The legislative process is a powerful tool for change: WalkBoston testifies on legislation affecting pedestrians and meets with public officials to explain the importance of safe, walkable communities. Our advocacy is most effective when individuals add their voices to the call for change.

Speak out for walking safety improvements in your own communities. Find out who the elected officials are who make decisions about how you walk to work and school, shopping and recreation. Contact your elected officials and let them know that you want them to consider the needs of pedestrians. Offer specific suggestions. WalkBoston can give you guidance as well as ideas for effective advocacy. We can help you make your voice heard.  How To Advocate contains additional helpful advice.

Find your elected officials and voting place:
http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php

Find out how to contact them:
Massachusetts General Court
City and town information

For more info on pedestrian related legislation, contact:
info@walkboston.org or 617.367.9255.

We have focused considerable efforts on the following bills in the state legislature:

View our 2011 Bill/Initiative tracking table here.

Prior Legislative Efforts (2010 and earlier)

Healthy Transportation Compact
The Healthy Transportation Compact is a key requirement of the landmark transportation legislation signed into law in June 2009. Its inter-agency initiative will help ensure that the transportation decisions made will balance the needs of all transportation users, expand mobility, improve public health, support cleaner environments, and create stronger communities. In particular, the new law states that the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Health and Human Services will "work cooperatively to adopt best practices to increase efficiency to achieve positive health outcomes through the coordination of land use, transportation, and public health policy. Read our support letter.

Speed Limits
H3643 will make roads safer by uniformly reducing the prima facie speed limit on local roads in urban districts (as defined in the legislation) from 30 mph to 25 mph. The proposed text of the bill reflects a joint effort of legislators, the Massachusetts Highway Department, local transportation officials and WalkBoston to craft an easily implemented means to enhance pedestrian safety, and bring Massachusetts speed limits in urban areas into alignment with many other states. Assigned to the Joint Committee on Transportation. Current status and bill history can be found here.
Fact sheet

Snow Shoveling
H3588 would allow cities and towns to develop a snow and ice removal policy for their sidewalks and to set fines at a level that would encourage compliance. Read our support letter.

H1987 will encourage sidewalk snow and ice removal by eliminating liability for property owners who shovel their sidewalks in those communities where such shoveling is required. The proposed revised text of the bill is attached. The bill is modeled after similar Illinois legislation. Assigned to the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government. Read our support letter and fact sheet.

H1959 increases fines for failure to clear sidewalks of snow and ice (in those communities that require removal) to $100/day. Current fines are set not to exceed $50 in cities, $10 in towns. Assigned to the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government. Read our support letter and fact sheet.

Safe Routes to School (SRTS)
H483 requires the development of school district wellness policies that address school nutrition, nutrition education and physical activity. One component of the policy is to be implementation of a Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program that encourages students who live within walking (1 mile) or bicycling (3 miles) distance to take these active modes of transport. This bill is aligned with the federal and state SRTS programs and requirements. Assigned to the Joint Committee on Education. Read the fact sheet and testimony on H483.

H3539 requires the Executive Office of Transportation to establish a SRTS program to distribute federal funds received under the SAFETEA-LU Strategic Highway Safety Plan for projects to improve safety in and around school areas. This legislation is modeled after California legislation that has provided robust funding for SRTS since 1999. Assigned to the Joint Committee on Transportation. Read the fact sheet and testimony on H3539.

Red Light Violation Monitoring
H3512 (all Massachusetts communities) and H3513 (Boston and Cambridge) allow communities to employ a “traffic signal violation monitoring system” to monitor failure to comply with traffic signals. Assigned to the Joint Committee on Transportation. Read the fact sheet on H3512.

H1112 modifies existing insurance regulations to ensure that convictions of moving violations based on traffic signal violation monitoring systems do not result in increased insurance premiums. Assigned to the Joint Committee on Financial Services. Read the fact sheet on H1112.

Regulation of Segway Devices
S2028 would regulate the operation of Segways (two-wheeled, self-balancing electric personal assistive mobility devices) and specifically prohibit them from using sidewalks unless a community specifically allows such operations. Assigned to the Joint Committee on Transportation. Read the fact sheet on S2028.

Other bills that we are tracking and supporting include the following:

Environmental Liability for Rail Trails
S1947 is built on a law passed last year to limit the MBTA's liability for environmental hazards in rail trails. Senator Pam Resor has introduced legislation to ease the creation of new rail trails by improving the way in which the MBTA and local communities must deal with environmental liability.

Adding Goal of Improving Public Health to Transportation Office
H2087 is an act to add public health goals to the mission of transportation projects in the Commonwealth. Recent studies on public health issues such as obesity, clean air and traffic show the need to address public health concerns in transportation planning. Transportation systems fundamentally shape the built environment that, in turn, has a profound impact on the health of its inhabitants; therefore transportation planning needs to include a concern for public health as part of its core mission.

Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Boards in Cities and Towns
H2088 is an act linking Community Transportation Funds to the creation of bicycle and pedestrian advisory boards. In order for local communities to receive Chapter 90 Transportation Funds, each must have a bicycle and pedestrian advisory board.