A dozen communities with high rates of car crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists are getting federal funding for a new safety campaign.
“It’s really exciting that Massachusetts is doing this,” said Wendy Landman, executive director of WalkBoston, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving pedestrian conditions throughout the state.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is spending more than $461,000 in federal highway safety funds to launch a bicycle and pedestrian safety awareness and enforcement program. Police departments will use the funds to increase enforcement. Planning agencies and transportation officials will gather data from police citations and traffic stops to identify areas that need better protections for pedestrians and bicyclists. Those areas could be streets that have poor lighting or lack crosswalks.