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Ride On City Hall Today For Action On Bike Safety!
Written by Boston Biker on May 19On Wednesday, Mayor Walsh made public comments suggesting that safety on our streets is the responsibility of the most vulnerable – people walking and biking. This is contrary to the Mayor’s declaration of the City’s commitment to Vision Zero, which is based on creating a built environment that is safe.
Yesterday, the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition formally responded to Mayor Walsh’s remarks, (see below) and we are following up with an demonstration friday morning at City Hall.
Here’s how you can take part:
1. Please dress in black casual/work clothes to send the message that traffic violence affects everyone
2. Join the silent vigil at 8:15am
3. Sign a petition calling for safer streets now, which the Coalition will hand deliver the petition to the Mayor’s office at 9am
4. Spread the word and share the Facebook event
Tomorrow morning is Boston’s Bike to Work celebration. We will be respectfully participating in this event, but we also want to make sure Mayor Walsh gets our message.
There will be no formal remarks. More than enough was said during the four-hour City Council Hearing last Wednesday. Tomorrow we will stand in silence for the people – including many of you – who have been impacted by traffic violence in Boston.
We hope you will stand with us.
Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition
http://www.visionzerocoalition
The following is the Coalition’s letter to Mayor Walsh, which was sent last night:
Dear Mayor Walsh:
“We know how to build safer streets. We know how to protect our most vulnerable road users, who are suffering disproportionately because of speeding traffic and distracted drivers. With this Action Plan, I am saying it’s time to act. It’s time to commit to eliminating fatal and serious traffic crashes from our daily experience.”
Which is why we were dismayed by your comments Wednesday afternoon on WGBH Radio.
In 2016, fifteen people died while walking on Boston’s streets; a record-breaking high for pedestrian fatalities. We are on track to see even higher numbers in 2017. Crashes overall are up. On average, at least two to three people walking are hit in a crash that results in an EMT call every day.
We need action from you and your administration, not victim-blaming. When you said on the air, “Pedestrians need to put their head up when they’re walking down the street, take your headphones off … you’ve got to understand, cars are going to hit you,” you were reiterating a narrative that doesn’t stand up to the crash data your administration collects.
Most of the people killed while walking were children or older adults. In 2016, of the 10 pedestrian victims whose ages we know, four were older than 60 and two were younger than 3 years old.
This Coalition and your constituents look to you for action.
In your interview with WGBH, you said that the city is doing “everything we can,” but we know Boston is being eclipsed by peer cities in both resources and implementation. The City of New York spends about $20 per person on Vision Zero annually, and San Francisco spends $75 per person annually. Both cities have seen declines in overall traffic fatalities despite a troubling rise in fatal crashes nationwide. Boston is spending less than $5 per person, this is not enough.
Forty-seven neighborhood groups applied for Neighborhood Slow Streets, a signature program of Boston’s Vision Zero initiative. Your FY18 budget recommendation only provides resources to implement two to three in the coming year.
At the current rate of implementation it will take more than 20 years to respond to just the first round of applications. Safety should not be a privilege afforded to only some Boston neighborhoods.
We recognize that there are many competing budget priorities and that rapid change on our streets will cost money. This year we suggest drawing on the parking meter fund. In the long term, we are here to work with you to diversify and increase the revenue streams available for transportation, for example through increased parking revenues.
Simply put, the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition, and the thousands of people we represent, feel strongly that the 2018 transportation budget as currently proposed is insufficient to reduce the number of fatalities and serious crashes on our streets.
We hope you will take this opportunity to recommit to leading Boston as a Vision Zero city.
Vision Zero Coalition
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The Future Of Boston Is In Your Hands
Written by Boston Biker on Mar 08From Livable Streets:
After two years of outreach, dozens of workshops, and thousands of comments from people like you, the City of Boston has released its GoBoston 2030 Vision & Action Plan, an unprecedented roadmap for the region’s mobility future.
We are proud that this ambitious plan is a reflection of our vision for a Boston where streets are safe, equitable, and vibrant places for people to live, work, and play.
Now the future of Boston is in your hands. Will you help us make this plan a reality?
Other ways you can support us include joining our Advocacy Committee, becoming a LivableStreets member, or making a donation.
You can review the Go Boston 2030 Vision and Action Plan here. Here are some key proposals LivableStreets is especially excited to see included:
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Overall bus service reliability improvements on 30 busiest routes
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Rapid bus service along Washington St in Roslindale, Mass Ave, between North Station and the South Boston Waterfront, between Mattapan and the LMA, and more!
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Transit signal priority along key bus and Green Line routes
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Implementing a network of neighborhood mobility hubs
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All three of our Boston Greenway Partners’ projects are part of the Action Plan, including Roxbury to Fenway, Arboretum to Roslindale, and the American Legion Parkway
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Improving Columbia Road so that it better serves the surrounding community and completes Olmsted’s vision of the Emerald Necklace
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Southwest Corridor extension to Back Bay and MGH via Charles St
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Expansion of Neighborhood Slow Streets program
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Complete streets overhauls for Dorchester Ave in South Boston, Washington St/Columbus Ave in JP & Roxbury
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Implementing better bike corridors by rebuilding streets with protected, low-stress bicycling facilities
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Livable Streets Update
Written by Boston Biker on Feb 02From the email:
What’s happeningAsk your legislators to support safe streets
Stand with community members at Allston I-90 meeting
Event Details: Join us at the Longwood Area Cyclists Summit
If you’re planning on attending, please RSVP soon as space is limited! Event Details: WinsLivableStreets in the news
Above & beyond: $33,000 in 33 Days challenge
OpportunitiesApply for a Neighborhood Slow Streets Zone
Save the date for the release of Go Boston 2030
Event Details: MA Smart Growth Alliance is hiring
Boston City Council Talks Transportation Policy
Event Details: Event Details: |
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Support The Vision Zero Bill!
Written by Boston Biker on Feb 01The Bike Union, along with our partners in the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition including MassBike, Livable Streets Alliance and WalkBoston, have been working with State Legislators, led by Senator Brownsberger and others, to file a road safety omnibus bill!
The bill, An Act to Reduce Traffic Fatalities, would take a number of steps to improve safety for people biking, walking and driving. We’re thrilled that two policies that the Bike Union championed at the local level that have been adopted by the City of Boston – side guards and truck safety measures as well as improved bicycle crash reporting – have been elevated to be adopted state-wide in this legislation. The numerous other pieces of this omnibus bill make this the most impactful step towards bike safety since the last Bike Safety Omnibus Bill was passed in 2008!In order for this bill to move forward it needs co-sponsors! Our friends at MassBike have a list of current co-sponsors that you can see here. You can click here to generate a letter that you can send to your State Legislators! The linked form will also allow you to figure out who your Legislators are by entering your address.It only takes a few minutes! Help us make our streets safer for everyone!
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Share Your #VisionZero Vision With State Senators! (Online And In Person This Tuesday 1/31, )
Written by Boston Biker on Jan 30From DotBike:
Hi Dot Bikers,
If you’re free this Tuesday night, I encourage you to go to this event at 6pm at Suffolk to share your #VisionZero vision with State Senators. Commonwealth Conversations provide as chance for state senators to hear directly from residents, and what they hear helps shape the Senate’s policy agenda for this term, which runs through the end of 2018.
Details:
We need your help to make sweeping, effective improvements to street safety throughout Massachusetts. LivableStreets and our Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition partners have been working closely with Senator Brownsberger and Representatives Hecht and Rogers to file a bill that will prevent crashes and make the Commonwealth safer for all.
To ensure its success, we need as many co-sponsors for the bill as we can get by Friday, February 3. Will you do your part and contact your legislators? It’s easy with this simple form that allows you to reach out to your state representative and senator directly.
This omnibus bill would ensure basic, but necessary traffic regulations to guarantee that everyone on our streets can expect to get from point A to point B safely. The bill includes, among other provisions:
- Lowering default speed limit on state highways and parkways in thickly settled areas from 30mph to 25mph
- Allowing municipalities to install limited traffic safety cameras exclusively for speeding and red light & right turn violations
- A statewide biking & pedestrian safety curriculum for elementary school students
- Equipping state contracted trucks with safety side-guards to reduce pedestrian & bicyclist fatalities
- Common sense safety regulations for biking with on-street traffic
- And much more!
Please fill out the form and help us spread the word! Together we can make Massachusetts streets safer.
LivableStreets Alliance
http://www.livablestreets.
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The Word On The Street
Here is what people are saying
- Where bicycles are prohibited in Massachusetts August 16, 2023TweetThe main issue you will confront if you get into a dispute with police over bicycle prohibitions is whether the prohibition is supported by law. Often it is not. Example: the ramp from Commonwealth Avenue to Route 128 northbound and … Continue reading →jsallen
- Where bicycles are prohibited in Massachusetts August 16, 2023TweetThe main issue you will confront if you get into a dispute with police over bicycle prohibitions is whether the prohibition is supported by law. Often it is not. Example: the ramp from Commonwealth Avenue to Route 128 northbound and … Continue reading →jsallen
- It’s Finally Happening! 5th Annual Hot Cocoa Ride Feb 12! February 8, 2022... Continue reading →commonwheels
- It’s Finally Happening! 5th Annual Hot Cocoa Ride Feb 12! February 8, 2022... Continue reading →commonwheels
- Hello world! June 9, 2021Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing! Continue reading →thecommunityspoke
- Run The Jewels Lead Free Pewter Hand Carved And Cast Pin Set January 3, 2021Made these lovely RTJ fist and gun pin set. Hand carved in wax, and then cast in lead free pewter. Because these are made by hand you can do fun things like add an extra small pin so that they sit just so (also means they have “customized” brass back plates to accommodate the extra […]Boston Biker
- My Work In The Wild: Feather Head Badge With Chris King Headset January 3, 2021One of my customers sent me this amazing picture of my feather badge installed on their (awesome!) bike. Check out Manofmultnomah (here and here), apparently Chris King took some interest in it as well. Want one of your own? Buy it here, or here... Continue reading →Boston Biker
- Boston’s Invitation to Improve Biking in Boston: Draw on Some Maps! December 14, 2020TweetSometimes, the best way to gather ideas and feedback is to let people draw on some maps. Last night, at the Bike Network Open House, pedallovers unveiled a draft for their upcoming plans for a more connected biking network infrastructure … Continue reading →greg
- Boston’s Invitation to Improve Biking in Boston: Draw on Some Maps! December 14, 2020TweetSometimes, the best way to gather ideas and feedback is to let people draw on some maps. Last night, at the Bike Network Open House, pedallovers unveiled a draft for their upcoming plans for a more connected biking network infrastructure … Continue reading →greg
- Boston’s Invitation to Improve Biking in Boston: Draw on Some Maps! December 14, 2020TweetSometimes, the best way to gather ideas and feedback is to let people draw on some maps. Last night, at the Bike Network Open House, pedallovers unveiled a draft for their upcoming plans for a more connected biking network infrastructure … Continue reading →greg
