Tag: boston herald

Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA (2021) Report News Coverage

Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA (2021) Report News Coverage

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We list all media clips on our website, but on this post we consolidated some of the media coverage for the Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA (2021) Report. Please let us know if we missed any others that you’ve seen and we can try and keep this current.

Report Overview

Every life lost on Massachusetts’ roads is tragic. At WalkBoston, we advocate for the most vulnerable road users – people walking. In 2021, at least 75 pedestrians lost their lives in traffic crashes in Massachusetts, accounting for 18 percent of all lives lost in traffic crashes.

Findings:

  • Of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts, 47 had a fatal pedestrian crash in 2021. Over half (40 of 75) of the deaths happened in 12 municipalities.
  • Older adults were hit and killed at a higher rate than those in other age groups: 36% of fatal crash victims were over the age of 65. In Massachusetts, only 17% of the population is over 65.  1  
  • Over half of Massachusetts’ fatal pedestrian crashes (50.67%) occurred on streets with speed limits of 30 to 35 MPH. These are neighborhood streets and main streets where more people are walking.
  • Roughly 65% of the people killed while walking were on roads owned by a city or town, while approximately 35% were walking on roads owned by a state agency (MassDOT or MassDCR).

Read the press release | Read the full report

Coverage

Boston Herald: “Horror in Charlestown: Pedestrian killed after getting struck, dragged for a mile by vehicle”

Boston Herald: “Horror in Charlestown: Pedestrian killed after getting struck, dragged for a mile by vehicle”

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Boston Herald: “Horror in Charlestown: Pedestrian killed after getting struck, dragged for a mile by vehicle”

During the first five days of the new year, there have already been multiple fatal pedestrian crashes in Massachusetts, including a hit-and-run in Springfield over the weekend, said Brendan Kearney of the WalkBoston advocacy group.

“The number of large vehicles involved with fatal crashes, especially involving people walking or biking, is a huge concern,” he said. “And that’s not just in Boston, but across the state and across the country.

“There are bad sight lines on these vehicles,” Kearney added. “And it’s putting everyone in a bad situation when we have large vehicles and streets where people can drive fast.”

During the coronavirus pandemic, there have been fewer cars on the roads but drivers are speeding at a higher clip, he said.

“That’s something we’ve seen across the state,” Kearney said.

Posted January 5, 2021

Imperfect technology, Boston’s ‘chaotic’ streets raise fears of self-driving cars

Imperfect technology, Boston’s ‘chaotic’ streets raise fears of self-driving cars

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Boston Herald: “Imperfect technology, Boston’s ‘chaotic’ streets raise fears of self-driving cars”
By Mary Markos

But keeping them vigilant is another concern, raised by Wendy Landman, executive director of WalkBoston.

“Generally speaking, when you have people in the vehicles who don’t have much to do except watch out for possible problems, you need to make sure people can stay alert and really be on top of things,” Landman said. “It’s hard to pay attention when you’re not doing much.”

The intricate street patterns of Boston aren’t easy to navigate, Landman added.

“Nobody really knows how this is going to work,” she said. “How good will these vehicles be at dealing with the incredibly complicated environment that is Boston streets?”

Posted June 21, 2018

To make progress on our roads

To make progress on our roads

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The Boston Herald article “Shattuck: Marty Walsh, IndyCar dare us to think fast” (5/22/2015) had one excellent quote, challenging Boston “To make progress on our roads, like they do in other first-world nations.”

Here are three examples of progress on roads in other first-world nations.

Sweden:
http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/02/economist-explains-16

“With only three of every 100,000 Swedes dying on the roads each year, compared with 5.5 per 100,000 across the European Union, 11.4 in America and 40 in the Dominican Republic, which has the world’s deadliest traffic, Sweden’s roads have become the world’s safest.” … “Planning has played the biggest part in reducing accidents. Roads in Sweden are built with safety prioritised over speed or convenience. Low urban speed-limits, pedestrian zones and barriers that separate cars from bikes and oncoming traffic have helped. ”

Netherlands:
http://www.northeastern.edu/studyabroad/programs/netherlands-sustainable-urban-transportation/ (Northeastern University does summer study abroad in the Netherlands, led by Professor Peter Furth.)

“While the Netherlands is as affluent a country as the US, the Dutch drive cars half as much as Americans, ride trains 10 times as much, and ride bikes 40 times as much. They also have the world’s best traffic safety record, with a traffic fatality rate 67% lower than ours. Dutch bicycling infrastructure makes it safe for everyone – children and elderly as well – to ride bikes anywhere, and is a major reason that more than 25% of trip nationwide, and more than 40% in cities like Delft and Amsterdam, are made by bike. The goal of this program is learn Dutch principles for planning cities and for designing bikeways, roads, and transit networks that make ABC (all-but-car) transportation so attractive, and that make cities livable and safe.”

France:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11586802/Large-chunk-of-the-river-Seines-Right-Bank-to-be-cut-off-to-cars-in-Paris.html

“‘This is an urban, almost philosophical project, which consists of seeing the city in another way than through the use of cars,’ she said, citing as examples the French cities of Lyon and Bordeaux, whose riverbanks have been successfully reclaimed for pedestrians.”