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Boston pushes for safer streets after uptick in traffic injuries – Metro US

Boston pushes for safer streets after uptick in traffic injuries

Boston pushes for safer streets after uptick in traffic injuries
Nicolaus Czarnecki, Metro

Citing an increase in traffic-related fatalities and injuries, BostonMayor Marty Walsh is urging people to obey the rules of the road and pay better attention while walking and driving.

“With a recent uptick in traffic-related injuries, it is critically important that people be very careful and obey the rules of the road to keep not only yourself but your fellow travelers safe,” Walsh said in a published statement.

Last spring, the city adopted Vision Zero, a national movement with a goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and severe injuries from crashes.

In December, the a task force released a Vision Zero Action Plan that outlined two major initiatives:

  • The new Neighborhood Slow Streets Program to be piloted in Dorchester’s Talbot Norfolk Triangle and the Stony Brook neighborhood in Jamaica Plain, will introduce a variety of traffic calming and safety measures
  • Two Vision Zero Focus Areas, Dorchester’s Codman Square and a stretch of Massachusetts Avenue, where measures will be implemented to improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.

The Task Force also formed a Rapid Response Team that is quickly responding to serious crash locations to analyze the cause and gain insight to take correction.

According to Vision Zero, driving over 25 mph greatly increases the chance of killing or severely injuring a person if they hit them, and it makes it less likely that they will see someone about to walk in the street

“Our top priority is ensuring the safety of our residents, but we need the public’s support to help us eliminate all traffic-related fatalities on our streets. I thank the members of the Vision Zero Task Force for their work in identifying opportunities to improve roadway safety and I look forward to implementing the next steps in the Vision Zero Action Plan to create safer streets across our city.”