May 10, 2021
Bucking National Trends, City of Boston Marks Progress on ‘Vision Zero’
The City of Boston has achieved “consistent and measurable progress” towards its goal of eliminating serious and fatal crashes in the city, but needs to work harder to reduce the overall number of deadly cars and trucks on city streets, according to a new progress report from the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition.
Read the full PDF here.
May 10, 2021
Boston traffic deaths: Fatalities of drivers, passengers and motorcyclists up in 2020 amid speeding spike
More drivers, passengers and motorcyclists died in Boston crashes in 2020 than in any of the previous four years, a likely result of a speeding spike with fewer cars on the road due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report released Monday.
Read the full PDF here.
May 6th, 2020
Rate of roadway fatalities in Massachusetts doubled in April, despite fewer drivers
Louisa Gag, public policy director for LivableStreets Alliance, an advocacy group for equitable transportation, said redesigning highways where speeding is a problem may help reduce fatalities. “The City proposed a plan to do what’s called a ‘road diet’ or a reduction in the number of travel lanes,” Gag said. “So cars can provide more space for the sidewalk and for protected bike lanes.”
Read the full PDF here.
April 24th, 2020
Now, and After the Pandemic, Boston’s Streets Need a Fresh Look
Earlier this month, members of the Vision Zero Coalition, a collection of transit-focused groups in the city, issued a statement making the case for a number of new initiatives. Citing a recent survey in which some 60 percent of respondents said they felt unsafe about maintaining social distance while walking or biking, they’re advocating for closing off roadways to car traffic near grocery stores, takeout restaurants, and bus stops, where lines of people need extra space to avoid one another, as well as increasing the rate at which traffic signals change to prevent crowding among pedestrians waiting at crosswalks.
Read the full PDF here.
March 31st, 2020
Roads cleared of vehicle traffic should be open to foot traffic during the coronavirus pandemic
Cities around the world, from Bogota to Chapel Hill to Berlin, have instituted such street-space reallocations to good effect. Here in Massachusetts, many advocacy groups, through the Vision Zero Coalition, which seeks to eliminate traffic deaths, are currently working on this.
Read the full PDF here.