traffic calming Archives - WalkMassachusetts

Route 114 in Salem – Painted roundabouts at work!

We visited Salem to scout out WalkBoston’s next walk audit route and were thrilled to see big changes along a previous walk audit route. Drivers used to use a “barge and block” strategy to enter the Route 114 (Summer Street/Norman Street) and Chestnut Street intersection. Now, a painted traffic circle regularizes drivers’ movements and provides crosswalks, flex posts and signage for people walking between the historic district and downtown. WalkBoston would love to hear how the new design is making all road users safer! Check out our 2014 walk audit report for the recommendations proposed for this intersection.

Boston.com – “Should the Boston speed limit be 20 mph? Some say things need to change to make the city’s streets safer.”

Boston dot com: “Should the Boston speed limit be 20 mph? Some say things need to change to make the city’s streets safer.”

Among several residents and associations who spoke before councilors, Adi Nochur, project manager for WalkBoston, which works to make walking easier and safer in the state, said the proposed speed limit change is essentially about street design.
“It is about traffic calming, and it’s a fundamental matter of equity as well — how do we make sure all neighborhoods get traffic calming and how are we prioritizing areas that have been historically underinvested?” he said.

Posted November 13, 2018

Chinatown Boston Pedestrian Safety Campaign Video

In summer 2016, WalkBoston worked with students from AsianCDC’s A-VOYCE program on a walk audit and to make observations, gather data, and collect stories from people about dangerous walking conditions in Chinatown. The students created a video and presented their findings to the Boston Transportation Department. This youth-led campaign resulted in tangible, structural improvements such as doubling the walk light timing to better accommodate elders, children and individuals with physical disabilities.

Boston Globe – “Some city councilors want a 20 mph speed limit in Boston”

Boston Globe: “Some city councilors want a 20 mph speed limit in Boston”

Even supporters of a change to 20 miles per hour argue a speed limit change is not by itself enough to protect pedestrians. Cities and towns must also design streets to encourage slower driving, said Wendy Landman, executive director of the pedestrian advocacy group WalkBoston.
“Simply changing the speed limit without doing anything about the built environment does a little, but not nearly enough,” she said.
Bike lanes, raised crosswalks, streetside landscaping, and thinner travel lanes are among the traffic-calming measures that actually influence drivers to go slower, Landman said.

Posted August 28, 2018

Ashley Park Pop-Up Day for New Bedford’s Safe Routes to Parks effort

WalkBoston joined in the celebration at the Ashley Park Pop-Up Day in New Bedford on Thursday, May 17. Ashley Park was the pilot location for New Bedford’s Safe Routes to Parks efforts guided by a technical assistance grant from the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA). Residents, business owners, and school children came to see how a parklet and a brightly colored crosswalk could help to slow traffic at the busy corner of Rivet and Bolton Streets. WalkBoston, funded by the Mass Dept of Public Health’s Mass in Motion (MiM) Program, conducted a walk audit in the Ashley Park neighborhood in Fall 2017 identifying needed safety improvements along walking routes to the park.