In this issue:
Cambridge fast-tracks safety planning for Inman Square
3 reasons to sign up for Tour de Streets today
Help us reach our goal by the 4th of July
Improvements coming to Mass Ave this year
LivableStreets in the news
Help Vision Zero Coalition track the city's response to crashes
Take the Focus 40 Kickoff Survey
What's happening
Cambridge fast-tracks safety planning for Inman Square
The tragic and preventable death of Amanda Phillips last week is a sad reminder that we have much more work to do to bring the traffic fatalities in Metro Boston down to zero.
On Monday night the Cambridge City Council took an important step forward and voted to adopt a policy order to fast-track plans to completely redesign and reconstruct Inman Square's dangerous 5-street intersection, prioritizing the safety of people who walk and bike. We are thrilled with this response from the City of Cambridge to the crash.
You can show your support and attend the Vigil for Amanda Phillips tonight:
Event Details
Vigil for Amanda Phillips
Wednesday, June 29, 7-8pm
@ Inman Square, Hampshire St at Cambridge St
And to learn more and get involved, visit the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition website.
3 reasons to sign up for Tour de Streets today
Tour de Streets is LivableStreets' biggest fundraiser of the year, and - more importantly - it’s a ton of fun! Here are three reasons to sign up today to join us on September 10th:-
The new location is amazing. With views of the Boston skyline, a playground, skate park and beautiful patio to enjoy live music and delicious BBQ after your ride, can you think of a better way to spend a Saturday in September?
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It’s a great way to show your friends why you care about our streets. You can create a team and get your friends and family involved. Plus anyone who donates $25 or more gets a ticket to the BBQ!
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By signing up today - you will help us reach our June fundraising goal! By simply signing up and pledging to raise the $100, you will help us meet our goal. If you are planning on participating in Tour de Streets, register today!
Help us reach our goal by the 4th of July
Can you believe it’s almost the 4th of July?
We are just $7,500 away from reaching our mid-year fundraising goal by the end of June. Will you donate today?
We are advancing Vision Zero and will see improvements to Mass Ave this year (more on this below). We are working to complete a seamless Emerald Network, and just witnessed two links open in Cambridge and East Boston. We are helping make buses a priority - but we know we have much more work to do in 2016. Will you help us?
If you’ve donated already - thank you! We are 72 hours away from our deadline. Whether it’s $10 or $1000 - every donation brings us closer to safer and better streets for everyone!
Thank you for your support and have a very happy 4th of July!
Wins
Improvements coming to Mass Ave this year!
On June 15th, more than 250 people packed a public meeting, where we learned that important short-term improvements, like adding protected bike lanes and changing signals so that people walking will get a head start when they cross the street, will happen this year! These improvements will save lives and reduce the number of crashes on Mass Ave - however, our work is far from done.
In 2017 we'll need to work with the MA Vision Zero Coalition and the City of Boston to ensure that:
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continuous protected bike lanes are added on both sides of Mass Ave
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improvements are extended all the way to Columbia Road
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transit, especially the 1 bus, is prioritized on Mass Ave
Making Mass Ave safer is about more than infrastructure changes - it's about saving lives. We’ll be sure to update you when these important changes to Mass Ave are implemented later this year.
LivableStreets in the news
We’ve been working to change public discourse about our streets and we did that in a big way in June:
We landed on the front page of the Metro: “if we prioritize people’s needs to move around Metro Boston, and we work to make our streets function better regardless of the modes people are using, we’re all going to be happier...”
We spoke up on the national radio program All Things Considered: “...as we continue to plan our transportation system, we need to develop one that’s going to get everybody where they need to go during rush hour, no matter how they’re getting there.”
And we called for change on the Chronicle TV program: "we look at transportation as a key to quality of life... There's so many things that we could do... What are we waiting for?"
We are excited that more and more people (and the press!) are thinking about our streets and how they can better serve all people!Opportunities
Help the Vision Zero Coalition track the city's response to crashes
The Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition announced last week that it will be releasing a report card for the City of Boston, assessing its progress toward Vision Zero at the end of the year. Holding the city accountable through a report card is one of the most effective ways we can ensure real progress is made in reducing the number of fatalities on our streets.
In the short term the coalition will also be keeping tabs on the city’s progress by providing detailed reports on each site visit the City of Boston conducts after a fatal crash occurs - and whether the city makes safety improvements to the crash sites - and you can help with this!
These reports are available on the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition’s website and you can help by letting the coalition know if you have - or haven’t - seen improvements to these crash sites by clicking here.
Members of the public are encouraged to help by sending in photos of street improvements or ongoing issues they witness at the crash sites.
To learn more about the coalition, Vision Zero and the crash site visit reports visit www.visionzerocoalition.org.
Take the Focus40 Kickoff Survey
Take the Focus40 Kickoff Survey to share your thoughts on how the MBTA should prioritize investments over the next 25 years.
Focus40 is the long-range, 25-year investment plan for the MBTA. With competing pressures to fix the existing system, while also expanding to serve new markets, the MBTA must develop an investment strategy that is strategic, sustainable, and reflective of the priorities of its customers.
Take a few moments to share your ideas here.
And click here to learn more about Focus40.