2019
February 16, 2019
'She was a Firecracker': Colleagues Remember Librarian Killed While Riding Bike
The intersection where the crash took place has been a dangerous spot according to neighborhood groups who have been pushing for change to make it safer. “We would recommend an overhaul of the intersection to include protected bike lanes, safer crossings for pedestrians, which includes new and different signals” says Stacy Thompson of LivableStreets Alliance.
February 16, 2019
Friends Mourn Brookline Librarian Killed in Bike Crash, Call for Greater Cyclist Protections
“I feel horribly for this family,” said Stacy Thompson, Executive Director of LivableStreets. “I also feel deeply frustrated. This is an area of the city that the city and activists have known for a while is unsafe and needs improvements. It’s not moving fast enough.”
January 27, 2019
MBTA Mulls Far Hikes, Concerning Rider Advocates
Stacy Thompson of LivableStreets said the T should be focusing more on programs that help expand access, such as discounts for minors and low-income riders. "The structure is the most important thing to be thinking about," Thompson said. “The relative amount of money the T might get for a minor increase isn’t much compared to enabling more people to get on the T.”
January 23, 2019
Boston Doesn't Report Car Crash Data to the State
"What [Stacy Thompson] said is... There's so much information that can be collected from a traffic crash, and also from looking at crashes over time to see if there is a reason that traffic crashes are happening at a particular intersection. Is there something about that intersection, the way the street is designed? One of the things she really emphasized is that any given crash could just be a freak accident, but when you begin to see patterns, that's no longer an accident. That's a real safety issue that can be addressed."
Listen to the radio segment here
January 23, 2019
Why Don't The Boston Police Report Traffic Crash Data
“We don’t call plane crashes, plane accidents,” notes Stacy Thompson, executive director of the nonprofit Livable Streets Alliance. When a plane crashes, Thompson says, “A tremendous amount of effort goes into accessing data and being able to collect data, so that someone can access that data and figure out what went wrong, and then likely make some sort of structural change. And you can use that process when you're thinking about traffic data.”
January 22, 2019
Governor Baker proposes ban on hand-held cellphone use while driving
Previous efforts to prohibit hand-held use of phones have failed to become law several times in recent years — even though public opinion polling shows widespread support for banning hand-held phones... Stacy Thompson, director of the Livable Streets Alliance, a transportation advocacy group, said the effort this time might succeed because Baker is pushing for it. “The governor is setting the goal post. We’re starting the session saying safety should be a top priority in our transportation legislative agenda,” she said. “I think the tone is different this year.”
January 22. 2019
Baker Bill Would Let Police Pull Cars Over for Seatbelt Violations
Stacy Thompson, executive director of Livable Streets, praised the governor for compiling a number of sensible, life-saving measures in a single bill. She singled out the governor’s call for mandatory lower speed limits in construction zones and his truck guard legislation for state vehicles, which she described as a “good first step.”
January 11, 2019
Debating Bicycle Safety, Infrastructure in Boston
Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby wrote a column slamming the practice of putting public money into bicycle infrastructure, saying bicycles don't belong in urban traffic and narrowing streets for the benefits of cyclists is "a terrible idea". Cycling advocates immediately pushed back. Jacoby and Stacy Thompson, Executive Director of Livable Streets, which advocates for innovative transportation solutions in Metro Boston join Sue to debate.
January 11, 2019
Pollack Picks Ground Level Plan for Rebuild of Mass Pike through Allston
"Right now I-90 serves as a barrier and we believe this project will become a gateway. If we're going to mitigate the impacts of this multiyear construction project, we need to bolster our regional rail service first. We're hoping MASSDOT and the MBTA will commit to building West Station as the first phase of this project. This is a generational opportunity, we're going to be talking about this 50 years from now." - Stacy Thompson
January 7th, 2019
MBTA to Purchase Fleet of Hybrid Buses
Stacy Thompson of the LivableStreets advocacy organization previously told the Herald “Today in Greater Boston, there is not a mode of transportation that gives you a bigger bang for your buck. Buses have been sort of the ignored middle child of the transit system.”
January 5th, 2019
C'mon Boston, Pay to Maintain Your Own Bus Lanes
Another study, by Livable Streets Alliance, a transportation advocacy group, found that Boston could improve the commutes of nearly 100,000 bus riders if the city would create dedicated lanes and prioritize traffic signals along seven miles of city streets, such as in parts of Blue Hill Avenue, Brighton Avenue, and Massachusetts Avenue.
January 3rd, 2019
MBTA Gets on Board with Buses
Stacy Thompson of the LivableStreets advocacy organization said, “Today in Greater Boston, there is not a mode of transportation that gives you a bigger bang for your buck. Buses have been sort of the ignored middle child of the transit system. … But if we’re talking about short-term solutions that can make a difference, you cannot beat it.”
January 2nd, 2019
Transportation Advocates List Priorities
Three leading transportation advocates – Jim Aloisi of TransitMatters, Chris Dempsey of Transportation for Massachusetts, and Stacy Thompson of the Livable Streets Alliance – ring in the new year on The Codcast with a discussion about priorities.
Listen to The Codcast episode here.