With a commitment to Vision Zero, Boston is dedicating more resources towards eliminating traffic crashes, including a redesign of Massachusetts Avenue (Mass Ave).
Why Mass Ave?
- Mass Ave is a major thoroughfare in the Metro Boston area, running 16 miles from Dorchester to the northwestern suburb of Lexington. The street is shared by people who ride the bus, bike, walk and drive.
- Many sections of Mass Ave are over-designed for the number of motorists at rush hour and lack safe accommodation for other road users. A recent study showed that between 4 and 6pm, people riding the bus, walking, and biking make up nearly 45% of the traffic on Mass Ave (Source: Boston Transportation Department, MBTA, Toole Design Group).
|
“We've got to find a way to coexist and share our roadways...ensuring the safety of all, pedestrians, motor vehicle drivers, and cyclists. It's simply a matter of life and death.” – Ayanna Pressley, City Councilor | WBUR |
Why Now?
- Mass Ave has long been known in Boston as a crash "hot spot". Multiple fatal crashes in recent years have had advocates pushing for rapid safety improvements and long-term change to make the street safer for everyone.
- With the adoption of Vision Zero in 2015, the City of Boston made a commitment to focus resources on proven strategies to eliminate fatal and serious traffic crashes by 2030. The Action Plan identified Mass Ave (Charles River to Melnea Cass Blvd) as a priority corridor.
|
“We wanted to focus on the area of Massachusetts Avenue that had the most collisions because that's the focus of the current effort to address safety.” – Vineet Gupta, Senior Planner, BTD | Boston Globe |
What's Happening?
What's Next?
- The City has committed to redesigning Mass Ave from the Charles River to Harrison Ave before the end of 2016. View the detailed Mass Ave Plans presented on June 15, 2016 here.
- The City will focus on improvements to the southern end of Mass Ave (Melnea Cass Blvd to Columbia Rd) in 2017.
What You Can Do
Join the conversation: Attend a LivableStreets Advocacy Committee meeting.
Volunteer: Join us in spreading the word about the importance of safe and livable streets. Our volunteers are actively involved in all of
our events and programming, including our Street Ambassadors program.
Stand up and be counted: Attend a public meeting. See the LivableStreets calendar— it’s updated daily!
Become a member: Join the growing community of people invested in creating safe streets and livable communities. Become a member of LivableStreets today!
Contact: [email protected]
Like our work? Donate today!
