Councilor Flynn Calls for Portion of Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Funding for Pedestrian Safety Improvements 

See Press Release Below:

BOSTON – Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn is advocating for a portion of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill funding for the city to be dedicated to address long-standing pedestrian safety needs with improved traffic-calming infrastructure, through the use of speed bumps, raised crosswalks, and rapid flash beacons on high traffic roads and corridors throughout Boston. There are currently 10 pedestrian fatalities in 2021, which unfortunately makes Boston on track to have the most pedestrian fatalities since 2017.  With reports that the state is expected to receive over $9 billion in municipal aid from the infrastructure bill, and potentially billions more in available grant funding, Boston has a unique opportunity to also scale up our built environment and physically change our high traffic roads and corridors to help slow down cars and keep our pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers safe.

Councilor Flynn has long advocated that pedestrian safety is one of the most critical issues we face in Boston, as our infrastructure must catch up to the pace of development and population growth over recent decades to ensure the safety of neighbors, children, our seniors and persons with disabilities. Over the last several years, Councilor Flynn recommended multiple 12 Point Street Safety plans to the city, called for hearings on infrastructure and reducing the speed limit to 20 mph, and advocated for speeding cars to be declared a Public Health Emergency due to a number of serious and fatal crashes in District 2 and across the city.

This significant investment from the federal government will undoubtedly help Boston’s recovery and set the stage for a brighter future to address our infrastructure needs; fixing our roads and bridges, improving public transportation, addressing climate change, resiliency measures and sea level rise. But we would be remiss if we do not also focus on recovering as a safer and more accessible city for all moving forward, with traffic calming infrastructure that actually forces cars to slow down on commuter heavy roads across the City of Boston.

There is a glaring need to invest in infrastructure such as speed bumps, raised crosswalks, rapid flash beacons with pedestrian islands, road diets, and curb extensions for shorter crosswalks.This presents a chance to scale up our Slow Streets program across the city, so that all neighborhoods can move forward together in our shared goal of no serious or fatal crashes in Boston.

“As we discuss how we should utilize federal funding to fix our roads, bridges and public transportation, I also believe we must focus on making Boston a safer and more accessible city for all with the help of infrastructure that forces speeding cars to slow down,” said Councilor Flynn. “To make the serious crashes in our city a thing of the past, we need to physically change our roads with speed humps, raised crosswalks, and rapid flash beacons with pedestrian islands. I will continue to work with my neighbors, colleagues, and the city to make our streets safer for all.”

For more information, please contact Councilor Flynn’s office at 617-635-3203 or [email protected].