The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has issued a policy directive to require ways to increase what they call healthy transportation — walking, bicycling, and transit — for every project funded by MassDOT or with MassDOT design oversight to meet the state’s goal of tripling the miles traveled with active transportation by the year 2030.
Transportation planner Shayne Trimbell in Weymouth, Mass tells us:
MassDOT has officially adopted a policy that requires “all projects are designed and implemented in a way that all users have access to safe and comfortable healthy transportation options.”
This is an excellent direction for a DOT to take, it not only addresses health concerns and promotes preventative actions to save the state health department in the future, but it also encourages less costly infrastructure projects that will also save the state money.
, too: HALF of all the kids injured by cars near schools are injured by cars dropping off OTHER kids at the school. So if we just scaled back on the chauffeuring, we’d already have a much safer route to school.