Cambridge Police Awarded Grant to Enhance Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety

The Cambridge Police Department was recently awarded a grant from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, Office of Grants and Research - Highway Safety Division (EOPSS/OGR/HSD) to improve traffic safety on local roads for pedestrians and bicyclists. The Cambridge Police Department was one of 84 departments across the Commonwealth that was selected to receive funding. 

Under the grant, the Cambridge Police Department will have additional financial resources to focus on speeding, crosswalk violations, distracted driving, red light violations, obstructing bicycle lanes and other violations that may put pedestrians or cyclists at risk. The geographic areas of focus will be determined by data analysis from crash incidents and concerns expressed by residents. Those areas include Inman Square, the Hampshire Street corridor, Cambridge Street, and River Street.  

With nearly 6,000 pedestrians killed in 2016 across the country, pedestrians now account for a larger proportion (16%) of traffic fatalities than they have in the past 33 years.  In Massachusetts, that rate is even higher, with pedestrians representing more than 20% of all traffic fatalities.  Bicyclists are dying at higher rates nationally as well: the 840 killed in traffic crashes in 2016 are the most since 1991. In Cambridge, the average number of reported bicycle and pedestrian crashes that required EMS transport to the hospital between 2015-2017 was 93.

“Bicyclists and pedestrians are at risk to motorists because they may not be immediately visible to drivers,” said Deputy Superintendent Jack Albert. “In Cambridge, we’ll use crash data and community input to identify crosswalks, intersections, and roadways where our enforcement and education efforts can yield the largest impact on pedestrian and bicyclist safety.”