The refusal of the Boston Police Department to report crashes to the state's Registry of Vehicles means that the city misses out on state funding to improve pedestrian and traffic safety.
Nestor Ramos explains that Boston's better than average pedestrian safety record is more spurious than sterling, "[the] state’s records on pedestrian accidents in Boston capture only a fraction of such accidents here. That is because the Boston Police Department has refused for years to report most crashes — pedestrians, bikes, cars, and everything else — to the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Officers are needed on their beats, police say, not filling out extra paperwork for the state’s databases."
That negligence has led to unfortunate policy consequences for Boston's pedestrians: "But without a clear picture of crash figures, state Department of Transportation efforts to make roads safer for pedestrians do not reach the state’s largest, busiest city. Just this spring, the city potentially lost a piece of a half-million-dollar state program, and potentially much more in years past, because the city does not fully report its accidents."
FULL STORY: Most Boston pedestrian accidents go unreported
Pedestrian Deaths Tick Down — But Rose 58 Percent in the Last Decade
Road fatalities fell by a meager 4 percent in the first half of 2023.
How Cities are Spending Safe Streets Funds
New federal grant programs are injecting millions of dollars into road safety projects in an effort to stem the alarming growth of traffic deaths on U.S. roads.
Cincinnati Gets Serious About Pedestrian Safety
A new in-house team dedicated to pedestrian safety at Cincinnati City Hall and a new complete streets ordinance are some of the changes underway in Cincinnati.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
California Grid Runs on 100% Renewable Energy for Over 9 Hours
The state’s energy grid was entirely powered by clean energy for some portion of the day on 37 out of the last 45 days.
New Forecasting Tool Aims to Reduce Heat-Related Deaths
Two federal agencies launched a new, easy-to-use, color-coded heat warning system that combines meteorological and medical risk factors.
AI Traffic Management Comes to Dallas-Fort Worth
Several Texas cities are using an AI-powered platform called NoTraffic to help manage traffic signals to increase safety and improve traffic flow.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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Planning for Universal Design
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