Vision Zero
News topics:
MassDOT Begins Reexamining Deadly Speed Limit Policies
Ultimately, the new policies should make it easier to implement traffic calming measures, and provide a data-driven process to prioritize speed reduction efforts.
May 21, 2020
MassDOT Tries Out Traffic Calming on Reading’s Main Street
MassDOT is test-driving a narrower road layout – and new online public engagement tools – in a suburb north of Boston.
May 11, 2020
Driver Hits Two Bicyclists, Killing One, on Mass. Ave. in Arlington
The driver is facing charges – but they have nothing to do with his role in ending someone's life.
May 7, 2020
MassDOT Data Show Less Traffic, but Higher Odds of Dying on Streets
MassDOT data show that while traffic is down by half on major state highways, drivers still killed more people in crashes in April 2020 than in April 2019.
May 4, 2020
City, State Collaborating on Safety Fixes for Mass. Ave. in Boston’s South End
A City of Boston capital project could install protected bike lanes on Massachusetts Avenue through the Boston Medical Center campus in 2021.
May 4, 2020
Watchdog Agency Calls for Stronger Pedestrian Safety Standards in New Cars
Current U.S. safety standards protect drivers in crashes, but make no effort to protect the people they hit.
April 30, 2020
Boston Council to Host Hearing on Pandemic Street Safety Improvements
"This is very much about safeguarding everyone's health in the immediate term. We are finding it impossible to practice distancing on narrow sidewalks," said Councilor Michelle Wu.
April 28, 2020
Mixed Signals: ‘Beg Buttons’ and the Pandemic
In the past month, several municipalities in the region, including Brookline, Cambridge, Arlington and Providence, RI, have acknowledged the uselessness of push-to-walk buttons at crosswalks, and have reprogrammed traffic lights to make walk signals automatic.
April 21, 2020
Study: Highway Pollution Contributes to Higher COVID-19 Death Rates
The study's results are especially concerning for many of communities of color in Massachusetts, where the legacies of racist planning policies expose Asian, Latinx and Black neighborhoods to higher levels of tailpipe pollution.
April 7, 2020
Pandemic’s Silver Lining: Less Bloodshed on Commonwealth’s Roads
Here's a silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic: with widespread "stay at home" orders in place, motor vehicle operators have fewer opportunities to maim and kill their victims on the Commonwealth's streets.
April 6, 2020