MetroFuture recommends focusing more growth in urban communities where residents will have better access to shops, services, and employment.  The high densities of urban communities mean that more destinations are located in close proximity, so people have less distance to travel.  This facilitates walking, biking, or taking transit more often, but only if those choices are safe and convenient.  

Municipalities can take many steps to improve pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure; many of these recommendations are described in Strategy 4 (Transportation).  Urban communities face a special set of challenges and opportunities, and should have dedicated staff concerned with non-motorized access.  The City of Boston recently created “Boston Bikes,” a city office charged with focusing on comprehensive bike planning.  This model could be replicated in other municipalities, and might also be secured regionally, through a municipal employee or MAPC staffperson shared by multiple municipalities.  

Municipalities can also improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians by reducing speed limits on city streets and increasing enforcement of traffic violations.  Current Massachusetts laws set the “prevailing” speed limit at 30 miles per hour on streets without speed limit signage.  Legislative action could reduce this prevailing speed limit to 25 miles per hour (and 15 miles per hour in school zones), an important step in promoting safer driving in urban areas.  Widespread application of red light cameras would also help to deter red-light running and improve safety at intersections.  

13.a    Municipalities should establish a coordinating entity to focus on non-motorized transportation

13.b    The Legislature should reduce the prevailing speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph in urbanized areas

13.c    The Legislature should permit the use of “traffic control signal violation monitoring system devices” (red light cameras) in all cities of the Commonwealth. 

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