Vision Zero
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Eyes On the Street: Portions of New Tremont St. Protected Bike Lane Are Ready to Ride
In the past few weeks, new striping has gone down on several blocks in the western end of the project area, delineating space for new protected bike lanes.
December 22, 2022
Worcester City Hall Poaches Longtime Brookline Planner for New Transportation Department
Worcester is in the midst of several big-picture planning initiatives, like the implementation of the 2020 Green Worcester Plan – which calls on the city to "shift more trips from cars to transit, biking, and walking" – and the upcoming Worcester Next long-range plan.
December 20, 2022
Nuevas Normas de Diseño Para Calles Mas Seguras y Verdes
El mes pasado, funcionarios municipales y estatales se juntaron para anunciar las primeros normas de infraestructura verde en Boston, con el fin de aumentar la resiliencia de la ciudad contra el cambio climático por medio de pequeñas instalaciones en las calles.
November 17, 2022
Cambridge Advances Plans for Bus Stop Upgrades, Bike Lanes Around Harvard Square
The City of Cambridge is juggling three projects to add protected bike lanes, calm traffic, and improve bus stops around Harvard Square; work on Garden Street begins this month.
October 17, 2022
An Inside Look at Federal Highway Officials’ Efforts to Encourage Safer Streets
The annual conference of the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) conference in Boston earlier this month offered a sort of homecoming for Stephanie Pollack, the former leader of MassDOT who left for Washington in early 2021 to lead the Federal Highway Administration in President Biden's administration.
September 28, 2022
Gov. Baker Sends Traffic Safety Bill Back to Legislators With Objections to Safer Speed Limits and Passing Rules
The Governor proposed several amendments, including a simpler 3-foot minimum distance for motor vehicles passing bikes and pedestrians, and striking language that would let cities and towns reduce speed limits to 25 mph on state-owned roadways, including the Department of Conservation and Recreation's dangerous "parkways."
September 26, 2022
State Data Show Uber and Lyft Drivers Were Involved in Over 1,000 Crashes in the City of Boston Last Year
A state compilation of Uber and Lyft data from 2021 data indicates that those companies' drivers were involved in 2,267 crashes across Massachusetts last year. Nearly half of those crashes – 1,098 – occurred in the City of Boston.
September 20, 2022
Legislature Approves Long-Stalled Traffic Safety Bill With Compromises on Bike Light Requirements
The version of the legislation which passed both the House and Senate this week includes a compromise: the new lighting rules can’t be the primary purpose for a police stop, and can’t be used as conclusive evidence of contributory negligence in a civil suit.
September 16, 2022
Somerville to Build Protected Bike Lanes Near Davis Square After Fatal ‘Dooring’ Crash
Holland Street is scheduled to be repaved this fall; until this week, the project would have created a single paint-only bike lane next to parked cars, similar to the street layout on nearby Broadway.
September 2, 2022
Driving is the New Smoking: Lessons From America’s Public Health Victory Over Tobacco
Smoking, once a celebrated totem of American culture, is increasingly an ostracized habit of the marginal few. Getting there, though, took deliberate vision, coordinated efforts, and persistent policy trial and error over decades — and those efforts reveal a partial roadmap for breaking our country’s similarly dangerous addiction to cars.
September 2, 2022