at risk

2024 Crash Report finds older adults, people with disabilities, and EJ communities still most at risk

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WalkMassachusetts calls for urgent safety investments as more communities organize walk audits to demand safer, more accessible streets across the state

WalkMassachusetts’ latest Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA report shows inequities in who is most at risk on our streets. Of the 369 total traffic deaths reported in Massachusetts in 2024, 78 were pedestrians. More than one-third of those killed were age 65 or older, and nearly 70% of fatalities occurred in Environmental Justice neighborhoods. For the first time, the report also includes data on crash victims using wheelchairs—underscoring the urgent need to design streets for people of all abilities.

“From Medford to Beverly, communities are organizing walk audits, documenting unsafe conditions, and calling for action,” said Brendan Kearney, co-Executive Director of WalkMassachusetts. “This data backs up what residents already know: our streets are not safe for everyone.”

Key 2024 findings:

  • 66.7% of fatal crashes occurred in Environmental Justice communities.
  • 37.2% of victims were age 65+.
  • New “personal conveyance” category includes people using wheelchairs and scooters.
  • 70.5% of crashes happened on locally controlled roads.
  • 61% occurred in the dark.

The report coincides with the 10th anniversary of Boston’s Vision Zero commitment. City speed data show that “Better Bike Lane” projects initiated over the last few years have led to better compliance with speed limits, creating safer streets for all users. While pedestrian injuries have declined, WalkMassachusetts urges renewed commitment—especially from cities with recurring fatalities.

“There’s been progress, but there’s more to do—particularly for people with disabilities and older adults,” said Kat Torres Radisic of the Boston Center for Independent Living. “We need bold leadership—and real investment—in street safety.”

To support growing demand, WalkMassachusetts is expanding its Walk Audit Academy—including bilingual walk audits  and hands-on training to help residents identify hazards and organize for change in Brockton this spring. A searchable directory of walk audits from across the state is also now available…

WalkMassachusetts calls for:

  • Regional Vision Zero planning efforts to continue even if federal funds are rescinded 
  • Increased municipal use of Chapter 90 funds for walkable, accessible infrastructure.
  • Continued support for community-led walk audits, especially in EJ communities.

Learn more and access the report.