COVID-19
News topics:
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
In Turnaround, Cambridge Council Endorses Car-Free Memorial Drive
On Monday night, the Cambridge City Council voted to endorse the closure of Memorial Drive to car traffic for the duration of the stay-at-home order associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
April 14, 2020
Eyes on the Street: Room to Breathe on DCR Parkways
This weekend, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) closed off segments of several Boston-area park roads to give people more room to recreate with safe physical distancing in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
April 13, 2020
DCR to Block Drivers From More Parkways in Boston, Watertown
DCR hopes that the closure of parking areas and certain road segments to motor vehicle users will reduce crowding and give park users more space to spread out.
April 10, 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
Cambridge Council Balks at Giving Residents Space to Physically Distance
The Cambridge City Council narrowly voted down a proposal to give its residents more space to safely physically distance themselves on city streets during their regular meeting Monday night.
April 6, 2020
DCR Starts Shutting Cars Out of Park Roads to Reduce COVID-19 Risk
The Department of Conservation and Recreation has announced new limits on vehicular traffic on Chickatawbut Road in the Blue Hills Reservation and a portion of Fellsway West in Medford.
April 5, 2020
Cambridge City Council Considers Opening Streets for Outdoor Exercise
On Monday evening, the Cambridge City Council (with most councilors calling in to participate by teleconference) discussed two policy orders that could give people walking and bicycling more space during the COVID-19 pandemic by closing city streets to car traffic.
March 31, 2020
Bike Shops Deemed ‘Essential’ As Bike Transport Surges
Governor Baker ordered all "nonessential" businesses to close on Tuesday, but with a surge of people bicycling for recreation and transportation, bike shops are being allowed to stay open across Massachusetts this week.
March 24, 2020
T Restores Early-Morning Commuter Rail Trips For Health Care Workers
Responding to issues raised in a StreetsblogMASS report last week, the MBTA has announced that it will bring back early-morning commuter rail trains that will allow health care workers to get to work for their 7 a.m. shift change, even as the rest of the transit system continues to run on a reduced schedule.
March 23, 2020
