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ACTIVISTS CALL FOR FASTER ACTION: 4,500 PEOPLE INJURED IN CAR CRASHES ON STREETS OF BOSTON IN 2017

By WalkMassachusetts | November 16, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: STACY THOMPSON at 651-206-1068 or stacy@livablestreets.info

ACTIVISTS CALL FOR FASTER ACTION: 4,500 PEOPLE INJURED IN CAR CRASHES ON STREETS OF BOSTON IN 2017

Event details for third annual vigil released; Zakim Bridge and Boston City Hall to be lit yellow; loved ones, advocates, and elected officials gather to remember the hundreds of people who have died across the state; Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition calls on City of Boston leaders to prevent deadly crashes by investing in safe, equitable streets

BOSTON: Friday, November 16, 2018 – Following a slew of fatal crashes in Metro Boston, the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition announces a day of actions on World Day of Remembrance on Sunday, November 18, 2018. Planned events include a vigil to memorialize the human toll of traffic crashes suffered across Massachusetts and the world. The vigil will be preceded by a Ghost Bike Dedication Ceremony for Meng Jin, who was killed by a dump truck while biking near the Museum of Science on November 9, and followed by a silent walk of remembrance to City Hall Plaza to call on Boston leaders to take faster action on making city streets safer.

“We know what works – streets that are properly designed to keep people safe,” said LivableStreets Alliance executive director Stacy Thompson. “The hard work is implementing these designs in cities and towns across Massachusetts. Tackling these issues through the lens of Vision Zero means changing how communities manage their streets.”

In 2016, 37,461 people were killed in car crashes across the U.S., a 6% increase in deaths compared with 2015 and the highest number of traffic deaths since 2007.On Boston streets, 4,521 people were injured in 2017.

To broaden public awareness of traffic deaths, the Coalition has coordinated with the City of Boston and MassDOT to light up Boston City Hall and the Zakim Bridge in yellow on the night of November 18th. In the week leading up to World Day of Remembrance, activists across the state have placed cutouts of human figures near crash sites, including in Boston, Cambridge, Springfield, Worcester, and other cities with high crash rates.

“People in the metro region do not stay within one municipal boundary, so we need cooperation between city and the state agencies,” said Becca Wolfson, executive Director of the Boston Cyclists Union. “We have bridges that are unsafe, and leave dangerous gaps in the bike network. We also know that injury crashes are occurring at a disproportionate rate in lower income communities and want to see prioritization of projects based on crash data. This is an issue of public health, public safety, and equity.”

The Coalition invites crash survivors and their loved ones, members of the public, and local and state leaders to gather at the vigil and reflect upon those who have been injured or killed on our communities’ streets. Attendees are encouraged to wear yellow, the color connected with victims of traffic crashes across the globe.

After the vigil, attendees will be invited to join a Silent Walk of Remembrance to raise awareness of the thousands of injuries from car crashes in Boston each year, and to call for faster action from City leaders. Participants in the silent walk to Boston City Hall Plaza can write messages in chalk to City leaders. Coalition members will lay out more than 1,100 yellow blossoms on the Plaza, signifying the enormous death and injury toll on Boston streets in 2017.

The vigil and silent walk are one of hundreds of events taking place internationally as part of the World Day of Remembrance, a United Nations-recognized movement to commemorate lives lost or injured on roads.

The Coalition will soon be rolling out its third annual progress report, reviewing and rating Boston’s Vision Zero efforts over the past year. The Coalition is committed to reviewing the City’s progress annually to ensure public accountability in reaching its goals.

Earlier this year, Mayor Walsh announced a new annual $5 million investment to advance the projects and policies in Go Boston 2030, adding 20 new staff to the Transportation Department.

“Four years after the launch of Vision Zero, the City of Boston is not making fast enough progress towards eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2030,” said WalkBoston executive director Wendy Landman. “Each serious injury and life lost on Boston streets continues to be an occasion to reflect on the urgency of Vision Zero.”

On the state level, the Coalition is gearing up for a Day of Action on January 23rd for the 2019 legislative session. The Day of Action, led by Coalition member Emily Stein, president of Safe Roads Alliance, will bring constituents to the State House to advocate for distracted driving and hands-free bills.

“Massachusetts is a leader in so many fields,” said Stein, “but it falls behind other states in New England when it comes to addressing the public safety issue of distracted driving. The passage of distracted driving legislation will save countless lives across the Commonwealth.”

Event Details:

World Day of Remembrance

November 18, 2018 from 12:30-3:30pm

Schedule of events:

12:30pm: Ghost Bike Dedication Ceremony for Meng Jin at Charles River Dam Road and Museum Way
1:45pm: Gather on the steps of Massachusetts State House for a Memorial Vigil
2:00pm: Program for Memorial Vigil Begins
2:45pm: Silent Walk of Remembrance to Boston City Hall Plaza
3:30pm: Event ends

On the evening of Sunday, November 18th, the following landmarks will be lit yellow, the color associated with traffic fatalities, in recognition of World Day of Remembrance:

Zakim Bridge, Boston
Boston City Hall
South Station, Boston
Government Center T Station, Boston
Burns Bridge, Worcester

Memorial Organizers: Members of the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition, including Safe Roads Alliance, LivableStreets Alliance, MassBike, WalkBoston, Boston Cyclists Union, among others.

Crash sites where cutouts will be placed

World Day of Remembrance Facebook Event Page

MA Vision Zero Coalition website

Contact

Stacy Thompson, LivableStreets Alliance, 651-206-1068 or stacy@livablestreets.info
Brendan Kearney, WalkBoston, 617-960-6037 or bkearney@walkboston.org
Emily Stein, Safe Roads Alliance, 617-417-3689 or emily@saferoadsalliance.org
Rebecca Wolfson, Boston Cyclists Union, 315-345-6532 or bwolfson@bostoncyclistsunion.org
Galen Mook, MassBike, 703-395-4232 or galen@massbike.org

The Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition advocates for the implementation of Vision Zero in Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville, and for the reduction of traffic injuries and deaths across Massachusetts. The new and growing coalition includes community-based organizations, nonprofits, businesses, civic groups and individuals representing communities across the state. visionzerocoalition.org/

LivableStreets Alliance is an advocacy organization working to create a world where streets are safe, vibrant public spaces that connect people to the places where they live, work and play. LivableStreets advocates for innovative and equitable transportation solutions that create safe, affordable and convenient options for everyone in Metro Boston. http://www.livablestreets.info

The Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition (MassBike) promotes a bicycle-friendly environment and encourages bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation. http://www.massbike.org

WalkBoston makes walking safer and easier in Massachusetts to encourage better health, a cleaner environment and more vibrant communities. https://walkmass.org

The Boston Cyclists Union is helping Bostonians lead healthier lives by promoting the everyday use of the bicycle for transportation. Among other things, they repair bikes, educate new riders, and organize neighborhood residents who would like to voice support for friendlier street designs, bike paths, and public spaces. http://bostoncyclistsunion.org

Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all. http://visionzeronetwork.org

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Jamaica Plain Gazette – “City Council holds hearing regarding dockless mobility, electric scooters”

By WalkMassachusetts | November 12, 2018

Jamaica Plain Gazette: “City Council Holds Hearing Regarding Dockless Mobility, Electric Scooters”

Kristen McCosh from the Mayor’s Office of Persons With Disabilities said that part of her role is to make sure the path of travel on the sidewalks remain unobstructed.

“Sidewalks are the most common mode of travel for people with disabilities,” McCosh said. She said she was concerned about accessibility of the scooters themselves as well as their speed, and where they might be left in the way of someone who is blind or low vision.

“People with disabilities are not in a position to move them or even go around them,” she said.

In the third panel, Stacy Thompson, executive director of the Livable Streets Organization, and Brendan Kearney from WalkBoston, made suggestions about the implementation of the new scooters. Thompson told the City Council that she hopes they will meet their excitement about the prospect with “increased funding for the infrastructure that will be required to support this.” She also said that regulating the speed of the scooters is just a small portion of the conversation that needs to be had about regulating the speed of all vehicles. Redesigning streets and curbside management were things that Kearney said needed to be thought about.

Posted November 9, 2018

East Boston Times-Free Press – “City Council Holds Hearing Regarding Dockless Mobility and Electric Scooters”

By WalkMassachusetts | October 26, 2018

East Boston Times-Free Press: “City Council Holds Hearing Regarding Dockless Mobility and Electric Scooters”

In the third panel, Stacy Thompson, executive director of the Livable Streets Organization, and Brendan Kearney from WalkBoston, made suggestions about the implementation of the new scooters.

Thompson told the City Council that she hopes they will meet their excitement about the prospect with “increased funding for the infrastructure that will be required to support this.”

She also said that regulating the speed of the scooters is just a small portion of the conversation that needs to be had about regulating the speed of all vehicles. Redesigning streets and curbside management were things that Kearney said needed to be thought about.

O’Malley said this was one of the most substantive hearings they have had about this topic, and added that “as a City, we need to do a tremendously better effort going forward as it relates to the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.”

He called this a “complex issue,” but one that needs to be discussed.

He said he feels strongly about implementing a pilot program in the spring of next year.

Posted October 26, 2018

WGBH News – “Safer Streets”

By WalkMassachusetts | August 7, 2018

WGBH News: “Safer Streets”

WGBH’s Stephanie Leydon speaks to Stacy Thompson of LivableStreets and Brendan Kearney of WalkBoston (two groups from the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition) for a look at what’s being done and not done to make city streets safer.

Segment aired on Greater Boston August 6, 2018

MA Vision Zero Coalition Statement on Commonwealth Ave Fatal Crash

By WalkMassachusetts | June 11, 2018

Statement from the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition:

The Commonwealth Avenue crash that claimed the life of Theodore J. Schwalb, age 80, an arts teacher at Stoneham High School for more than 40 years, is disturbing on many levels. The driver, Phocian Fitts, acknowledges that he drove the car that struck and killed Mr. Schwalb in the middle of the day and then fled the scene. He stated this in an interview with Boston 25 News after he was released from police custody:

“People hit and run people all the time, it just happened to be an unfortunate situation where I was driving.”

Mr. Fitts’ comments, although brazen, reflect the low bar we’ve set when it comes to holding people accountable for reckless driving behavior.

A culture that accepts fatal crashes as a fact of life means law enforcement isn’t holding drivers accountable. We are deeply disturbed that the alleged suspect was initially questioned and released without charges despite fleeing the scene of a fatal crash. An arrest was only made after the Boston 25 News interview, in which he admitted to “driving too quick to the point where I couldn’t really stop” before running over and killing a fellow Boston resident.
A culture that accepts fatal crashes as a fact of life means lawmakers don’t realize the urgency of safety legislation. A hands free driving bill, which has passed the Senate and is backed by broad public support and Governor Baker, has languished in the House for years and now is awaiting action in the House Ways and Means Committee.
A culture that accepts fatal crashes as a fact of life means that thousands of people are seriously injured on Massachusetts streets every year. In 2017, there were 4,537 injury crashes on Boston’s streets, which is up ten percent since 2015. Across Massachusetts, at least 133 people have been killed on our roads in the first 5 months of 2018.

While we are brokenhearted that another life has been lost on our streets, we are hopeful that the culture is beginning to shift around designing and building safer streets. In 2015 Mayor Walsh committed Boston to Vision Zero, an effort to eliminate serious and fatal crashes. Cambridge and Somerville soon followed suit.

Each of these cities have worked to make good on their Vision Zero commitments by redesigning dangerous corridors and intersections, and Boston recently announced a major investment in its Transportation Department’s safety efforts.

To ensure our streets are safe and accessible for everyone, design is important. We also need law enforcement and elected leaders to step up and make it clear that reckless driving deserves severe consequences.

Wendy Landman, Executive Director, WalkBoston
Emily Stein, President, Safe Roads Alliance
Stacy Thompson, Executive Director, LivableStreets Alliance
Becca Wolfson, Executive Director, Boston Cyclist Union

Additional Sources

A 2018 AAA study found that “Hit-and-run crashes in the United States are trending in the wrong direction,” according to Dr. David Yang, executive director of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The report found that most victims of fatal hit-and-run crashes are pedestrians or bicyclists. Over the past 10 years, nearly 20 percent of all pedestrian deaths were caused by hit-and-run crashes, meanwhile just one percent of all driver fatalities in that same time period were hit-and-run crashes.
The Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition maintains a map of fatal crashes involving people biking or walking across Massachusetts.
WalkBoston tracks fatal pedestrian crashes across Massachusetts. This is compiled manually via news & social media alerts in order to give communities more information to help push for safer streets.