WalkMassachusetts Network

Third Wednesday of the month at 1pm on Zoom. Anyone can listen in and participate. Join the Google Group to get a reminder about these Zoom calls.

We connect and support new, emerging, and existing local organizations, community groups, residents, municipal staff and committees, and elected officials all working on improving walkability throughout the Commonwealth. Key features of the Network include community and statewide sharing of advocacy techniques, member recruitment strategies, and approaches for securing improvements to the built environment. The Network amplifies our impact by strengthening local voices.

Upcoming Zoom Presentations

May 21 – Traffic fatalities, active mobility, national disparities, and autonomous vehicles. (Matthew A. Raifman, PhD; Transportation Safety Researcher). Register on Zoom.
June 18 – Designing Safer and More Equitable Navigation Technology (Lena Armstrong, Computer Science PhD candidate, Harvard University.) Register on Zoom.
July 16
August 20
September 17 (this day may shift to Tuesday or Thursday due to conflict with MABPAB)
October 15
November 19 (this day may shift to Tuesday or Thursday due to conflict with MABPAB)
December 17

Can’t attend mid-day, but really interested in one of the topics? Don’t worry: each talk/presentation will be recorded so we can share it afterwards. We’ll stop the recording before Q&A as we have the last few months to encourage open discussion. Recordings are posted to our YouTube channel and linked below under “Past Recordings.”

Do you have a topic that should be discussed at a future zoom meeting? Suggestions welcome!

Past Meetings & Recordings

April 16 – Walk Audit database | April 2025
Iolando Spinola & Ali Gibbs
Senior Program Manager, WalkMassachusetts & Intern/MIT student
View walk audits that have been completed in Massachusetts and submit your own for others to access.

Crash Report Preview | March 2025
Brendan Kearney
Co-Executive Director, WalkMassachusetts
Thank you everyone for your feedback! Report will be released here the first week of April.
[This was a working meeting, with questions and discussion throughout so it was not recorded.]

Boston MPO – TIP Process | February 2025

America Walks | January 2025
View the recording.

A Local Vision for Vision Zero | December 2024
Elizabeth Maldari
Vision Zero Project Manager at the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
For better or worse, car travel is deeply embedded in US culture. Historically, traffic engineers and transportation planners have prioritized the efficient movement of vehicles while responsibility for safety typically rests on the individual in and outside of the car. Vision Zero is a strategy that aims to disrupt this mindset in favor of a safer, more holistic transportation network. Elizabeth Maldari, the Vision Zero Project Manager at the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission is looking forward to sharing a presentation and discussion with the WalkMass community about the systemic barriers, public insight and data analysis that shaped the Merrimack Valley Vision Zero Plan for a regional transportation network free from traffic violence.
View the recording.

The Walking City Trail | November 2024
Miles Howard
Founder and lead organizer of Boston’s Walking City Trail
The Walking City Trail is a 27-mile walking route through more than 30 urban green spaces in 17 Boston neighborhoods; from Mattapan’s Harvest River Bridge to Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. A transit-accessible curation of pre-existing spaces, scouted, connected, and mapped by volunteers, the Walking City Trail was launched in 2022 and has since been walked by thousands of Boston residents and visitors. The WCT, as some call it, exemplifies a model of grassroots urban trail-making that has been replicated in other cities in the U.S. and abroad; at a fraction of the time and expense that it takes to physically construct traditional trails. Maps, directions, and a short history of the trail can be found on the Walking City Trail’s dedicated website.
View the recording.

Ped 101 during Pedestrian Safety Month | October 2024
WalkMassachusetts staff
What goes into creating a safe, walkable environment? How can you push for safer streets in your own community? We’ll share our “Ped101” overview that we use before walk audits so everyone taking part can feel confident to ask questions and make suggestions while participating.
View the recording.

Walkability and its impact on food sovereignty | September 2024
Enrique Vargas, Associate Director, Mill City Grows
Jessica Wilson, former Executive Director, Mill City Grows; strategy and fundraising consultant
Mill City Grows was founded in 2012 to increase access to local produce for the community of Lowell, MA. In 2022, Mill City Grows completed the Lowell Community Food Assessment and found that walkability and access to transportation was a major factor in food security. We’ll discuss our findings, current programs, and policy changes that will help shape a more equitable and food secure community.
View the recording.

Sharing about the MUTCD | August 2024
Stefanie Seskin
Director of Policy and Practice, NACTO; WalkMassachusetts board member
View the recording.

How can spatial thinking help in advocating for pedestrians? | July 2024
Professor Sumeeta Srinivasan
Senior Lecturer, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University; WalkMassachusetts board member
GIS or Geographic Information Systems includes analytic tools that help make maps and conduct spatial analysis. In this brainstorming session, we will try to come up with ways in which GIS can be used by communities to advocate for themselves.
View the recording.

Getting Around Town and mapping for pedestrian accessibility | June 2024
Garrett Dash Nelson
President & Head Curator, Leventhal Map & Education Center, Boston Public Library
Hear insights learned from the Leventhal Map & Education Center’s exhibition Getting Around Town (on display in person through April 27th, will remain online afterwards), and how mapping can be used as a tool for improving pedestrian accessibility. visit the Leventhal Map & Education Center website, and view Atlascope. Garrett also put together a document w/ shared resources that he referenced in the presentation.
View the recording.

Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG) | May 2024
Sarah Presley
Accessibility Specialist, U.S. Access Board
The Access Board has published new guidelines under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) that address access to sidewalks and streets, crosswalks, curb ramps, pedestrian signals, on-street parking, and other components of public right-of-way. These guidelines also review shared use paths, which are designed primarily for use by bicyclists and pedestrians for transportation and recreation purposes. View the presentation slides.
View the recording.

Working with local elected officials on transportation safety issues | April 2024
Etel Haxhiaj, Worcester City Council District 5
Karin Valentine Goins, WalkBikeWorcester
Worcester established a new Transportation & Mobility department in 2022. They are currently working on the Worcester Mobility Action Plan, starting development of a Vision Zero action plan, and making changes using resurfacing funds. Hear the perspective of a city councilor on supporting street safety initiatives, as well as a local advocate about how people can work with their elected representatives. View the recording.

Preview – Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA (2023) Report | March 2024
Brendan Kearney
WalkMassachusetts
This past year saw the 2nd release of our Statewide Pedestrian Crash Report, which took a closer look at fatal crashes from 2022 and investigated patterns found in publicly available data. This work builds on our monthly crash review posts. This annual report release serves as a tool for advocates to identify areas where they can make an impact. Our look at crashes from 2023 will be released in March 2024 and a preview of it will be discussed at this meeting.
[This was a working meeting, with questions and discussion throughout so it was not recorded.]

Impacts of transportation noise and the environment on aging populations | February 2024
Stephanie Grady
Doctoral candidate, Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health; WalkMassachusetts board member
Much of our health is shaped by the environments in which we live, work, and play. Transportation noise and other aspects of our built (human-made) environment can contribute to worsening health, such as stress, heart disease, and other chronic conditions. How does this happen? How can we work across sectors to make meaningful change to our environment to protect public health?
View the recording.

MassDOT’s Statewide Long Range Plan, Beyond Mobility 2050 | December 2023
Nathaniel Kerr, SPR Work Program Coordinator, MassDOT
Miranda Briseño, Federal Programs Coordinator | Office of Transportation Planning, MassDOT
Beyond Mobility, the Massachusetts 2050 Transportation Plan, is a planning process that will result in a blueprint for guiding transportation decision-making and investments in Massachusetts in a way that advances MassDOT’s goals and maximizes the equity and resiliency of the transportation system. Come hear a summary of where the plan is at now (almost in its final stages) and offer feedback to ensure what they have accurately captures the perspectives of all users of the transportation network.
View the recording.

MA Safe Routes to School | November 2023
Judy Crocker
Statewide Coordinator, Massachusetts Safe Routes to School – a program of MassDOT
Since 2005, the federally funded Massachusetts Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program has been working to increase safe biking and walking for students grade K-12 by using a collaborative, community-focused approach that bridges the gap between health and transportation. Join this nationally #1 ranked program of MassDOT as we discuss their latest efforts, including the recent inclusion of high schools, driver education materials, and DESE-accreditation for professional development of their pedestrian and bike safety curriculum.
View the recording.

Vacant to Vibrant: Creating Walkable Neighborhoods with Social Infrastructure | October 2023
Aaron Greiner
Director of CultureHouse
Making an area walkable requires paying attention to more than what is on the street—also critical is what happens on the edges. Having good civic spaces creates communities that are strong and resilient and neighborhoods that have accessible, walkable destinations. Aaron will also share about how they use a community-driven model to reimagine vacant storefronts as pop-up community spaces that meet local needs.
View the recording.

Piecing together, the Mass Central Rail Trail. It is like putting Humpty Dumpty together again | September 2023
Craig Della Penna
This is the longest and most complicated former RR corridor to reassemble in New England. Running from Northampton to Boston, it has been a 40+ year journey so far. It is the longest developing rail trail in New England. Today we have 59 of the 104 miles open as a trail. 90.5 miles are in a protected status.
12 miles are currently under construction. In two-years we are likely to have 75 miles open. https://www.masscentralrailtrail.org/ Within 150 miles of Northampton, MA lies the densest network of former steam railroad corridors in the United States. A report by MassDOT showed that the MCRT can be completed, but it begs the question: What would a completed 100 mile long walking and biking trail mean to the Commonwealth? Craig is the author of 5 books, the forwards to several more, op-eds in numerous newspapers and in the past few years, 5 books have been written that feature him in them as a case study in various realms. Including two about his innovative real estate practice; specializing in the sale of houses near rail trails. He is the first Realtor in the US to specialize in this niche. He and his wife Kathleen, also operate an award-winning bed & breakfast that sits 8 feet from the now rail trail, in Northampton’s historic Civil War era industrial village of Florence. He has given over 1,200 lectures in 21 states on various topics related to the conversion of former RRs into linear parks known as rail trails.
View the recording.

All Things Pedestrian & Traffic Signals | August 2023
Peter G. Furth
Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northeastern University
Based on recent conversations on the WalkMassachusetts Network Google Group, we’ve lined up a speaker for August who is very knowledgeable about traffic signals! Come with your signal questions, and be ready to learn about RRFBs, accommodating slower peds, ped recall, protection from concurrent conflicting turns, and more, including Boston’s new traffic signal policy which has enormous improvements for pedestrians. View the presentation slides.
View the recording.

Walk the Talk: Understanding Pedestrian Behavior & Creating Analytic Tools to Aid Planning & Policy | July 2023
Rounaq Basu
Manager of Multimodal Planning and Design at the Boston Region MPO, Postdoctoral Associate, MIT
Why do pedestrians choose one route over others? Which street attributes are considered attractive and which ones are onerous? What should urban planners and designers be looking out for? How do we then incorporate these behaviors into a framework that allows us to understand and predict where people walk? What are the implications for Vision Zero policies?
View the recording.

Vehicle Design and Visibility | June 2023
Speakers: Alex Epstein, Senior General Engineer, USDOT Volpe Center. Vehicle design and visibility from the driver’s seat are significant factors in the rise of traffic crashes and fatalities. Hear from Alex about global and local efforts to reduce traffic fatalities by developing a “Direct Vision Standard” for vehicles. View the recording.

Boston Brakes | May 2023
Colleen Flanagan
Engagement and Outreach Specialist, City of Boston’s Disabilities Commission
Boston Brakes is a campaign focused on encouraging folks, particularly bikers, to share space and be aware of people with disabilities using wheelchairs, white canes, and other mobility devices as they move around the city.

Snow Updates | April 2023
Ava Dimond
WalkBoston
We’re happy to chat about the gradual branding switchover we’re doing throughout 2023 to WalkMassachusetts, but we’ve set aside April’s meeting to talk about what worked well this winter for snow clearance (or what didn’t). We’ll also have a working draft to get feedback on a new way to frame our snow report, and we want to know what would be useful for you / your community. All things snow can be found at: https://walkmass.org/snow

Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA (2022) Report | March 2023
Brendan Kearney
WalkBoston
This past year saw the release of our first Statewide Pedestrian Crash Report, which took a closer look at fatal crashes from 2021 and investigated patterns found in publicly available data. This work builds on our monthly crash review posts. Going forward, this annual report will serve as a tool for advocates to identify areas where they can make an impact. Our look at crashes from 2022 will be released in March 2023 and a preview of it will be discussed at this meeting.

Walk Audit Academy / Worcester Training Pilot | February 2023
Karin Valentine Goins, Prevention Research Center at UMass Chan Medical School
Iolando Spinola, WalkBoston
Hear about the pilot launch of our new video series, the “Walk Audit Academy,” which we rolled out in Worcester designed to train community leaders on how to lead walk audits and implement change. The groups who participated in the Walk Audit Academy project in November 2022 presented their findings in January 2023 to community leaders; we’ll share lessons learned for you in February. We’ll be looking for opportunities to roll the training out more widely.

America Walks | January 2023
Ben Crowther, Advocacy Manager, America Walks
Susan Le, Program Manager, America Walks
Two America Walks staffers who live right here in Massachusetts! More about America Walks: “America Walks brings together the frontline efforts of local walking advocates into a collective voice for national change. We work with community advocates and their allies to identify priority issues and common challenges to making walking safe, routine, and enjoyable. America Walks takes a lead in nationwide advocacy that supports policies, practices, and public funding that encourages safe movement in public spaces. Walking advocacy touches a wide spectrum of issues. At America Walks, we shape the national conversation through our four key campaigns: Building Better Streets, Reconnecting Communities, Freedom to Move, and Safer Vehicles for Pedestrians.”

July 2022 Network Meeting Recap

April 2022 Network Meeting Recap

March 2022 Network Meeting Recap

February 2022 Network Meeting Recap

October 2021 Speed Workshop

2nd WalkMassachusetts Network Forum, SMOC in Framingham, Wednesday 2/12/2020

1st WalkMassachusetts Network Forum, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Saturday 12/1/2018