News 2020

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 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.”

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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.

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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