Report: MA Fatal Pedestrian Crashes Up 35%; More Than 70% Occurred In Environmental Justice Neighborhoods
Press Release | WalkBoston | March 30, 2023
WalkBoston calls on MassDOT to release an action plan for safe streets, and for the legislature to fund staff and resources to support eliminating fatal crashes
BOSTON (March 30, 2023) – A report released today by WalkBoston, a statewide pedestrian advocacy organization, shows fatal pedestrian crashes in Massachusetts are up by 35% in 2022 compared to 2021, with 71% of crashes taking place in Environmental Justice Census Block Groups.
Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA (2022) also shows that of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts, 60 had a fatal pedestrian crash in 2022, and older adults were hit and killed at a higher rate than those in other age groups.
“The sharp rise in fatal crashes is extremely troubling,” said Brendan Kearney, Deputy Director of WalkBoston. “Unsafe road design is creating fatal consequences for communities across the Commonwealth. Designing our streets to reduce illegal speeding — targeting the most dangerous locations first for fixes — will save lives.”
Of the 101 fatal pedestrian crashes, 72 occurred in Environmental Justice neighborhoods. In 2021, the legislature passed An Act Creating a Next Generation Roadmap for MA Climate Policy, which defines an Environmental Justice (EJ) Population as an area meeting state criteria related to household income, higher minority populations, and higher populations for whom English is a second language.
“Residents in environmental justice neighborhoods deserve the ability to walk and move through their community without the threat of being hit and killed by someone operating a vehicle,” said Tahara Samuel, Community Planning Manager of Madison Park Development Corporation. “The findings in the report that more people have died in fatal crashes this year than last should be a wake up call for state and municipal leaders that the status quo is not working. We agree with WalkBoston that the Commonwealth needs to prioritize protecting people and designing our streets to ensure safe streets for all. The City of Boston can start with the upcoming Roxbury Corridors project, a chance to hear from community members on how to make investments to fix Warren Street, Malcolm X Boulevard, and Melnea Cass Boulevard.”
Similar to the concerning trend found in last year’s version of this report, older adults were hit and killed at a higher rate than those in other age groups: 38% of fatal crash victims were over the age of 65. In Massachusetts, only 17% of the population is over 65, yet people 50 and over made up over 65% of pedestrian crash deaths in 2022.
To read the full press release, click here