2018 Impact Report

2018

2017

2016

2015

Year of the Bus

In 2017, our Better Buses campaign moved from inspiration to action. We released our "Getting Boston on Board" report, deployed volunteer Street Ambassadors, and celebrated a bus-only lane pilot becoming permanent on Washington Street in Roslindale.

Street Tweets

Robert Orthman @realroborthman #BetterBuses #KeepRozzieMoving #MyStory It is hard to overstate what a difference the [Washington Street] bus-only lane has made. What used to be a completely unpredictable morning ride of anywhere between 15-40 minutes is now a predictable 8 minutes. People seem happier just riding the bus now, knowing they won't get bogged down in endless vehicular congestion.

Two silver line buses sit in a sheltered bus stop

A young caucasian woman with light brown hair, wearing an orange LivableStreets shirt and a backpack, holds a sign saying "Mayor Walsh: thank you for bringing #BetterBuses to Rozzie. Let's make the pilot permanent!" On the sign is an image of a bus in a "bus only" lane

Why Better Buses?

Today in Boston, approximately seven miles of congested streets are holding back 92,000 bus riders. Without implementation of bus priority measures, many people will continue to turn to rideshare and personal cars, while those who depend on the bus fall further behind.

Better Buses in Action

These Better Buses wins are just a few examples of what is possible when city leaders, the MBTA, and advocacy groups work together on a shared goal:

All-Door Boarding Pilot, Silver Line 4 and 5 @ Dudley Station, Roxbury
Pilot to Permanent, Bus-Only Lane @ Washington Street, Roslindale
Pilot to Permanent, Bus-Only Lane + Tactical Transit @ Broadway Street, City of Everett
Funding for Boston's first-ever Transit Team Staff @ City of Boston

Better Buses on Deck

Now is the time to keep the momentum going for Better Buses. We want to see the following four corridors receive pilots or permanent bus priority by the end of 2018:

Brighton Avenue, Allston
Longwood Avenue, Longwood Area
Mt. Auburn Street, City of Cambridge and City of Watertown
South Massachusetts Avenue, City of Cambridge

A crowd of people hold signs with statements like "Let's Get Boston On Board" and "Where's my Bus?" and "Seniors for buses"

LIVABLESTREETS 2017

Vision Zero

$Mayor Walsh (a middle-aged caucasian man with greying brown hair) stands behind a podium surrounded by road signs that say \$

In 2017, Cambridge and Somerville both committed to Vision Zero, and dozens of other cities and towns in Massachusetts opted to lower speed limits from 30 to 25 MPH on some of their busiest roads.

Emphasizing Accountability
In partnership with the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition, we published a candidate questionnaire, and the second annual Boston Progress Report.

Increasing Staff + Funding
We successfully advocated for a $5 million increase in funding and additional Vision Zero staff in the City of Boston.

$Three young adults, a caucasian woman with long straight brown hair, an asian-american man with short hair and glasses, and a caucasian man with blond hair, stand around a bicycle; the man in the center holds a sign that says \$

Street Tweets

LivableStreets @streetsboston Our #streetambassadors are on #BeaconStreet this week, talking with people about recent #VisionZero safety improvements.

Maxime Devilliers @MaximeDevilliers #VisionZero #StreetAmbassador #MyStory Neighbors on Beacon Street were concerned about reduced parking, more intense bottlenecks, hitting cyclists when turning into a driveway + cyclists still riding on the sidewalk. I was able to help people better understand why Boston chose this particular design + how it's supposed to work.

Emerald Network

A family of four, two adults, a toddler in a stroller, and a senior in a wheelchair, walk along a bike path. The woman, caucasian with dark brown hair pulled back, pushes the stroller; the man is darker-skinned, bald, and has a stubble beard; he pushes the senior, who is a caucasian woman with white hair, in her wheelchair. Both adults are smiling at the camera.

The Emerald Network continues to grow, with 114 miles of existing greenways, 37 miles in-progress, and 68 miles proposed.

Completing Key Links

This year we celebrated the completion of the Neponset River Greenway Extension in Mattapan and the Connect Historic Boston Bike Trail in downtown Boston, and great progress on the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway.

Connecting the Big Picture

Governor Charlie Baker's support for the creation of the Mass Trails program will be hugely beneficial in connecting gaps in the state's network of trails, as well as gaps in funding for design.

A young african-american woman stands next to her bicycle, facing the viewer but looking off to her left. She is wearing an orange shirt, black leggings, white sneakers, glasses, and a bike helmet.

Street Tweets

LivableStreets @streetsboston @MattapanViv + @LeeToma telling the story of the Neponset River Greenway Extension. #EmeraldNetwork #StreetTalk10in1

Shavel'le Olivier @MattapanFoodFit #NeponsetTrail #Mattapan #MyStory Now that the [Neponset] trail is complete, my friends and I can walk to Lower Mills to enjoy ice cream + restaurants. I've even biked all the way to Castle Island [...] using the trail - I wouldn't have attempted these distances if it wasn't for the completion of the trail in Mattapan. I also walk much more often!

REPORTS

In 2017, we published multiple reports, holding city leaders and decision makers accountable for creating safer, more equitable streets and transportation systems.

Finding a Cure:
Transportation in the Longwood Area

The front page of the Finding A Cure report; the title is on top, white text on a green background, and below is a photograph of a large crowd people walking across a street in the Longwood Medical area. Click to open the report.

Getting Boston on Board 2017

The front page of the Finding A Cure report; the title is on top, white text on an orange background. Below is a photograph of a crowd of people waiting to board the 47 bus to Central Square. Click to open the report.

Vision Zero Progress Report: Boston

The top part of the 2017 Vision Zero progress report. Click to open the report.

#TEAMWORK

$A crowd of people stand against a brightly painted wall. Many are holding signs that say things like \$

Our strong network of community, city, and state partners allows us to break down silos and facilitate connections that help everyone achieve better outcomes. We would like to recognize some of our outstanding 2017 partners:

I-90 People's Pike - 2017 LivableStreets Advocates of the Year
TransitCenter - Partnered on our Better Buses report "Getting Boston on Board"
Boston BRT - Helped cities move ahead by funding innovative bus pilots in Cambridge, Watertown, and Arlington
Better Buses and Emerald Network Advisory Committees
- Better Buses Affiliations:
  Chester Square Neighborhood Association, Greater Grove Hall Main Streets, Mattapan Food & Fitness Coalition, AACT, Allston-Brighton Health Collaborative, T4MA, BostonBRT, ITDP
- Emerald Network Affiliations:
  NBBJ & Harvard GSD, Boston Harbor Now, Boston's Green Ribbon Commission, Red Gate, Boston Society of Landscape Architects, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, CBT Architects, Continuum Innovation, MAPC

BY THE NUMBERS

A pie graph showing LivableStreets membership in 2017. Boston: 34%; Cambridge: 11%; Somerville: 7%; Brookline: 4%; Other MA: 21%; Outside MA: 24%

Two bar graphs showing LivableStreets' 2017 Income and Expenses. Income: Foundations, $242,300; Individuals, $132,455; In-Kind, $73,010; Business/Institution, $14,400. Expenses: Program, $325,058; Administrative, $171,353; Fundraising, $35,783.

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR 2017 DONORS

FUNDERS

Anonymous
Barr Foundation
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
Charles River Wheelers
Ciccolo Family Foundation
Eastern Bank
Harry Mattison & Melissa L. Mattison
Helen and William Mazer Foundation
Pam Kohlberg
Sam Plimpton
Solomon Fund
TransitCenter
Transportation for Massachusetts

BUSINESSES

Alta Planning + Design, Inc.
Biogen
BSC Group
DERO
Howard Stein Hudson
The JN Phillips Company, Inc.
Kittelson & Associates
Landry's Bicycles Boston
Law Offices of Jeffrey S. Glassman
Nelson/Nygaard Consulting
Associates
Superpedestrian
Taft Hill Development
Zipcar

STAFF

Stacy Thompson
- Executive Director
Lynn Drew
- Content & Publications Manager
Louisa Gag
- Program Coordinator
Kristiana Lachiusa
- Community Engagement Coordinator
Tony Lechuga
- Emerald Network Program Manager
Andrew McFarland
- Policy & Community Engagement Advisor

BOARD

Kathryn Carlson
- Fundraising Committee Chair
Matt Carstensen
- Treasurer
Charles F. Denison IV
Stephen Gershman
- Governance Committee Chair
Kenneth Kruckemeyer
Russ Lopez
Steven Miller
Vivian Ortiz
Jeff Rosenblum
Brian Sant
- Chair
Sam Schweizer
- Secretary
Erik Thoresen
Julia Wallerce
- Vice Chair

About Us