Thank you chairs Crighton and Arciero. My name is Brendan Kearney, and I’m the executive director of WalkMassachusetts, a statewide pedestrian advocacy organization working to make walking safer and easier in Massachusetts, to encourage better health, a cleaner environment, and more vibrant communities, originally established in 1990 as WalkBoston. I’m here alongside colleagues with the MA Vision Zero Coalition, who will speak to different aspects in support of H.3754 & S.2344. 

I want to give some context into some of the problems these safety camera bills are working to help solve. WalkMassachusetts releases a report each spring looking at fatal crashes from the year before. 

• In 2024, there were 369 reported total traffic deaths in Massachusetts. At least 78 pedestrians lost their lives as a result of traffic crashes, accounting for just over 21% of the total. 
• Of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts, 53 had at least one pedestrian crash death in 2024. 
• 66.7% fatal pedestrian crashes took place in environmental justice census block groups. 

Environmental justice (EJ) is based on the principle that all people have a right to be protected from environmental hazards and to live in and enjoy a clean and healthful environment. This skewed spatial distribution of fatal pedestrian crashes in Massachusetts demonstrates that EJ communities face disproportionate harm in large part because of historic and present-day injustices in transportation planning, so we need to do more to protect the people that are just trying to get around or cross the street in their town. 

We’re grateful the legislature passed “An Act Creating a Next Generation Roadmap for MA Climate Policy” in 2021, which includes a specific definition of “environmental justice population” to ensure Massachusetts holds to this commitment no matter what is happening at the national level. 

Each year we’ve released this report, we believe that on the state and local level, there is a need for more action to slow drivers down so people trying to cross the street can do so safely. Drivers can more easily see and yield to people in crosswalks when driving slower. 

We were very glad that MassDOT Highway Administrator Gulliver testified earlier. 

MassDOT believes the need to slow people down to reasonable speeds as well – they now have an entire page of their website dedicated to Speed Management. 

In addition, the MassDOT Strategic Highway Safety Plan includes as one of six initiatives an effort to Accelerate Research and Adoption of Technology: 

“The Commonwealth is eager to support research and the use of technologies to reduce roadway deaths and serious injuries. As part of this work, Massachusetts will identify barriers to adoption, as well as the statutory and regulatory changes needed.”  

They specifically mention cameras for red light running, speed zones, and work zones. They cite that  “Automated speed enforcement can reduce fatal and serious injury crashes by 11% to 44% and reduce the proportion of  speeding drivers by 14% to 65%.” 

The governor’s budget bill also included safety cameras, so we hope this committee will move the safety camera bills in front of you along favorably. 

Thank you. 

This testimony was shared as part of a panel w/ Pete Wilson of Transportation for Massachusetts (T4MA), Galen Mook of MassBike, and Emily Stein of Safe Roads Alliance at a Joint Committee on Transportation Hearing on June 3, 2025.