Brendan Kearney – Page 3 – WalkMassachusetts

South End Patch – “Pedestrian Killed In Crash On Mass Ave Connector, Prompts Delays

By WalkMassachusetts | June 25, 2019

South End Patch: “Pedestrian Killed In Crash On Mass Ave Connector, Prompts Delays”

“There are multiple jurisdictions at this intersection, which complicates Boston being able to do something to fix it,” said Brendan Kearney communication director at WalkBoston.

…

And that’s a problem all across the state. Some of the most dangerous intersections are not actually controlled by the local jurisdiction, he said.

Although MassDOT gives Complete Streets funding for communities to make fixes to problem areas within their communities, and more than 200 communities have come up with plans on how to improve roadways, that money can’t go toward fixing areas under MassDOT or DCR jurisdiction.

“It’s not like MassDOT or DCR doesn’t make changes, they do,” said Kearney. “But the question is how can they do it quicker and not have to wait for a fatal crash to get it done?”

June 24, 2019

WGBH News – “Pressure Mounts For Walsh to Deliver On Safer Streets”

By WalkMassachusetts | May 9, 2019

WGBH News: “Pressure Mounts For Walsh to Deliver On Safer Streets”

Brendan Kearney, spokesperson for the pedestrian advocacy group Walk Boston, echoed that point: “We know where the problems are,” said Kearney. “We now need to make changes to the streets.”

Council members, meanwhile, attested to the enormous volume of calls they get from residents concerned about dangerous streets and intersections in their neighborhoods – an issue Councilor Michael Flaherty recently called the “single greatest issue” facing the city’s residents.

“No one likes to receive these complaints over and over again over the course of years and not have an adequate response, it’s really unsettleing,” said Council President Andrea Campbell. “At the top of our list, even higher sometimes than our housing constituent cases … are traffic and speeding concerns.”

May 9, 2019

Comment Letter Re: a car-free option for Memorial Drive Phase III

By WalkMassachusetts | May 9, 2019

Commissioner Leo Roy
Department of Conservation and Recreation

May 9, 2019
Dear Commissioner Roy,

As part of the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Memorial Drive Phase III redesign between Eliot Bridge and the B.U. Boat House we ask that you consider a car-free option in the planning process.

As recently highlighted by Governor Baker’s Commission on the Future of Transportation, 40% of Massachusetts’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from transportation infrastructure and vehicles, half of which come from passenger vehicles alone. The pressing need to limit passenger vehicle trips, in concert with the City of Cambridge’s 1992 Vehicle Trip Reduction Ordinance, justify consideration for a car-free Memorial Drive.

This planning process allows the State a unique opportunity to enhance regional park access by connecting adjacent parks (Riverbend Park, John F. Kennedy Memorial Park, Riverside City Park, Riverside Press Park, Magazine Beach, and others) to the Charles River. Creating truly safe and accessible connectivity between walking and biking facilities along the Charles River and adjacent neighborhoods will have lower positive impact then a car- free option. By limiting vehicle infrastructure, the State will be expanding space for new parkland and an expanded tree canopy. Limiting car access to Memorial Drive will align with ongoing climate resiliency initiatives by reducing GHG emissions, increasing green space, but also by establishing space for further flood mitigation, an ongoing issue near Magazine Beach and Micro Center.

This concept of a car-free Memorial Drive is not new, but a logical extension of the existing weekend Riverbend Park Street closures, which demonstrate the desire for this type of expansive riverfront parkland. While recognizing that over 1,000 vehicles use Memorial Drive during peak hours, we believe that ongoing transportation initiatives including the Green Line Extension, the Allston I-90 Multimodal Interchange, West Station, the Grand Junction path and regional rail concepts, and the MBTA’s Better Buses initiative will provide viable alternatives in the long-run, significantly reducing the need for Memorial Drive as a private vehicle throughway.

The existing sub-standard conditions of the Dr. Paul Dudley White Bike Path along Memorial Drive currently have high usership. There are currently over 1,000 daily bike commuters and over 1,000 daily runners and pedestrians. The existing conditions do not provide safe accommodation for existing users, and with future expansion of the regions multi-use paths, including the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway and the Grand Junction Path, this section of paths will see increased daily users. Providing safe and reliable accommodations for sustainable transportation and recreation modes should be the highest priority of the DCR.

There is precedence for a project of this scope, as when a two-mile stretch of a busy highway along the Seine in Paris, France, was permanently closed to cars in 2016, and turned into a bicycle and pedestrian promenade. This type of project could prove to be similarly iconic for the Charles River.

This is a complicated project. We recommend, along with The Charles River Conservancy and Magazine Beach Partners that a task force or advisory group be created to help better inform decisions throughout the process. The groups listed on their letter can help you provide better transparency and inclusiveness in the project. While early in the planning phase it is important to consider this highly impactful, once in a lifetime opportunity to restore Cambridge’s public shoreline. Thank you for your consideration of this unique opportunity to prioritize climate resiliency and public health.

Sincerely,

Tony Lechuga, LivableStreets
David Read, Longwood Area Cyclists
Alex Auriema, Memorial Drive Bicycle Group
Nathanael Fillmore, Cambridge Bicycle Safety
Janie Katz-Christy, Green Streets Initiative
Steven Nutter, Green Cambridge
Becca Wolfson, Boston Cyclists Union
Brendan Kearney, WalkBoston

Boston Herald: “Report: Traffic crashes in Boston resulting in less fatalities, but not injuries”

By WalkMassachusetts | April 18, 2019

Boston Herald: “Report: Traffic crashes in Boston resulting in less fatalities, but not injuries”

Advocates took issue with the fact that Boston doesn’t report its crash statistics to the Department of Transportation as most other municipalities do. The current system the police department uses for crash reports isn’t able to submit data to MassDOT, according to the city. The police department is working with a vendor to fix that, a spokeswoman said, though no information was available. Brendan Kearney of WalkBoston, a nonprofit involved with Vision Zero, said fixing that should be a top priority. “If they’re not able to report this data, they are potentially missing out on funding for safety efforts,” Kearney said.

Posted April 17, 2019

Boston Globe: I took Brookline’s e-scooters for a road test. Here’s what happened

By WalkMassachusetts | April 16, 2019

Boston Globe: “I took Brookline’s e-scooters for a road test. Here’s what happened”

Is it legal to ride these e-scooters on the sidewalk? Also a bit hazy, according to Brendan Kearney of the pedestrian advocacy group WalkBoston.

Posted April 12, 2019

Extra reading:

There are currently 8 bills before the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation that deal with scooters & micro-mobility devices. We testified before the committee on March 28th: “At the most fundamental level, we believe that in areas of the Commonwealth where there is more than occasional sidewalk use by pedestrians, motorized scooters should be accommodated on-street or in separated bike/scooter lanes where they will not conflict with people who are walking on the sidewalk.” Read our full testimony.