Stacey Beuttell Archives - WalkMassachusetts

Leadership Update at WalkBoston

Dear Friends,

After nearly a decade of dedication to WalkBoston, and three transformative years leading us through the COVID-19 pandemic, our transition to a hybrid workplace, and the development of a new strategic plan, our Executive Director Stacey Beuttell will depart later this fall to become the Senior Director of the Nature in the City Program for Mass Audubon. Although this is a bittersweet goodbye, we are delighted for her next chapter and look forward to watching her continue to make Massachusetts more livable, vibrant, and green for everyone. Stacey’s last day will be October 14th.

Stacey Beuttell speaks to attendees at the Bob Sloane Walk in Brookline in June 2022.

The organization will be co-led on an interim basis by Deputy Director of Operations Althea Wong-Achorn and Deputy Director of Advocacy Brendan Kearney. Together, Althea and Brendan bring the necessary skills, expertise, and clarity of vision to move us forward. Over the last year, both took part in shaping the new strategic plan alongside the board. They will ably guide WalkBoston’s efforts in the months ahead.

As WalkBoston launches our new strategic plan, we’re looking forward to what comes next as a statewide organization. We believe in the way walkable places foster community spirit, vibrancy, and health. Our advocacy is locally driven and resident-empowering, and we embrace an inclusive definition of walkability that accounts for the lived experiences of all people no matter their race, identity, age, or ability. We prioritize working in places that have experienced historic disinvestment. Above all else, WalkBoston never works alone: we partner with community members, local non-profits, municipal and state agency staff, and elected officials to achieve common goals.

Our next Executive Director will be someone who is looking for an opportunity to lead a trusted organization that is poised for growth. They will embrace our mission of making walking safer and easier in Massachusetts to encourage better health, a cleaner environment, and more vibrant communities. The WalkBoston board is in the process of hiring an outside consultant who will lead a nationwide search for the role. We will be sharing more information about that process in the coming weeks.

Thank you for your continued support.

Regards,

Betsy Johnson
WalkBoston Board President

Comment Letter Re: Support for H.3437, An Act requiring backup cameras on certain vehicles

January 18th, 2022

Joint Committee on Transportation
Representative William Straus, Chair

Re: Support for H.3437, An Act requiring backup cameras on certain vehicles

Dear Chairman Straus, Vice Chairs Keenan and Devers, and members of the committee,

Members of the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition respectfully request that the committee report out favorably on H.3437 An Act requiring backup cameras on certain vehicles.

H.3437 An Act requiring backup cameras on certain vehicles would require the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to include regulations around having rear visibility camera systems, or “backup” cameras for motor vehicles over 10,000 pounds that are owned or leased by the commonwealth or a city or town of the commonwealth. As of May 2018, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires all new vehicles to be manufactured with backup cameras. However, this only applies to vehicles under 10,000 pounds, meaning large trucks are not included in this law. These large trucks have significant blind spots¹, making it challenging for drivers to see what is behind them when backing up. Requiring backup cameras could be an important safety measure for preventing backover crashes involving large trucks and vehicles, and protecting vulnerable road users like people walking and biking—particularly children and older adults who are most impacted by these kinds of crashes².

In Massachusetts over the last five years (2017-2021), there have been 33 crashes involving trucks backing up and people walking, resulting in 2 fatalities³. Additionally, two workers at a construction site in Boston were struck and killed when a co-worker backed up a truck and pushed them into a trench in February 2021. While the ownership history of all of these trucks is unknown, we are confident that beginning with state- and municipally-owned vehicles will act as a model for private operators to install video technology; the impact of which will help prevent the needless loss of life of people walking on roadways and sidewalks in Massachusetts.

Implementing these requirements, particularly when paired with other truck safety measures included in H.3549 An Act to reduce traﬃc fatalities, would make measurable improvements for the safety of vulnerable road users around large trucks.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

The Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition

Cheryl Pavlik, Allston Brighton Health Collaborative
Galen Mook, Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition
Jarred Johnson, TransitMatters
Adam Shutes, WalkUP Roslindale
Becca Wolfson, Boston Cyclists Union
Stacey Beuttell, WalkBoston
Janie Katz-Christy, Green Streets Initiative
Emily Stein, Safe Roads Alliance
Alex Epstein, Somerville Alliance for Safe Streets
Julia Wallerce, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy
Catherine Gleason, LivableStreets Alliance
Josh Ostroff, Transportation for Massachusetts

¹ Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/ourroads/large-blind-spots)
² NHTSA Report on Backover Crashes (https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/811144.pdf)
³ MassDOT IMPACT portal (https://apps.impact.dot.state.ma.us/cdp/home)

Boston Magazine: “Jaywalking in Boston Is a Crime in Name Only. Thank Goodness.”

We’ve come a long way since the early 20th Century, when the auto industry invented the “jaywalking” concept as a way to shift blame for collisions away from drivers and toward people with the audacity to get in their way. A century later, pedestrian activists still cringe at the mention of the word. Despite the term’s negative connotation, says WalkBoston Executive Director Stacey Beuttell, places where jaywalking is commonplace are often among the city’s most welcoming corners. Take Downtown Crossing, for example, where cars, bikes, and shoppers co-mingle on shared roadways like School Street. “That’s one of those places where it’s vibrant, there’s a lot of economic activity, there’s a lot of positive community social cohesion and behavior. Those are the types of spaces that we want to create in the city,” Beuttell says. “‘Jaywalking’ is a sign of a healthy and vibrant, economically vital place.”

Posted October 22, 2021

RealEstate by Boston.com: “Together, neighbors can thwart speed demons. Here’s how”

Assisting Mahoney, Rana, and others is WalkBoston, a pedestrian-advocacy organization that works throughout the Commonwealth, not just the capital. This nonprofit can pinpoint a road’s jurisdiction and identify key decision-makers: elected officials, business groups, disability organizations, and neighborhood associations. Often WalkBoston will guide them on a “walk audit’’ of the targeted area. “We talk about destinations that people want to access,’’ said Stacey Beuttell, the nonprofit’s executive director. “Can they access them through crossings? What are the posted speeds? Should we narrow the travel lanes or add bike lanes?’’

Posted June 24, 2021