“This is an incredibly significant accomplishment,” said Stacy Thompson, executive director of the LivableStreets Alliance. “The kinds of things that people like me think about as no-brainer fixes — this is the kind of bill that will save lives, and that’s not hyperbolic. It both will protect the most vulnerable people on our roadways and also will give the state better data.”

Vehicle design standards focus on the safety of people inside the car, not outside, she said. “We have built cars that make it impossible to see humans,” Thompson said. “I think a punitive response wouldn’t fix this.”

"Michelle Wu is probably definitively the most progressive transportation mayor in the country," said Stacy Thompson, executive director of the LivableStreets Alliance.

“Unfortunately, these numbers aren’t surprising, and they’re tragic,” said Stacy Thompson, executive director of LivableStreets, a nonprofit based in Metro Boston. “Pedestrian fatalities and serious crashes that have an enormous mental, physical and economic toll are truly a public health crisis.”

This pilot is the result of a strong partnership with the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the City of Cambridge, the City of Boston, and various advocacy groups, including Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), LivableStreets Alliance, TransitMatters, MassBike, Cambridge Bike Safety, and WalkBoston, according to MassDOT.

“This is the sixth year the Vision Zero Coalition has called on the Legislature to pass life-saving legislation on World Day of Remembrance. Every moment of delay adds to the devastating statewide toll of preventable traffic crashes,” said Emily Stein of Safe Roads Alliance, one of a handful of safe-streets organizations that make up the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition.

Wu has remained fairly consistent on her transportation policy stances over the last five years, while Essaibi George’s stances have evolved, according to a review of 2017, 2019, and 2021 candidate questionnaires from the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition, which advocates for policies that reduce traffic-related deaths.

Livable Streets Executive Director Stacy Thompson said in the city of Boston, there are thousands of injury crashes every year. The street-safety advocacy group has been working with cities like Boston to approach infrastructure with strategies to slow cars down.

Stacy Thompson, executive director of LivableStreets Alliance, said the group had not heard from the DCR in at least three years. Thompson said she hopes the plan will focus on making parkways multi-use and de-emphasize motor vehicles. “It’s just about a lot more than just managing their parkways and roadways. This is about recognizing that centering and prioritizing walking, biking, and climate resilience is how we will conserve our natural resources for future generations,” Thompson said.

The City of Boston has achieved “consistent and measurable progress” towards its goal of eliminating serious and fatal crashes in the city, but needs to work harder to reduce the overall number of deadly cars and trucks on city streets, according to a new progress report from the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition.