Category: Comment Letter

Testimony to joint committee on transportation on S.2379, “An Act relative to providing multimodal transportation technologies” (AVs)

Testimony to joint committee on transportation on S.2379, “An Act relative to providing multimodal transportation technologies” (AVs)

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Thank you to Chairs Arciero and Crighton and members of the committee for holding this hearing today. My name is Brendan Kearney and I am the Executive Director at WalkMassachusetts, a statewide pedestrian advocacy organization founded in 1990 as WalkBoston. I’m also sharing comments on S.2379, “An Act relative to providing multimodal transportation technologies,” which would authorize the use of autonomous vehicles in the Commonwealth. 

Separately, I’ll be submitting written testimony against the sidewalk robot bills, H.3773/S.2372 (“An Act relative to mobile carrying devices”), and in favor of Rep. Vitolo’s H3804 to give pedestrians more walk time, and Senator Brownsberger’s S.2343 expanding truck safety requirements. 

In 2024, there were 369 reported total traffic deaths in Massachusetts. At least 78 pedestrians lost their lives as a result of traffic crashes, accounting for just over 21% of the total. 

It is possible that self-driving vehicle technology may help reduce that number, but there is no guarantee. This must not be rolled out without proper safeguards for our communities.

Since there are many unknowns with autonomous vehicle systems, we caution you to err on the side of more data sharing, local control, and consultation so that MassDOT, regional planning agencies, and local transportation departments will know more about vehicles operating on streets across the Commonwealth, and ensure we’re adapting them to our communities instead of the other way around – and so that municipal staff are able to respond to safety issues and resident concerns. 

Incomplete crash data is a known issue. I encourage you to require data to be collected and shared not only during any testing phases, but also during deployment of autonomous vehicles. Please lean on the team at the MassDOT Safety Division who maintains the IMPACT Crash Portal to get their feedback on what information would be most useful to be collected and shared. 

A few data points AVs could provide beyond traditional crash data might include:

  • When and where vehicles are deployed to potentially understand the weather and road conditions the vehicles are driving in.
  • Close calls. These might include hard braking incidents (when the AV had to suddenly stop), disengagements (when the AV requires a safety driver to take over)  and immobilization (when the vehicle does not have a safety driver and is stuck).

I’ll share two concerns to keep in mind with the software:

  • 1st/ Intentional lawbreaking written into the code. In a Washington Post article in December titled “On roads teeming with robotaxis, crossing the street can be harrowing” their tech columnist in San Francisco captured videos of Waymo self-driving cars failing to stop for him at a crosswalk. He sought to answer the question, “How does an AI learn how to break the law?” A spokesperson for Waymo told him that its car might decide not to stop if adjacent cars don’t yield. “So is it possible that Waymo’s AI is learning from the human drivers on the road who also act like jerks?” One of the theories posited is that Waymo cars were intentionally getting more aggressive to help shed a market reputation for being slower than competitors.
    It is unclear to me how this behavior – violating the law to yield to pedestrians at a crosswalk – should be allowed, or how it would be creating a safer street than human drivers. The intentional lawbreaking that has been on display in California has also included short term parking in crosswalks and bike lanes – not pulling over to pick someone up, but remaining there for upwards of 5-10min. Communities and the state need to be able to collect data on that and have the ability to regulate it to hold companies accountable for these software choices.
  • 2nd/ Bias in the software itself. A study a few years ago from Georgia Tech found that “the facial and body recognition technology built into many pedestrian detection systems does not recognize and react to darker-skinned people as consistently as it does lighter-skinned people.” Already, people of color are disproportionately represented in fatal crashes involving people walking. The technology should level the playing field, not reinforce existing shortcomings and biases.  

Thank you for your time, I appreciate the opportunity to comment. 

This testimony was shared as part of a panel w/ Pete Wilson of Transportation for Massachusetts (T4MA) and Seth Gadbois of Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) at a Joint Committee on Transportation Hearing on June 24, 2025.

Testimony to joint committee on transportation on S.2344 & H.3754 “An Act relative to traffic regulation using road safety cameras”

Testimony to joint committee on transportation on S.2344 & H.3754 “An Act relative to traffic regulation using road safety cameras”

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Thank you chairs Crighton and Arciero. My name is Brendan Kearney, and I’m the executive director of WalkMassachusetts, a statewide pedestrian advocacy organization working to make walking safer and easier in Massachusetts, to encourage better health, a cleaner environment, and more vibrant communities, originally established in 1990 as WalkBoston. I’m here alongside colleagues with the MA Vision Zero Coalition, who will speak to different aspects in support of H.3754 & S.2344. 

I want to give some context into some of the problems these safety camera bills are working to help solve. WalkMassachusetts releases a report each spring looking at fatal crashes from the year before. 

  • In 2024, there were 369 reported total traffic deaths in Massachusetts. At least 78 pedestrians lost their lives as a result of traffic crashes, accounting for just over 21% of the total. 
  • Of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts, 53 had at least one pedestrian crash death in 2024. 
  • 66.7% fatal pedestrian crashes took place in environmental justice census block groups. 

Environmental justice (EJ) is based on the principle that all people have a right to be protected from environmental hazards and to live in and enjoy a clean and healthful environment. This skewed spatial distribution of fatal pedestrian crashes in Massachusetts demonstrates that EJ communities face disproportionate harm in large part because of historic and present-day injustices in transportation planning, so we need to do more to protect the people that are just trying to get around or cross the street in their town. 

We’re grateful the legislature passed “An Act Creating a Next Generation Roadmap for MA Climate Policy” in 2021, which includes a specific definition of “environmental justice population” to ensure Massachusetts holds to this commitment no matter what is happening at the national level. 

Each year we’ve released this report, we believe that on the state and local level, there is a need for more action to slow drivers down so people trying to cross the street can do so safely. Drivers can more easily see and yield to people in crosswalks when driving slower. 

We were very glad that MassDOT Highway Administrator Gulliver testified earlier. 

MassDOT believes the need to slow people down to reasonable speeds as well – they now have an entire page of their website dedicated to Speed Management. 

In addition, the MassDOT Strategic Highway Safety Plan includes as one of six initiatives an effort to Accelerate Research and Adoption of Technology: 

“The Commonwealth is eager to support research and the use of technologies to reduce roadway deaths and serious injuries. As part of this work, Massachusetts will identify barriers to adoption, as well as the statutory and regulatory changes needed.”  

They specifically mention cameras for red light running, speed zones, and work zones. They cite that  “Automated speed enforcement can reduce fatal and serious injury crashes by 11% to 44% and reduce the proportion of  speeding drivers by 14% to 65%.” 

The governor’s budget bill also included safety cameras, so we hope this committee will move the safety camera bills in front of you along favorably. 

Thank you. 

This testimony was shared as part of a panel w/ Pete Wilson of Transportation for Massachusetts (T4MA), Galen Mook of MassBike, and Emily Stein of Safe Roads Alliance at a Joint Committee on Transportation Hearing on June 3, 2025.

MBTA Draw One Bridge Replacement Project NEPA Draft Environmental Assessment Comment Letter

MBTA Draw One Bridge Replacement Project NEPA Draft Environmental Assessment Comment Letter

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January 6, 2025
Re: MBTA Draw One Bridge Replacement Project NEPA Draft Environmental Assessment 
Sent via email: drawone@mbta.com

Dear project team,

My name is Brendan Kearney, and I’m co-executive director of WalkMassachusetts, a statewide pedestrian advocacy organization previously known as WalkBoston. We have followed the slow progression and implementation of the New Charles River Basin Master Plan for decades. The North Station Draw 1 Bridge Replacement project is an important component to the multimodal network of the Boston region, and we want to ensure this location includes the proposed pedestrian and bicycle connection.

The drawbridge crosses over the Charles River directly behind North Station. It currently has two moveable spans with four tracks. Existing piers are supporting the spans already in place. The new drawbridge will have three moveable spans with additional tracks. We are concerned that the current draft of the design for the bridge does not include a pedestrian path, the 2nd of three important pedestrian connections within the Master Plan. This crucial pedestrian and bicycle connection was a commitment by the Commonwealth as part of the Central Artery project mitigation. It should be restored to the project and built on the same timeline as the rail crossing. 

If that is deemed unachievable at this time, please commit to advancing the design and construction plans as well as a funding plan for this important pedestrian/bike connection during the 8-year construction timeline for what is now solely a train drawbridge. 

WalkMassachusetts would like to remind the MBTA, the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs and MassDOT that the North Bank bridge which connects Cambridge and Charlestown and passes underneath the Zakim Bridge was also dropped at one point roughly 20 years ago. At the time, officials were sympathetic, but said the holdup was simply due to lack of funding. As we now know, that bridge is a heavily used, beautiful and well-loved part of the Charles River Reservation.

We should not make the mistake of leaving out the connection between the North Point Park and North Station which will also become a heavily used, and well-loved part of MassDCR’s Charles River Reservation.

Thank you,

Brendan Kearney
Co-Executive Director, WalkMassachusetts

A bilingual community walk in East Boston

A bilingual community walk in East Boston

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WalkMassachusetts and GreenRoots Caminatas Verdes participants gather for a photo prior to embarking on a 1 mile walk along the Mary Ellen Welch Greenway.

WalkMassachusetts and GreenRoots Caminatas Verdes participants gather for a photo prior to embarking on a 1 mile walk along the Mary Ellen Welch Greenway.

On Tuesday, August 6, WalkMassachusetts and GreenRoots co-hosted a one-mile walk through East Boston, joining Caminatas Verdes (“Green Walks”), a group of local residents who gather weekly to be physically active and create community. 

This was our first-ever bilingual community walk, with English interpretation provided by GreenRoots. It was an opportunity to highlight a partnership with GreenRoots that has been made possible by a grant from Boston Children’s Hospital.

The event began in the amphitheater of the Bremen Street Community Park, where WalkMass’ bilingual Program Manager Jonny Gomez-Pereira welcomed participants and highlighted some of the topics that would be discussed along the walk. Noemy Rodriguez, a 2024 WalkMassachusetts Golden Shoe Recipient, described how the Caminatas reflect some of East Boston’s rich cultural diversity, with multiple languages and nationalities represented and participants of different ages and abilities.

Attendees of this walk then had the opportunity to hear from Sandra Nijjar, the Founder and Executive of the East Boston Community Soup Kitchen, which operates twice a week in order to provide families in East Boston with nutritious food. Sandra’s current work highlights the need that exists within the community and some of the challenges that families face when trying to access food.

After hearing from opening speakers, participants embarked on the walk along the Mary Ellen Welch Greenway which connects the Jeffries Point neighborhood in East Boston to Orient Heights via a car-free shared use path. During the first stop of our walk along the Gove St. entrance of the Greenway we were able to hear from Caminata participant and East Boston resident Beatrice who bravely shared some of her experience with the Caminatas. She has participated in the walk for over 8 years, and found the community she built in this space empowering as she recovered from COVID-19 complications. Beatrice spoke to the power of moving together and being in community and affirmed her participation going forward.

As the walk made its way further south toward the coast, participants had the opportunity to hear from another Caminata participant and Eastie Resident, Rina, who has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years. Rina shared some of her memories of what the East Boston coastline used to be and how it has rapidly transformed in recent years. She noted some of the challenges that have come along with the rapid development of the coast including the exponential growth of housing costs in the once affordable neighborhood and the resulting displacement that Caminatas participants organize around. She noted that organizations such as City Life / Vida Urbana work with residents in the area to challenge displacement, which has become common.

Lastly, the group made its way towards Piers Park, walking through the recent expansion of the MassPort property where attendees had the opportunity to hear from John Walkey, GreenRoots’ Director of Climate Justice & Waterfront Initiatives. John was able to provide some context of some of the programmatic work that GreenRoots achieves throughout East Boston. He shared a brief history lesson on how chapter 91 has evolved from providing access to colonial era subjects to the harbor to fish and clam, to its current existing form where new developments along the Boston Harbor provide public amenities to the communities that host them such as public restrooms. John also noted that green spaces such as Piers Park are essential, especially as Boston Logan Airport abuts the community and negatively impacts air quality. 

Learn more about:

North Station Drawbridge Replacement / Draw One Project Comment Letter

North Station Drawbridge Replacement / Draw One Project Comment Letter

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June 14, 2024
Re: North Station Drawbridge Replacement / Draw One Project
Sent via email: drawone@mbta.com
Dear project team,

My name is Brendan Kearney, and I’m co-executive director of WalkMassachusetts, a statewide pedestrian advocacy organization previously known as WalkBoston. We have followed the slow progression and implementation of the New Charles River Basin Master Plan for decades. I’m commenting on the removal of the pedestrian river crossing as part of the North Station Draw 1 Bridge Replacement.

The drawbridge crosses over the Charles River directly behind North Station. It currently has two moveable spans with four tracks. Existing piers are supporting the spans already in place. The new drawbridge will have three moveable spans with additional tracks. We are concerned that the current draft of the design for the bridge does not include a pedestrian path, the 2nd of three important pedestrian connections within the Master Plan. This crucial pedestrian and bicycle connection was a commitment by the Commonwealth as part of the Central Artery project mitigation. It should be restored to the project and built on the same timeline as the rail crossing. 

WalkMassachusetts would like to remind the MBTA, the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs and MassDOT that the North Bank bridge which connects Cambridge and Charlestown and passes underneath the Zakim Bridge was also dropped at one point roughly 20 years ago – at the time, officials were sympathetic, but said the holdup was simply due to lack of funding. As we now know, that bridge is a heavily used, beautiful and well-loved part of the Charles River Reservation.
We should not make the mistake of leaving out the connection between the North Point Park and North Station which will also become a heavily used, and well-loved part of the Charles River Reservation.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Brendan Kearney
Co-Executive Director, WalkMassachusetts