As presented at this year’s annual event on March 18, 2019

Fall River Walking Champions
Friends of the Quequechan River Rail Trail: Janice Velozo and many others; Bike Fall River: Al Lima and many others; Partners for a Healthier Community: David Weed, Marcia Picard; Fall River School Dept.: Letourneau School Vice Principal, David Assad, Fonseca School Principal, Alicia Lisi; Fall River Dept. of Community Maintenance: John Perry, Laura Ferreira and others; Fall River Dept. of Health and SSTAR, Mass in Motion and 1422: Julianne Kelly, Eric Andrade, and Paula Beaulieu; Fall River City Planners and Engineers: Bill Roth; Fall River Police Dept: Officer Rick Saraiva; Fall River Fire Dept: Chief John Lynch; Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD): Jackie Jones

This diverse group of people and organizations from across Fall River have joined forces to create wonderful new walking opportunities and establish a base of activists who will ensure that Fall River is even more walkable in the years to come. A long-anticipated dream of residents to reconnect a City split by the building of Interstate 195 was realized with the planning and construction of the beautiful and well-loved Quequechan River Rail Trail (QRRT). It was then determined that a collaboration of City departments and volunteers was essential to promote, protect, and preserve the Trail.

Since 2016, the Friends of the Quequechan Trail have conducted clean- ups, maintained gardens, placed wayfinding signs, and organized events to keep the Trail a welcoming and safe resource for all residents and visitors to the City. In other locations around the City, all ages got involved: senior champions led walks around senior centers and worked to secure improvements for sidewalks and crosswalks, and a Safe Routes to School grant was awarded to protect the youngest pedestrians. Resident activists led the passage of the Community Preservation Act, and partnered with city staff for the adoption of a Complete Streets Policy.

Springfield Walking Champions
City of Springfield Dept. of Health and Human Services: Helen Caulton-Harris, Commissioner; Benjamin Bland, Mass in Motion Coordinator; Kiah McAndrew-Davis, 1422 Grant Manager; City of Springfield Dept. of Public Works: Matt Sokop, Chief Engineer; Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, Catherine Ratté; LiveWell Springfield, Jessica Collins; Wayfinders, Beatrice Dewberry; WalkBike Springfield, Betsy Johnson

This persistent, resourceful, and courageous group of walking champions shows the power of layering the efforts of local advocates, public health professionals, and city staff with resources from regional and state agencies. Their dedication to improving Springfield’s walking environment has resulted in real changes to the built environment stretching across the City. These changes took time and could not have happened without true, undying commitment.
Policies now exist to sustain these efforts – a crosswalk standard, a pedestrian safety curriculum for elementary students, and a complete streets policy that looks to expand the biking and walking network in Springfield. The work of these champions has led to more students walking to school along safer routes, and neighborhood residents crossing streets in brightly painted, prominent crosswalks.

Keynote Speaker Eric Fleegler, MD, MPH | Boston Children’s Hospital
Pediatric emergency physician, Health resources researcher

Dr. Fleegler is a legend at Boston Children’s Hospital. For over 14 years, he has led injury prevention research, with a focus on violence and firearm fatalities. Dr. Fleegler has also researched pedestrian safety as a public health priority and will discuss ways to engage the health care community in the effort to make local streets safer. He has published over 30 original research articles in numerous periodicals, including JAMA Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Dr. Fleegler founded and directed HelpSteps, a web- and mobile-based system that improves families’ access to social services. HelpSteps is now the referral system for the Boston Public Health Commission. Dr. Fleegler also co-founded TriVox Health, an online system to manage patients with chronic diseases, including ADHD, asthma, autism, depression, anxiety, and epilepsy. TriVox Health is currently used by 10 clinics at Boston Children’s Hospital and other medical institutions.

Dr. Fleegler majored in political science at Brown University. He earned his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania and his Master in Public Health at the Harvard School of Public Health.

As presented at this year’s annual event on March 29, 2018

Underground at Ink Block Team | MassDOT, National Development, Landing Studio, Street Theory, KP Strategies, Visual Dialogue, VHB
The Underground at Ink Block Team transformed an inaccessible wasteland underpass, into a beautifully designed, active urban park that re-connects two neighborhoods. Colorful paths, viewing platforms, bike and vehicle parking, active play areas, and a new waterfront edge each contribute to the complete transformation that you achieved. WalkBoston hopes that the Underground at Ink Block Project inspires the claiming and re-creation of more lost corners of urban environments in Massachusetts. While we always have leftover spaces and edges around urban infrastructure, you have shown that even these places can contribute to the walking environment in a wonderful way.

MassDOT – Secretary Stephanie Pollack, Jonathan Gulliver, Kirk Jackson
National Development – Ted Tye, Kathy McMahon, Naomi Mayeux
Landing Studio – Daniel Adams, Marie Law Adams
Street Theory – Liza Quinonez, Victor “Marka27” Quinonez
KP Strategies – Kristin Phelan
Visual Dialogue – Fritz Klaetke, Susan Battista
VHB – Michael Carragher

MBTA Plan for Accessible Transit Infrastructure (PATI) Project Team | Laura Brelsford, Kathryn Quigley, Chris Hart, Melissa Dullea, Erik Scheier
The PATI Team is helping to make it easier for people to walk to bus stops across the MBTA’s vast network of bus stops. With an amazingly detailed survey of 7,643 bus stops, the work of the PATI Team is opening up new opportunities to improve walking-transit connections that serve Massachusetts’ residents. WalkBoston is certain that the process the PATI Team has undertaken will help to make the Boston region a more walkable and accessible place.

WalkBoston Board Members | Matt Lawlor & Hillary Borcherding
Matt took on the role of Board President and became an amazingly strong advocacy voice for WalkBoston. His passion for WalkBoston’s mission led from Board meetings, to public events, to becoming a founder of WalkUp Rozzie. Matt has been an articulate and persistent cheerleader for strong action. He has been a committed leader for our organizational work; helping to engage other Board members, leading the charge on fundraising and seeing WalkBoston through the completion of a new strategic plan. Matt’s steady hand, ready availability and strong relationships with all of the staff have been a wonderful asset. WalkBoston is thrilled that Matt will continue as a Board member and an active participant in all that we do.

Hillary is WalkBoston’s first ever Board AND Staff hero.  Starting at WalkBoston straight out of college, Hillary quickly grew from a part-time front-office staffer into the full-time, valued face of WalkBoston. Hillary’s good cheer, willingness to pitch in, and excellence in everything made her the WalkBoston go-to person. It was a loss for us when Hillary left for law school, but we recruited her back as a Board member. She once again delivered – always willing to help whenever we needed good ideas. Among her key contributions was serving as a wonderful newsletter editor. With Hillary’s recent move to Burlington VT, we are losing her as an everyday member of the WalkBoston community, but we can bet she will be advocating for walking in her new hometown.  

Keynote Speaker Jeff Speck | Walkable City author, TED speaker
Jeff Speck is a city planner and urban designer who, through writing, lectures, and built work, advocates internationally for more walkable cities. As Director of Design at the National Endowment for the Arts from 2003 through 2007, he oversaw the Mayors’ Institute on City Design and created the Governors’ Institute on Community Design, a federal program that helps state governors fight suburban sprawl. Prior to joining the Endowment, Mr. Speck spent ten years as Director of Town Planning at Duany Plater-Zyberk and Co., a leading practitioner of the New Urbanism, where he led or managed more than forty of the firm’s projects. He is the co-author of Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream as well as The Smart Growth Manual. His recent book, Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time – which the Christian Science Monitor called “timely and important, a delightful, insightful, irreverent work” – was the best-selling planning/design title of 2013 – 2015. http://www.jeffspeck.com/

As presented at this year’s annual event on March 29, 2017

Alison Pultinas | Persistent, effective Mission Hill/Roxbury citizen activist
Alison Pultinas is a leading Mission Hill activist and a key member of the Friends of Melnea Cass Boulevard. Alison has been a guiding hand for the design of the Melnea Cass roadway as it has evolved from a roadway widening project to a Complete Street. Throughout the five-year advocacy effort, Alison has been persistent and effective, providing key institutional memory, recalling comment letters sent and informal decisions reached.
Alison is a strong advocate for development that is not dependent upon automobiles. She is a key ally of WalkBoston and consistently encourages WalkBoston to attend meetings and to respond to projects, like the proposed Tremont Crossing mixed-use development. She keeps watch over several of the outdoor stairways which connect walking routes on the hilly landscape of Mission Hill, cleaning and shoveling when needed. Alison is happy to report that the reconstruction of the Hayden Street Stairs, a City of Boston Public Works project, is upcoming. She also writes for the monthly community newspaper, The Fenway News, with a focus on development and historic preservation issues.

Sarah Bankert, Healthy Hampshire | Rural walking advocate in Western Massachusetts
Sarah Bankert conceived of the Route 202 – Common to Courthouse Corridor Study in Belchertown, which brought together municipal staff, Belchertown seniors, and economic development entities to work toward a shared goal of a safer, higher quality walking experience along Route 202. Sarah and her team’s efforts attracted the attention of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Design & Resiliency Team (DART) who conducted a multi-day workshop which resulted in a “Three Villages & A Farm: Belchertown Beyond” case study report. She is also leading efforts to improve health and walkability in 14 towns in Hampshire County as part of the MDPH 1422 grant.

Caitlin Marquis, Healthy Hampshire | Rural walking advocate in Western Massachusetts
Caitlin Marquis has been a committed voice for incorporating physical activity – particularly walking – into town-wide planning efforts in Williamsburg. She contributed to the formation of the Facilities Master Plan Committee, plays an advisory role with seniors at the Williamsburg Council on Aging, and promotes healthy food choices at the local town center market. Her efforts demonstrate how walkability permeates so many aspects of the daily lives of Williamsburg residents. Caitlin also works to improve health and walkability in 14 towns in Hampshire County as part of the MDPH 1422 grant.

Dillon Sussman, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission | Rural walking advocate in Western Massachusetts Dillon Sussman, a land use planner at the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC), has also brought walkability to the rural towns of Hampshire County. Dillon conducted a Health Aging and Community Design regulatory review in Williamsburg and directed the town’s Facilities Master Planning efforts. He also authored the adaptation of PVPC’s Healthy Community Design Tool-Kit to include age-friendly design elements that are applicable across the Commonwealth.

Michelle Wu, Boston City Council President
Boston City Council President Michelle Wu has elevated the conversation about walking (and bicycling and transit) at the City Council, in City Hall, and among many Bostonians. Her proactive efforts to reach out to WalkBoston and many of our fellow activists about the importance of making Boston safer for people walking in the City has helped keep active transportation efforts alive in Boston. Partnership with Councilor Wu is particularly powerful as we work with many City departments, grassroots organizations and residents to implement Vision Zero.