Tag: covid-19

‘Safe driving during COVID-19’ PSA graphics

‘Safe driving during COVID-19’ PSA graphics

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Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, lower traffic volumes have led to dangerous driving speeds in communities across the Commonwealth. High driving speeds contributed to a doubled roadway fatality rate in the month of April in Massachusetts. Driver speeding affects all road users by making walking and rolling conditions unsafe and uncomfortable.

With the safer-at-home advisory still in place, increased numbers of people are walking, rolling, and running in their communities. To make roadways safe for all users, drivers must take responsibility to not exceed the posted speed limit and to yield to walkers and rollers who are using street space to maintain physical distance in areas with narrow sidewalks.

To support communities who are seeing dangerously high traffic speeds and unsafe driving behavior, WalkBoston partnered with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Mass in Motion (MiM) and MORE Advertising to develop a social media campaign that MiM coordinators can use to raise awareness about safer pandemic driving behavior.

To broaden the reach of this important message, we invite all communities and individuals to use these graphics on your social media or other town communication platforms.

These graphics are set up for Facebook. Consider adding the following language as a comment to your social media post:

  • Keep our roads safe for everyone!
  • Safe driving is still important. Keep our roads safe for all.

Please consider every street a shared street and stay safe!

4 PSA graphic options (click for full size, and then right click to “save image as”):

 

WalkMassachusetts Network Adjusts to ‘New Normal’ with a Virtual Gathering

WalkMassachusetts Network Adjusts to ‘New Normal’ with a Virtual Gathering

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On June 26, a dozen WalkBoston staff and WalkMassachusetts Network members met virtually for the first time. Our conversation, held on Zoom, offered an important opportunity for advocates from across the state to check-in and provide mutual support in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

The meeting followed WalkBoston’s Walkability and Main Street Resilience virtual panel on June 24, in which Stacey Beuttell (WalkBoston), Che Anderson (City of Worcester) and Alia Hamada Forrest (Roslindale Village Main Street) discussed strategies for expanding street spaces for walkers, rollers, and local businesses with an emphasis on safety, accessibility, and economic recovery. The WalkMassachusetts members discussed major takeaways and inspiration gleaned from the panel, including the variety of creative solutions that they hope to implement in their own communities. 

We also discussed how communities across the Commonwealth are approaching shared and open streets projects, which alter streets for increased active transportation and outdoor dining, and we learned that implementation varies. Network members shared examples of what is working well in their towns and cities and noted the challenges, such as securing funding for these projects and ensuring that there is still enough accessible sidewalk space for all pedestrians. Members noted how the narrative around “open/shared streets” has changed from one focused on public health to one focused on economic development. That change in focus appears to have sparked new interest in these strategies from state and local government. Advocates expressed concerns around accessibility and prioritizing alternative recreation spaces for children as playgrounds remain closed. Members also shared strategies for identifying streets that make good candidates for closure, and how to approach local officials with project ideas. We wrapped up the call with a closer look at the many funding opportunities currently available to towns, municipalities, and community groups for open/shared streets projects.

It was fantastic to hear from WalkMassachusetts Network members about how their communities are coping and see members supporting each other by sharing ideas for safer walking. WalkBoston works with Network members from across the state, so we are excited to continue using video calls as a platform for meeting and connecting more often with the larger group. Many of the Network members are working remotely, though some are working on the front lines. We look forward to creating accessible ways for all members to come together and share experience and expertise. 

Walkability & Main Street Resilience Recording

Walkability & Main Street Resilience Recording

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Thank you to our panelists, Alia and Che, and all of you who joined us for Walkability and Main Street Resilience! 

In case you missed it, the panel discussion was recorded and is available here. We hope you will watch and share it to learn ways you can help the main street businesses that make your community walkable.

If you want to learn more about Roslindale Village Main Street and some of the efforts happening in Roslindale that Alia shared, head to the RVMS website.

Remember to keep supporting your main street businesses, and advocating for enough open space for walking and shopping local:

  • Let your city/town officials know if you like how your neighborhood main streets are adapting to outdoor dining and providing more space for walking
  • If you see a conflict point between walking and dining, reach out to your city hall and advocate for more space
  • Support local businesses using the tips mentioned by the panelists, such as purchasing goods/services, or sharing and liking their social media content 
  • Highlight what is working well. Share with @WalkBoston on Twitter or email: info@walkboston.org

If you work for a town, municipality, or small business in Massachusetts and would like to implement the ideas discussed during this panel in your community, check out some of these resources to get started: 

Funding

City of Boston Reopen Fund (for small businesses)

MassDOT’s Shared Streets and Spaces Grant Program

Mass Development’s COVID-19 Response Round: Resurgent Places Funding

Solomon Foundation’s Streets for Recovery Grant Program

Additional Resources

MAPC Webinar on Navigating MassDOT’s New Grant Program 

City of Boston Guidance for Temporary Extensions on Public Property

MAPC: Webinar on local permitting pre and post-COVID-19 

NACTO: “Streateries” webinar on restaurants and physical distancing 

More about current funding opportunities: 

Joint Comment Letter – Recommendations for Boston’s Healthy Streets COVID Response

Joint Comment Letter – Recommendations for Boston’s Healthy Streets COVID Response

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Below is the letter Boston Cyclists Union, MassBike, LivableStreets Alliance and WalkBoston sent to Chief of Streets Chris Osgood regarding Boston’s Healthy Streets plan on June 16, 2020.

June 16, 2020
Chris Osgood, Chief of Streets
1 City Hall Square, Room 603
Boston, MA 02201

Dear Chief Osgood,

On May 12th, the Boston Transportation Department (BTD) presented a plan to the City Council for adapting streets for COVID-19 response and recovery. However, we are concerned about the focus and scope of the first phase of the Healthy Streets plan that the Transportation Department announced on May 30th, and want to ensure these issues are addressed before future phases of the plan are implemented:

Equity

The most glaring issue with the Healthy Streets plan is the lack of attention paid and investment made in the Black and brown neighborhoods that are disproportionately suffering from the health and economic impacts of the pandemic. As early as April, members of this group reached out to BTD staff with specific recommendations for tactical interventions in the most impacted communities. These recommendations came directly from community leaders and individuals in Mattapan, Hyde Park, Roxbury, and Dorchester. Almost none of these recommendations have been included in the first phase of the Healthy Streets plan.

Additionally, the City has offered no transparency or criteria for how they chose the first phase projects and no timeline or criteria for how they will choose and implement additional phases of the plan. This seemingly arbitrary approach has already compounded the pre-existing inequitable investment in streets in our communities of color, and will likely only exacerbate these existing inequities of investment if not addressed explicitly and immediately.

Bike Network

The Healthy Streets plan only includes implementation of bike lanes on downtown corridors. We know that a network of bike lanes are essential infrastructure for safe travel — at all times, as well as during this time of physical distancing. The recent death of a person biking on Cummins Highway on June 9, 2020 only underscores the urgency of building safe infrastructure in all neighborhoods, not just in the city’s core. While protected bike lanes on downtown streets are long overdue, the corridors laid out in the Healthy Streets plan do not build out the network that is required for people to travel safely throughout the city. Go Boston 2030 provides a clear plan for where interventions are needed. We recommend prioritizing these corridors for quick-build protected bike lanes in Phase 2 of the Healthy Streets plan:

  • Cummins Highway
  • Malcolm X Boulevard, from Nubian Square to the Southwest Corridor
  • Albany Street, from lower Roxbury to South Boston
  • Western Ave, in Allston and Brighton
  • Hyde Park Avenue
  • Dorchester Avenue
  • American Legion Highway
  • Columbus Ave, from Mass Ave to the Downtown Network
  • Columbia Road
  • Columbus Ave, in Roxbury
  • Cambridge Street in Allston, from Union Square to the Charles River
  • Commonwealth Ave from the BU Bridge to the Bowker Overpass
  • East Broadway and Summer Street, in South Boston

As street space is reconfigured to allow for outdoor dining and retail, it’s important that plans for protected bike lanes are incorporated into the new layouts. For example, Charles Street is a key corridor in the protected bike network, but the neighborhood civic association is calling for a lane reduction that only accommodates outdoor dining, not protected bike infrastructure. Neighborhood associations should not be given the power to supersede years of public process that identified the need to create a critical bike network link on a corridor like Charles Street. It is clear that both outdoor dining space and protected bike infrastructure could be achieved there.

Many Main Streets and business associations are in support of swiftly repurposing parking lanes into cafe seating (as was installed on Hanover Street in the North End), which leaves the travel lane to be repurposed for critical mobility access. Improving safety for people walking and biking to Main Streets and other commercial districts is a key goal of Go Boston 2030, and COVID-19 response and recovery plans must align with this goal.

Enforcement + Policing

We have already provided several recommendations to Mayor Walsh regarding the role of policing and enforcement on our streets (see attached for reference). As outlined in the general recommendations to follow, it’s important that any adaptations to streets for COVID-19 response and recovery do not require police enforcement. As has been made so apparent in the last several weeks, policing is not a solution for street safety in communities of color. It’s important that the City develop a plan for how these interventions can be maintained and enforced without a police presence. We recommend that the City facilitate a community-led program which can be maintained by local organizations and residents.

Pedestrian Experience

The City should prioritize automatic recall of WALK signals in low-income and communities of color which have been most impacted by COVID-19, as well as WALK signals that are close to the most heavily used bus stops (which are already highlighted on the City’s Healthy Streets map). This work should be included in Phase 1 and should begin now. It is a long overdue and basic adjustment to all signals in Boston.

We already recommended in mid-April that BTD automate WALK signals so pedestrians do not have to push buttons. It is one less surface to touch and potentially contract/spread disease. Brookline, Cambridge, and Somerville have already implemented this effort.

Lack of Engagement with Community Partners

We understand there are staff capacity limitations for rapid response and tactical implementations, especially due to COVID-19. As many other cities have done, we believe it is critical for the City to partner with Main Streets organizations, community groups, advocacy organizations, and other partners to implement, manage, and help communicate about these interventions.

We have offered, on numerous occasions, to deploy our own staff to act as a liaison to community groups and to engage with community members to help identify neighborhood needs. As you know, the City has already worked with us to conduct community outreach and support City-led efforts in the past. We have community trust and a track record of success. Without explicit collaboration with community partners, the City will not be able to implement and manage tactical streets interventions at the scale and pace needed.

Communication, Data Collection, and Measuring Success

While we support the concept of “the pilot is the process,” this does not mean implementing quick-build or tactical projects without a proper strategy to inform the community, collect feedback, and measure success.

Many other communities have strong, established strategies for communications and measurements of success for these projects that can be used as models for Boston efforts. The City should develop a strong plan for monitoring these interventions, including relying on staff, consultants, and volunteers to count people walking and biking (and collect gender and race data), and using automatic technology to measure vehicle speeds and volume. The City can coordinate with employers to better understand how workers are commuting.

In addition, clear coordination between BTD’s Transit Team and Active Transportation Team is critical to ensure that the needs of transit users are balanced with the safety needs of those who are walking and biking (and those who would if there was a connected network). The Transit Team is overdue in developing a clear bus network plan that is based on public process, data, and analysis that takes equity, safety, and mobility needs into account. The City must balance rapid response with adherence to long-standing network plans, and ensure that building out the bus priority network does not preclude a safe bike network and safe pedestrian infrastructure.

We look forward to working with the City to ensure that we adapt our streets as rapidly and effectively as possible to respond to the current health and economic challenges.

Sincerely,

Becca Wolfson, Boston Cyclists Union
Stacy Thompson, LivableStreets Alliance
Galen Mook, MassBike
Stacey Beuttell, WalkBoston

CC: Mayor Martin J. Walsh, Boston City Council

Testimony as prepared for City of Boston City Council Committee on Planning, Development & Transportation – Implementing changes for safe streets during and after Covid-19 pandemic

Testimony as prepared for City of Boston City Council Committee on Planning, Development & Transportation – Implementing changes for safe streets during and after Covid-19 pandemic

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Testimony as prepared for City of Boston City Council Committee on Planning, Development & Transportation on May 11, 2020 Docket #0662 – Implementing changes for safe streets during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, May 11, 2020 conducted via Zoom.

Thank you Councilor Wu & Councilor Breadon for the chance to speak today, and thank you to all the councilors taking part this evening. My name is Brendan Kearney, and I’m the Deputy Director of WalkBoston. WalkBoston is a statewide pedestrian advocacy organization whose mission is to make Massachusetts more walkable. We work with municipal staff, state agencies, community-based organizations and residents to make walking conditions safer, more enjoyable, and more equitable for all.

Jeff & Stacy gave a great overview to help set the stage, and it was great to see Jacob & Vineet identifying the different types of problems & how BTD hopes to repurpose areas. Also want to say thank you, Representative Elugardo, for your inspirational words of how the state can be a partner. 

I wanted to highlight a few areas of concern for people walking.

First, On Speed reduction / traffic calming: 

  • I shared this info at the Budget hearing but wanted to reiterate since Jeff mentioned it: Earlier this week, MassDOT reported that the rate of fatalities on Massachusetts roadways doubled in April: with 50% less traffic on the road, 28 individuals died in crashes, compared with the month of April 2019 when there were 27 deaths on roadways in the state. Road safety projects are important to combat this problem. 
  • In response to that – Massachusetts State Police launched a Speed Reduction Initiative to address the increase in speeding vehicles now that traffic volumes are low due to stay-at home order. The focus of this mobilization is to identify, stop and take enforcement action on operators of vehicles traveling at very high speeds. We appreciate that appropriate use of police department time. 
  • However – We hope that expanded sidewalks, car-free streets and additional bike lanes can be self-enforcing designs and ways to slow people down that can be added without increased police presence; it does not need to take away from COVID-related response. 

Second, On Signals: 

  • Need for automatic pedestrian recall.  Make it so ‘No need to push a button.’
    Set up signals so they allot time for people to cross without having to push a button to request it. 
  • ‘Mid-day’ cycle phases: shorter delay, lights change more often. Change timing of signals to slow traffic with traffic signals – the opposite of the “green wave”; regulate lights to keep traffic speeds down.
  • Would love to hear about the plan to implement some of these changes — which can it be done remotely from the Traffic Mgmt Center, and which require going out to the intersection to fix? Would need to prioritize changes by ease of implementation. areas that see crowding &/or crash data.

Third, On Small businesses: 

  • Our small businesses make walkable communities/neighborhoods successful
  • Thriving downtown districts and town centers are critical to the success of walkable communities. With many stores now closed to walk-in customers, that life is on hold, and furthermore threatened with the uncertainty of what is to come. For all of you listening to this hearing, think about those local places you walk to in your neighborhood that make it home to you. Figure out a way to continue supporting those businesses. You will not only be helping your local shops, you’ll be preserving the walkability of the places you love. For me, that’s Pavement Coffee on Western Ave in Allston. Re-ordered coffee beans online today.
  • We know that people walking, biking and taking transit are more likely to frequent local, small businesses. Anything that can be done to improve walking, biking and riding transit will in turn help small business community recover once we re-open.
  • Really should consider car free or “car lite’ streets in key business districts to facilitate reopening while maintaining mandated physical distancing requirements.
    • Mayor mentioned this yesterday is his press conference – ideas of widening sidewalks, allowing restaurants to expand onto sidewalks
    • Understand emergency access and lack of organized grid structure of Boston’s streets need to be considered when determining which areas to devote to people walking and biking – not always a parallel path that traffic can be diverted to – but honestly a lot easier to move people out of the way for emergency vehicles than to move cars; i.e. Downtown crossing (Washington St/Summer Street) need fire truck access? people just get out of the way.

Finally for vulnerable populations/limited spaces due to COVID:

Agree wholeheartedly w/ what Galen spoke about w/ older adults, in conversations that we’ve had with the Boston Age Strong Commission who have identified potential locations where expanded sidewalks and outdoor spaces would greatly benefit senior residents.  I know they’ve shared it with Jacob as he’s been compiling locations.

Goal to facilitate essential movement in areas where it is most needed: for older adults near senior housing, for access to parks and schools (throughout the summer & into fall). WalkBoston, MassBike and the Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative have had conversations about the needs of older adults living in senior housing units in urban walkable centers across the state.

As we’ve seen through Boston Globe coverage, older adults are among the most vulnerable to fall victim to COVID-19. Ensuring that our elders have safe access and enough room on our sidewalks to walk to get food and other essential services is a must. We ask that you keep the needs of our seniors on the top of your minds when deciding on a methodology to share Boston’s streets.

2 example areas that I hope are considered that can also build onto ongoing planning efforts:

  • State St (downtown). Extended curb / sidewalks as part of State St Reconstruction Project.
  • Washington Street from Comm Ave to Brookline line (Brighton). Senior safety zone / create safe access to grocery store location as part of Allston Brighton Mobility Study.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak this evening.