Category: Statewide Efforts

Walk Audit Academy (Worcester)

Walk Audit Academy (Worcester)

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We embarked on a new project that built on our virtual walk audit process and expanded our digital training opportunities: The goal of the “Walk Audit Academy” video series was to help people feel comfortable enough to perform their own walk audit, and to expand the number of people that we can reach. Karin Valentine Goins and the UMass Worcester Prevention Research Center (PRC) sees the video series as a way to create a sustainable training model based on the Capabilities for Public Health Agency Involvement in Land Use and Transportation Decision Making that PRC created through the CDC’s Physical Activity Policy Research Network (PAPRN) and the National Cancer Institute’s Speeding Research tested INTerventions (SPRINT) program.

In the “Walk Audit Academy” video series, we describe what goes into performing a walk audit and things to consider when planning a walk audit in a community. Modules in the series cover preparing for, conducting, and distilling results of a walk audit. The small, bite-sized videos are also less intimidating than one long video, and relevant segments can be shared on social media or for different audiences.

WalkBoston staff members lent their talents in front of the camera to share what goes into putting together a walk audit: including looking at crash data, creating a route, and what to remember to include on an invitation.

In November 2022, we piloted it with a cohort of volunteers in Worcester to train community leaders on how to lead walk audits and implement change, in a ‘flipped classroom’ style. People were able to learn at their own pace with the short videos and supporting materials. The five groups created their own routes, invited participants, and led their own walk audits. We offered sessions on Zoom for group feedback and discussion as well as drop in Zoom ‘office hours’ throughout the month of November to answer questions.

In January, we gathered again, and this time it was in person at the Worcester Senior Center! The participants gave an overview of each of their groups, where they led their walk audit in the city, and the findings and recommendations that came out of it. Some groups shared slides, others photos, and one group even put together a short video of their own with amateur drone footage from their walk audit.

There was a great energy in the room that night, and a real sense that something special is happening in Worcester right now. As we reflected on the evening, we realized that we were able to help teach 5x the amount of people compared to a traditional walk audit through this process. We look forward to rolling it out further in the coming months.

Statewide Fatal Crashes In MA, December 2022

Statewide Fatal Crashes In MA, December 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 crashes listed in the MassDOT Crash Portal in November; nine were identified as people walking. In this post, we’ll look at crashes in MA in December 2022. The information in the chart below is compiled from news reports, and was checked against the MassDOT Crash Portal Dashboard “Fatal Crash Information.” Any Google Street View images included below use the address listed in the crash portal.

  • Of the 34 fatal crashes in Massachusetts in December in the MassDOT Crash portal, 8 were identified as people walking.
  • The average age of pedestrians hit & killed in December was 56.125.
  • We could not find any additional information for two of the fatal crashes.
Date 12/10/2022, 11:02 AM
Location 331 Highland Ave.
Town Salem
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 69
Sex F

NBC10Boston reports 69-year old Karen Raffa was struck and killed by a 87-year old driver in the parking lot of a doctor’s office.

This fatal crash happened in a parking lot, which is usually not included in FARS crash data. According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Highland Avenue (State Route 107) is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is a two way divided street, with two lanes and a shoulder in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side. The speed limit is unclear, with 35mph and 45mph both listed in the database.

Date 12/11/2022, 2:38 AM
Location I-93 NORTH, near EXIT 15
Town Boston
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 26
Sex M

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

There was a fatal pedestrian crash near this location in the southbound lanes of I-93 in October.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, I-93 is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is a limited access highway, with 4 travel lanes in each direction with a divided median. The speed limit is 55mph. 

Date 12/12/2022, 12:48 PM
Location Harrison Ave. + Bernardston Rd.
Town Greenfield
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 72
Sex M

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, Bernardston Road is under MassDOT jurisdiction and Harrison Avenue is under local jurisdiction. Each is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side. The speed limit is 30mph. 

Date 12/14/2022, 3:42 PM
Location Congress St. + Dwight St.
Town Springfield
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 62
Sex M

A 62-year old man was struck and killed by a driver at Congress and Dwight Street in Springfield.

WWLP talked to a police spokesperson in response to this crash:

Walsh said Springfield police officers have issued 2,000 more traffic citations this year than last year already. The department credits that for reducing the number of deadly crashes, nine this year compared to 20 last year.

“Things have gotten better in the city of Springfield thanks to the enforcement and all the infrastructure efforts being forth by Chris Cignoli and the DPW,” said Walsh.

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and the Police Department said they were frustrated by the court’s role in this, calling on the justice system to keep some of these dangerous drivers off the roads.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Congress Street and Dwight Street are both under local jurisdiction. Congress Street is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. Dwight Street is a two way street, with two lanes in each direction and an additional turn lane at the signalized intersection.There is a sidewalk on each side of both streets. There are crosswalks at all four legs of the intersection. The speed limit for Congress Street is 30mph. The speed limit is unclear for Dwight Street, as it is not indicated in the database.

Date 12/20/2022, 5:34 PM
Location 251 Piper Rd. + Monastery Ave.
Town West Springfield
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 25
Sex F

Neely Murray and her dog, Chance, were hit and killed by a 22-year old driver while they were crossing the street in a crosswalk.

Western Mass News spoke to a nearby resident:

“I realized that the accident happened the road was blocked off and I immediately thought of that crosswalk at Monastery as we’ve had problems there many times in the past,” said Nichole Bottaro of West Springfield.

Bottaro is just one of many residents who told Western Mass News that people drive too fast in that area of town.

“There have been times where we stood at the crosswalk for at least 10 minutes, not a single car has stopped. There have been times where cars have stopped and a car behind them tried to go out and around when we are mid crosswalk and almost been hit,” Bottaro added.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Piper Road and Monastery Avenue are under local jurisdiction. Each road is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side of Piper Road at this location, and on one side beyond the intersection; there are no sidewalks on Monastery Ave. There is a crosswalk at this location across Piper Rd. The speed limit is 35mph. 

Date 12/23/2022, 11:31 AM
Location SR-132 (1481 Iyannough Rd.)
Town Centerville
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 31
Sex M

The Cape Cod Times reports a 31-year old man was struck and killed by the driver of a disposal truck on Route 132 in Hyannis. (Centerville is one of the seven villages of Hyannis.)

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Iyannough Road is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is a two way road, with two lanes in each direction and a median. There is a sidewalk on one side. The speed limit is 45mph. 

Date 12/26/2022, 1:27 PM
Location 93 West St.
Town Douglas
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 71
Sex F

NBC1oBoston reports 71-year old Dong Mei Ying was struck and killed near her driveway on West Street by the driver of a Honda CRV. The name of the driver has not been released, but police said they were under age 18.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, West Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. There is no sidewalk. The speed limit is unclear, with 99mph and 30mph both listed in the database.

Date 12/26/2022, 8:43 PM
Location 414 North Main St.
Town Sharon
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 93
Sex M

WCVB reports 93-year old Joseph Vasconcelos was struck and killed by a driver on Route 27 (North Main Street), near the intersection of Bayberry Drive and the entrance to the Sharon Green Condominiums.

The Boston Globe shared a quote from the District Attorney’s office:

“There was significant damage on the passenger side, which would be consistent with hitting someone who was walking in the roadway, on the side of the road,” Traub said.

What is not included in the article is that there is only a sidewalk on one side of North Main Street.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, North Main Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on one side. The speed limit is 35mph.

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).

Continued emphasis on snow clearance for pedestrians!

Continued emphasis on snow clearance for pedestrians!

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MassDOT’s recently published Snow and Ice Control Program details many of the steps that MassDOT will take to deal with the impacts of its application of chemicals on roadway, a required filing to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental and Energy Affairs (EEA). 

In 2021, WalkBoston urged regulators to require MassDOT to include specific, trackable and verifiable progress toward meeting the scope of pedestrian needs in its next filing on the MassDOT Snow and Ice Control Program, and to use its own Pedestrian Plan commitments as the baseline for reporting. 

At the end of December 2022, MassDOT released an update, which includes these passages: 

  • “Chapter 1 provides an update on MassDOT’s roadway lane-miles and describes new measures to build capacity to address the snow and ice removal needs on sidewalks and pedestrian facilities as identified in the 2019 Pedestrian Transportation Plan and as requested by the WalkBoston following review of the 2022 ESPR SOW Plan.”
  • “New for the 2022/23 winter, MassDOT plans to hire more ‘seasonal’ snow and ice employees that report directly to MassDOT to help with sidewalk clearing as well as other activities. MassDOT will continue to evaluate vendor reimbursement rates and pay codes to enlist more contractors for sidewalk maintenance services and better reflect the variable snow removal efforts for large storms versus smaller storms. MassDOT also provides grant funding of up to $50,000 to help municipalities purchase snow removal equipment for pedestrian and bicyclist facilities through its Shared Streets and Spaces Grant Program. Details on eligible projects can be found at the following link: https://www.mass.gov/shared-streets-and-spaces-grant-program“

We are pleased that MassDOT has made new commitments to improve their maintenance of state owned sidewalks. WalkBoston will follow up with MassDOT at the end of the 2022/23 winter season to learn how the new initiatives have been carried out, whether they have proved successful, and to find out whether the agency will plan any additional adjustments to continue making improvements. Check out the links below to read the report for yourself!

Documents

“Act to Reduce Traffic Fatalities” has been signed into law!

“Act to Reduce Traffic Fatalities” has been signed into law!

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Good news to start the new year: the “Act to Reduce Traffic Fatalities” has been signed into law! Thank you to Governor Baker, Representative Mike Moran, Representative William Straus, and Senator William Brownsberger for supporting this legislation at the end of the session. This bill has been a focus of the MA Vision Zero Coalition for the last few years. In November, the MAVZ Coalition sent a letter that encouraged the swift adoption before the end of the two year session:

“As we have patiently waited for this bill to become law, people have continued to die on our roadways. In September alone, we saw three fatal pedestrian crashes in Massachusetts that involved large trucks — Matthew Barker was killed while walking in Cambridge on September 1st, an unnamed person was killed in Chicopee after being struck by a dump truck on September 17th, and 98-year old Virginia “Ginny” Hale was killed after being struck by a box truck in Rockport on September 22nd. H.5103 will support not only the safety of people walking and biking, but any of our citizens who are out on our public ways without the protection of steel, seatbelts, and airbags. We encourage rapid action to pass this law to make our roads safer now, not later.”

Read more about the bill’s passage in the Boston Globe: “Pedestrians, cyclists gain protections with new law meant to reduce traffic deaths”

Read more analysis and thanks from MassBike: “An Act to Reduce Traffic Fatalities is Signed Into Law!”

Read Senator Brownsberger’s detailed look at sections of the bill: “Protecting Vulnerable Road Users“

Statewide Fatal Crashes In MA, November 2022

Statewide Fatal Crashes In MA, November 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 crashes listed in the MassDOT Crash Portal in October; twelve were identified as people walking. In this post, we’ll look at crashes in MA in November 2022. The information in the chart below is compiled from news reports, and was checked against the MassDOT Crash Portal Dashboard “Fatal Crash Information.” Any Google Street View images included below use the address listed in the crash portal.

  • Of the 32 fatal crashes in Massachusetts in November in the MassDOT Crash portal, 9 were identified as people walking.
  • The average age of pedestrians hit & killed in November was 51.5.
  • At least 3 of the crashes were hit & runs.
  • 2 of the crashes were on the same street in Chicopee less than a mile apart.
Date 11/10/2022, 6:00 AM
Location 68 Franklin St.
Town Framingham
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 62
Sex M

The Framingham Source reports that a 62-year old man was struck and killed by the driver of a vehicle around 6am on Thursday morning. 

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Franklin Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side. The speed limit is 25mph. 

Date 11/11/2022, 10:21 PM
Location 476 Southern Artery
Town Quincy
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 53
Sex M

A 53-year old man was struck and killed at 10:21pm on Friday evening. We could not find any additional news coverage of this incident.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Southern Artery is under local jurisdiction. It is a two way street, with two lanes in each direction and additional left turn lanes at the nearby intersection. There is a sidewalk on each side. The speed limit is 30mph. 

Date 11/17/2022, 4:59 AM
Location US-3 NORTH, MM 91.6
Town Tyngsborough
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 26
Sex M

NBC Boston reports that 26-year Felix Romero was struck and seriously hurt at 4:59am in a hit and run crash on Thursday morning. He was standing outside his car after being involved in a minor crash with another vehicle on Route 3 when he was struck. Felix was rushed to a hospital where he died from his injuries.

State police said the driver of the white box truck left the scene of the crash and may have crossed into New Hampshire. 

NBC Boston spoke with his family:

His family is asking the driver to please come forward, saying, “We need you to come forward, we want justice for our son, we want justice for our kid.”

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, US-3 NORTH is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is a full access control highway, with three lanes in each direction and a shoulder. The speed limit is 55mph. 

Date 11/21/2022, 10:45 AM
Location 94 Derby St., Suite 275
Town Hingham
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 65
Sex M

Boston 25 News reports that 65-year old Kevin Bradley, a professional who was onsite supporting recent construction at the Apple store, was struck and killed by 53-year old Bradley Rein, the driver who crashed his SUV through the Apple Store’s glass facade at Derby Street Shops at 10:45am Monday morning. 19 other people were injured. Officials said it was not clear how fast the vehicle was traveling. 

Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz announced charges of reckless homicide by a motor vehicle and reckless operation of a motor vehicle.

More from Boston 25 News:

Dr. Jason Tracy, Chief of Emergency Medicine at South Shore Hospital, said 17 people in total arrived at the ER suffering from “all types of traumatic injuries,” including head trauma, lower extremity injuries, and “mangled” limbs.

Tracy added that some of the victims were immediately taken in for surgery and that others will eventually need to be operated on. A number of those patients sustained life-threatening injuries, according to Dr. Chris Burns, the hospital’s trauma chief.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Derby Street is under MassDOT jurisdiction. However, this crash did not happen on MassDOT’s section of the roadway, it happened in the Derby Street Shops parking lot and into the Apple Store building, which is private property. There are trees and bushes, a large patio, and sidewalk between the parking lot and the building. The speed limit for the parking lot is unclear.

Date 11/21/2022, 7:16 PM
Location 108 Forest Ave.
Town Brockton
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 50
Sex M

The Enterprise News reports that 50-year old Carlos Brito was struck and killed in a hit and run crash by the driver of a Nissan Murano SUV vehicle around 10pm on Monday evening. The driver left the scene and is still at large. 

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Forest Ave is under local jurisdiction. It is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side. The speed limit is 30mph. 

Date 11/26/2022, 10:45 AM
Location 221 Cocasset St.
Town Foxborough
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 57
Sex M

WCVB reports a 57-year old Michael Shaw was struck and killed by the 35-year old driver of a vehicle around 10:45am on Monday morning at the T-intersection of Cocasset Street and Oak Street. 

A Boston.com article references Facebook comments about the intersection:

On Facebook, several locals commented to urge police to have the town put in a traffic light at the intersection of Cocasset and Oak Streets.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Cocasset Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on one side along both Cocasset and Oak Streets, with a crosswalk at the intersection connecting the sidewalks. A flashing yellow/red light at the T intersection can be seen on Google Street View, with a stop sign at the Oak Street approach to the intersection. The speed limit is unclear, with 40mph and 35mph both listed in the database. 

Date 11/28/2022, 5:52 PM
Location 552 Chicopee St.
Town Chicopee
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 68
Sex M

Western Mass News reports that 68-year old William Matteson was struck and killed by the driver of a vehicle on Chicopee Street in Chicopee after 5pm on Monday evening. 42-year-old Benjamin Goraj of Chicopee was arrested on charges including motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence and operating under the influence (third offense).

Reporters spoke to Phylisity Sherokow, who lives nearby:

“This street, everybody’s speeding all the time,” Sherokow said. ” I think the police are trying their best to enforce the speed laws, but it’s Chicopee Street. People are flying down it at all hours of the day and night, and I walk to the stores myself sometimes. My husband, my family, we walk to the stores, just to get some fresh air, get a little walk, and it’s really sad.”

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Chicopee Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side. The speed limit is 35mph. 

Date 11/29/2022, 7:48 PM
Location I-190 NORTH, MM 4.6
Town West Boylston
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 21
Sex F

A 21-year old woman was struck and killed by the driver of a vehicle around 8pm on a Tuesday evening. We could not find any additional news coverage of this incident.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, I-190 NORTH is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is a full access control highway, with three lanes in each direction and a shoulder. The speed limit is 65mph. 

Date 11/30/2022, 4:55 PM
Location 945 Chicopee St.
Town Chicopee
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 62
Sex M

MassLive reports 62-year old Gary Turcotte was struck and killed in a hit and run by the driver of a vehicle around 5pm on Wednesday evening. The driver left the scene. This crash is less than a mile from a fatal crash that happened two days earlier on Chicopee Street at a similar time of evening.

Chicopee Street resident Susan Santoro started a handwritten petition — signed by over 400 people — asking for better traffic safety, including the installation of speed tables. From Western Mass News:

Santoro knew both victims well and she lives on Chicopee Street herself. She said over the past few years she’s lived there, she’s had serious concerns about drivers. “They will not stop for you. Even though the pedestrians have the right of way, you don’t have a right-of-way on this street,” Santoro noted.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Chicopee Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side. The speed limit is unclear, with 25mph and 35mph both listed in the database. 

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).