Tag: Boston

Statewide Fatal Crashes In MA, March 2021

Statewide Fatal Crashes In MA, March 2021

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Each month in 2021, we plan to post about the fatal crashes in Massachusetts from the previous month, and share any trends that we see. Last month, we took a look at the 4 fatal crashes listed in the MassDOT Crash Portal in February. In this post, we’ll look at crashes in MA in March 2021. The information in the chart below is compiled from news reports, and was checked against the MassDOT Crash Portal Dashboard “Fatal Information by Year.” The Google Street View images included below use the address listed in the crash portal.

  • Of the 23 fatal crashes in Massachusetts in March in the MassDOT Crash portal, 7 were people walking. We’ve identified 1 additional fatal incident during March covered in the news media:
    • 1 person lost their life in Malden when a mechanic with a suspended license crashed an SUV through the door of an auto body shop and struck her as she was walking on the sidewalk. View a segment from WCVB about 86-year-old Athena Hartwell, who walked this section of sidewalk almost every day with her walker: “Neighborhood mourns woman killed in SUV crash.“
    • Updated 4/29/2021: We listed a crash that occurred in Sterling as not being in the portal for March, but this crash occurred in April and is listed. We apologize for the error. We’ve updated this post accordingly.
  • The crash portal does not include names. The names of 7 of the people walking who died have not been made public yet; unlike previous months in 2021, news articles were more difficult to find for many of these crashes.
  • The average age of pedestrians hit & killed in March was 59.6.
  • 3 of the crashes all have 12:00AM listed as the time; it is possible data was incomplete when initially submitted.
  • At least 4 of the crashes were hit & runs (as referenced in news articles).
  • The name of the person driving was not identified in any of the crashes in news articles that we found.
Date 3/3/2021, 12:00 AM
Location 800 Morrissey Blvd.
Town Boston
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 56
Sex M

A 56-year old man was hit and killed on Morrissey Boulevard in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood. According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Morrissey Boulevard is under MassDCR jurisdiction. We have not been able to find additional information about this crash.

Date 3/7/2021, 12:00 AM
Location 232 Stafford Rd.
Town Monson
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 94
Sex F

A 94-year old woman was hit and killed on Stafford Road. According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Stafford Rd/Rt 32 is under MassDOT jurisdiction. There are no sidewalks on this road. We have not been able to find additional information about this crash.

Date 3/7/2021, 12:40 AM
Location Auburn St. + Summer St.
Town Bridgewater
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 34
Sex M

Ian Dalgliesh, a 34-year old man, was found unconscious in the roadway at the intersection of Auburn and Summer streets in Bridgewater around 12:40 a.m. on Sunday, March 7. WCVB reported three weeks after that crash that police were still seeking help to find the driver who left the scene. The article noted that the intersection is located in a residential neighborhood, with stop signs located at all four corners.

Google Streetview shows a sidewalk on one side of the street for one leg of the intersection. It also shows a house on the corner with guardrails at the intersection, possibly indicating that drivers have driven recklessly in this area before.

Date 3/10/2021, 7:00 PM
Location Meadow St. + Chicopee St.
Town Chicopee
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 53
Sex M

A Chicopee man was hit & seriously injured in a hit & run crash on March 10th near Rivers Park. He died later in the month from his injuries. The Chicopee Police released photos of a dark colored SUV on March 25th as part of the investigation to track down the driver. While there is a signalized crosswalk near the Meadow/Chicopee PVTA bus stop at one corner of Rivers Park, there are no crosswalks at the intersection of Meadow & Chicopee Streets.

According to Streetview, a crosswalk across Chicopee Street nearby that did not have curb ramps was removed between 2016 & 2017 during street & sidewalk reconstruction at the corner of Chicopee, Margaret & Whitman Streets.

Date 3/12/2021, 9:40 PM
Location 189 Chestnut Hill Ave.
Town Boston
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 77
Sex M

A 77 year old man was hit and killed on Chestnut Hill Ave in Boston’s Brighton neighborhood. We have not been able to find additional information about this crash.

Date 3/17/2021, 12:00 AM
Location 511 Broadway
Town Everett
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 67
Sex M

A 67-year-old man was hit and killed on Broadway in Everett. We have not been able to find additional information about this crash.

Date 3/25/2021, 8:10 PM
Location Parker St. + Ellery St.
Town Springfield
Type PEDESTRIAN
Age 40
Sex M

A 40-year old man was hit and killed on March 25th at Parker Street & Ellery Street in Springfield. Ellery Street is a private way. Parker Street has 2 travel lanes in each direction, and is at least 48 feet wide curb to curb. While WWLP reported breaking news on March 25th that a crash may have involved a motorcycle at this location, we have not been able to find additional information about this crash. [Update, 3/23/2022: this was re-categorized as a motorcycle crash.]

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 . 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:  |||||

Reminder about the data from the MassDOT portal

DISCLAIMER:  The compilation of data is based on preliminary data we receive from a variety of local sources.  Some of the data may differ slightly from information provided by NHTSA as this dashboard does not use imputation methods.  Information is subject to change when/if updated information becomes available. Data updated daily as reported by police departments.

*Updated 4/29/2021: We listed a crash that occurred in Sterling as not being in the database for March, but this crash occurred in April and is listed. We apologize for the error. We’ve updated the post accordingly.

Shattuck Campus Redevelopment at Morton Street Proposal Comment Letter

Shattuck Campus Redevelopment at Morton Street Proposal Comment Letter

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April 23, 2021

Loryn Sheffner, DCAMM
1 Ashburton Place, Suite 107 Boston, MA 02108

Re: Shattuck Campus Redevelopment at Morton Street Proposal

Dear Loryn,

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Shattuck Campus Redevelopment Proposal. If the 13-acre Shattuck Campus site will be redeveloped for public health purposes, we hope the project will address connections to and along Morton Street to make it safer and more convenient for pedestrians, and reconnect Franklin Park to this side of the neighborhood. We suggest that the housing development plan, if adopted, include an enforceable requirement of wide, accessible walking paths and tree canopy in the spirit of the Olmsted Plan.

One of the high level planning principles identified is to “improve access to neighborhoods with public transit, bike and pedestrian options.” This project, in conjunction with the greater Franklin Park Action Plan, has the potential to more deliberately restore public access to the park from the Morton Street side. The state needs to think beyond the borders of the project bounds in order to make this happen.

While Morton Street is a MassDOT road, two of the roads that feed into it with similar cross sections, American Legion Highway and Blue Hill Avenue, are listed on the City of Boston’s High Crash Network in the top 3% of streets for motor vehicle crashes. The high speed design of Morton Street impacts all other modes. It feels uncomfortable and is an unpleasant walking and biking environment; there are sections of the street that do not have sidewalks on either side. The bus stop on Morton Street to access the Shattuck site was made accessible in the last few years by removing the center median barrier and adding curb ramps, yet the existing unsignalized crossing of multiple vehicle lanes is still dangerous for people walking. The project site is not far from the Forest Hills MBTA station, yet seems much further since Morton Street is poorly designed at this point for walking.

We hope that there will be a collaborative focus on traffic calming beyond the immediate project footprint incorporated into this redevelopment project and adjacent park effort by DCAMM, MassDOT, and the City of Boston.

Sincerely,

Brendan Kearney, Deputy Director
WalkBoston

North End Cross Street Boutique Hotel Comment Letter

North End Cross Street Boutique Hotel Comment Letter

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Lance Campbell
Senior Project Manager
Boston Planning & Development Agency
April 19, 2021

Re: WalkBoston Comments on North End Cross Street Boutique Hotel

Dear Lance:
WalkBoston attended the public meeting on April 7th for the North End Cross Street Boutique Hotel and offered comments during the virtual meeting. We are pleased that many of the changes will improve the pedestrian experience in approaching and using the proposed buildings, as well as the newly created plaza and passageway.

The passageway between the two buildings will create a new connection between the Rose Kennedy Greenway and Cutillo Park for people walking. We are glad to see the plan will activate the plaza for people along the Greenway, as it includes new seating opportunities both bordering the building with the hotel and restaurant spaces, as well as new public seating closer to the corner of Hanover Street. We appreciate the visual cue of the concrete sidewalk through the site plan’s plaza as recommended by the City of Boston’s Disability Commission.

The Cross Street and Hanover Street intersection is currently used as a geofenced rideshare pickup and drop-off location, as users are directed within their apps to meet their drivers here. This geofencing makes it possible to limit rideshare pickup and drop-off on other streets in the North End, and is one way that the City of Boston can regulate curb use. With an improved pick up and drop-off area included in this project, we hope that this effort will continue.
Finally, we ask that the proponent commit to clearing the entire plaza and crosswalks curb cuts of snow and ice during the winter months in order to ensure safe walking throughout the year. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the plan. We would be pleased to discuss any of these items further with you.

Thank you,
Stacey Beuttell
Executive Director, WalkBoston

Brendan Kearney
Deputy Director, WalkBoston

76 Ashford Street Comment Letter

76 Ashford Street Comment Letter

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April 23, 2021

Michael Sinatra
Boston Planning and Development Agency

Re: 76 Ashford Street PNF

Dear Mr. Sinatra:

WalkBoston has reviewed the PNF for the 76 Ashford Street Project with respect to its impacts and benefits for people walking and using transit.

We are very pleased that the proponent is reserving the land and right-of-way necessary to provide walking, biking and bus access to West Station, and that the built condition will be at the elevation necessary for this connection. This is an absolutely critical element of a successful multi-modal West Station that will allow this part of Boston to become home to transit oriented development. We request that the City make this reservation for walking, biking and bus access to West Station a requirement for the project to receive its environmental and development approvals.

We support the interim use of this access reservation land as open space and urge the proponent to work with the City of Boston, MassDOT and the MBTA to ensure that once the I-90 Allston Multi-Modal Project is built that residents of the building will have access to high quality open space in the neighborhood and along the Charles River.

The building ground-level retail space which will face West Station is a welcoming element of the project to transit users and people walking, and is an appropriate and welcome project element.

We are also pleased that the project has been proposed with a low ratio of parking spaces (approximately .25 spaces/unit). We believe that this is appropriate for a development that will be in such close proximity to West Station and that is also well served by existing bus and Green Line service.

Overall, we are excited that the private development community is responsive to the promise of West Station and its potential for excellent transit service, and look forward to seeing a transit oriented development that includes on-site affordable units.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments.

Sincerely,

Wendy Landman, Senior Policy Advisor

Boston.com: “Should the city remove snow from sidewalks, just like it does for Boston’s streets?”

Boston.com: “Should the city remove snow from sidewalks, just like it does for Boston’s streets?”

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Boston.com: “Should the city remove snow from sidewalks, just like it does for Boston’s streets?”

Brendan Kearney, deputy director of WalkBoston, an advocacy organization aimed at making walking easier and safer in Massachusetts, told officials Cambridge has taken up efforts, as have Newton and Framingham to varying degrees. “There are definitely examples here in Massachusetts as well,” Kearney said.
…
Representatives from WalkBoston and the LiveableStreets Alliance — which advocates for safe streets — advised Boston councilors to consider areas to prioritize snow clearing based on community input, and to include sidewalk plowing and direction on where to leave snow piles as part of its snow plow contracts, among other recommendations.

“I’m just super impressed by what Syracuse is doing,” Kearney said. “That is a great, great model for Boston.”

Posted March 18, 2021

View the presentation we shared with the city council: