LWV Newton Transportation Position
Discussion Book
In 2013 the Massachusetts LWV adopted the California LWV’s Transportation Positions by
concurrence:
Support a transportation system to move people and goods which:
⦁ includes a variety of transportation modes, with emphasis on increased public
transportation services and other viable alternatives to reduce vehicle miles traveled;
⦁ is efficient, convenient, and cost effective;
⦁ is safe and secure;
⦁ serves all segments of the population and diverse geographic needs;
⦁ minimizes harmful effects on the environment;
⦁ is integrated with land use; and
⦁ is supported by extensive public education. (1)
In keeping with the LWV MA’s Transportation Position and the LWV Newton’s Land Use
Position “to support the goals set forth in Newton’s Comprehensive Plan,” the Environmental
Issues Committee proposes the adoption the following Concurrence Proposal for a
Transportation Position for the LWV Newton.
Concurrence Proposal for a Transportation Position
Newton adopts the state transportation position for local roads, with emphasis on safety,
preserving quality of life and consistency across City transportation decisions.

Safety First: Safe travel should be the first priority in transportation policies. City
investments and enforcement strategies should be based on the principle of safety first
so that everyone feels safe and so that all road users practice safe travel behavior.

Consistency: Newton transportation practices, policies, investments, and decisions, will
be consistent with and support the City of Newton’s public plans, goals and the 2010
Comprehensive Plan.
Discussion Questions
1. Safety should be a primary goal for street and sidewalk design
Cons
Pros
2. Transportation funding, planning, and development decisions should include
environmental impacts
Cons
Pros
3. Transportation systems and policies should advance quality of life in Newton,
reducing the negative impacts of traffic noise, congestion, emissions and
impermeable surfaces
Cons
Pros
Next Steps
Members of the LWV Newton will use these study resources and topic meetings to determine if
there is consensus among the membership on adopting new transportation positions. If there
is consensus, the membership can vote on the new positions at the Annual Meeting. If
adopted, the positions can then be used when advocating for transportation issues in Newton.
Background
In 2009 the LWV Newton began studying aspects of transportation that are primarily under
local control – our pedestrian network; bicycle network; and parking policy. We held three
public forums on transportation in Newton with Q&A sessions (2).
Our Environmental Issues Committee has invited experts from the City of Newton’s
Transportation and Planning Departments to EIC meetings for presentations and discussions on
local transportation issues. In 2009 the EIC co-sponsored with the Planning Department a study
of Newton’s sidewalks conducted by college students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
The EIC has published frequent articles updating the local league on our discussions including
“Sidewalk Issue: Uncleared,” October 2009; “Walk Newton”, August 2010; LWVN Presents
Transportation Forum, November 2011; Transportation Forum a Big Success, Jan/Feb 2012.
These articles invited members interested in transportation to contact us or to join our EIC
meetings.
On November 4, 2010, the LWVN wrote a letter to the Land Use Committee about our concerns
regarding bicycle and pedestrian access to the proposed Chestnut Hill square development.
This letter was supported by our Land Use Position “Support the implementation and regular
updating of the Newton Comprehensive Plan (amended 2010).” Newton’s Comprehensive Plan
supports “strengthening alternatives to drive-alone auto transport.” (p. 81)
Below are summaries of our research on environmental impacts, links to resources, and two
discussion questions for the November topic meetings.
Environmental Impacts
As noted in the national and state positions, policies that encourage driving lead to increased
air pollution, carbon emissions, water pollution from exhaust, and traffic congestion. These
factors all impact human health.
Many transportation policies are made at the local level, where the Newton LWV can have the
most impact. By following the state and national positions, and those in the concurrence,
walking and bicycling become more attractive. As Newton residents walk or bike instead of
driving, air and water pollution are reduced.
Paved Surfaces (Parking Lots and Roadways)


Where roads and parking are built, how they are sized and how they are designed affect
air and water pollution.
o The leading source of phosphorus in our rivers and harbors is the accumulated
auto exhaust emissions on roads and parking lots, according to the Charles River
Watershed Association’s Director, Robert Zimmerman. (3)
Air quality is worsened by paved surfaces retaining heat and even altering weather
patterns. (4)
Walking and biking enhance health


Walking improves heart health, matching the benefits of running or aerobic exercise
performed at 75%-85% of a maximum heart rate. Walking 5 miles a week reduced
brain atrophy and cognitive decline, resulting in a 50% reduced risk of developing
Alzheimer’s disease.(5)
Children growing up in walkable neighborhoods are less likely to be obese than those
growing up in neighborhoods that are not walkable.(6)
Traffic Congestion and Quality of Life


Traffic congestion has two main causes – bottlenecks and volume. (7) In 2012 a study
of traffic congestion in the Greater Boston area found that by removing 1% of the cars
in 15 bottleneck areas “all drivers across Boston would get home about 18 percent faster
each night.” (8)
Traffic congestion, accidents, and pollution are reduced in pedestrian-friendly
communities. (9) In addition, home values and retail business revenues are higher in
pedestrian and bike friendly communities. (10)



As much as 30% of morning traffic is generated by parents driving their children to
schools. (11)
About 30% of traffic in central business districts in the US is people searching for
parking (12).
1 in 5 students in the US were driven to school in 1969, today over half are. (11)
Barriers to Increased Walking and Biking



The two main barriers reported by people able and willing to walk and bike are safety
(traffic speeds, lack of complete sidewalk networks,…) and distances between walking
destinations. (13)
Newton has averaged 43 pedestrian-auto collisions from 2004-2010 (not including
2009) and 29 bicycle-auto collisions per year from 2008-2010. (14)
Vehicle speed is a determining factor in both pedestrian and bicycle accident severity.
Risk of Death in a Pedestrian-Auto
Collision
“Risks varied by age. For example, the
average risk of death for a 70-year-old
pedestrian struck at any given speed was
similar to the average risk of death for a
30-year-old pedestrian struck at a speed
11.8mph faster.” (15)
100%
80%
60%
40%
Death
20%
0%
Speed
MPH
24
32.5
41
48
Strategies to improve safety
The National Safety Council lists three effective strategies that should be used together to
reduce speeding – education, enforcement and engineering (road design improvements).
No single strategy is sufficient, and enforcement needs to be ‘a priority backed by political
will.’ (16)
Unsafe driving behavior can be minimized with better infrastructure. After the installation
of red light cameras in Texas, red light related crashes dropped by 25 percent, while rightangle collisions – the most severe type – dropped by 32 percent. (17)
Teenagers walk and bike more to school when their parents determine that road
intersections have sufficient traffic lights and pedestrian crossings. (18)
For more transportation research and information visit the LWVN website:
http://lwvnewton.org/action/committees/transportation-study-documents/
Endnotes
(1) LWVUS Transportation Positions: The LWVUS believes that energy-efficient and
environmentally sound transportation systems should afford better access to housing and jobs
and will continue to examine transportation policies in light of these goals. (Basic Human
Needs)
The League supports measures to reduce vehicular pollution, including inspection and
maintenance of emission controls, changes in engine design and fuel types and development of
more energy- efficient transportation systems; (Air Quality)
LWV MA Transportation Position Summaries: Social Policy - A statewide public transportation
service, accessible to all, that provides access to jobs, housing and services while creating
minimum disruption of the environment; public monies allocated flexibly to meet public
transportation needs.
Transportation Policy (adopted by concurrence 2013) - Support a transportation system to
move people and goods which includes a variety of transportation modes, with emphasis on
increased public transportation services and other viable alternatives to reduce vehicle miles
traveled; is efficient, convenient, and cost effective; is safe and secure; serves all segments of
the population and diverse geographic needs; minimizes harmful effects on the environment; is
integrated with land use; and is supported by extensive public education.
LWV Newton Transportation Position: Sidewalk Snow Removal - Support of an ordinance
requiring all owners and/or occupants to clear snow from the sidewalks abutting their
properties. Support of an ordinance requiring owners or occupants in business districts to clear
snow from the sidewalks abutting their properties. Support City plowing of sidewalks on school
routes and main streets.
(2) WalkNewton (5/3/10) presented the finding of an investigation into pedestrian mobility
issues, focused on two of Newton’s villages, by students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute,
co-sponsored by Newton’s Planning Department.
The Future of Transportation (10/16/11) Stephanie Pollack, chair of the mayor’s
Transportation Advisory Committee; Eric Bourassa, transportation manager for the
Metropolitan Area Planning Council; and Jacqueline Douglas, director of Livable Streets,
examined the findings of studies on Routes 128 and 9, the year-long study by the
Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC), and discussed transportation models that seek to
balance the needs of all modes of transportation, including: pedestrians, bikes, cars and public
transit. http://www.newtv.org/programming/video-on-demand/search lwv
No Parking? (5/17/12) presentation on parking management by Jason Schrieber, who has
developed parking management plans across the country, most recently for Needham and
Salem, MA; Candace Havens, Planning and Development Director for the City of Newton
outlined Newton’s current parking practices and the results of trial experiments with parking
policy; Matt Cuddy, Chair, Transportation Advisory Committee Parking Subcommittee explained
the TAC’s parking recommendations. http://www.newtv.org/programming/video-on-demand/
(3) How Automobiles Affect Our Water, Bill Griffith, Boston Globe Cars, 9/1/2013, sec. J
(4) Air Quality Worsened by Paved Surfaces, National Science Foundation, Press Release 11113, http://www.nsf.gov/news
(5) Walk Your Way to Health, 2012, http://www.walkboston.org/resources/publications
(6) Obesogenic Neighborhood Environments, Child and Parent Obesity: The Neighborhood
Impact on Kids Study, Brian E. Saelens, PhD, et al, May 2012 American Journal of Preventive
Medicine, p. 57-64 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22516504
(7) Traffic Congestion and Reliability, US Dept of Transportation, Federal Highway
Administration, 2005
http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/congestion_report_04/executive_summary.htm#what_do
(8) Traffic, Which Boston Area Neighborhoods are to Blame?, Boston Globe, Ideas Section,
2/17/2013, http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2013/02/17/traffic-which-boston-areaneighborhoods-are-blame/h5qqR3CrHDM3xCNsTqdYxH/story.html
(9) Characteristics and Performance of Regional Transportation Systems, Smart Growth
Program, US Environmental Protection Agency, 2004,
www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/performance2004final.pdf
(10) Good Walking is Good Business, Walk Boston, 2012, www.walkboston.org/resources
(11) Safe Routes to School, www.saferoutespartnership.org
(12) “Gone Parking,” NYT op-ed by Donald Shoup, March 27, 2007
www.nytimes.com/2007/03/29/opinion/29shoup.html?ex=1332820800&en=cdabf3ece6c4a862&ei=50
88&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&_r=0
(13) National Survey of Bicyclists and Pedestrian Attitudes and Behavior, National Highway
Traffic and Safety Administration, 2002, http://www.nhtsa.gov
(14) Data compiled by Lucia Dolan from Newton Police Dept and MassDOT.
(15) Impact Speed and a Pedestrian’s risk of Severe Injury or Death, AAA Foundation for Traffic
Safety, 2013, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22935347
(16) Speeding, National Safety Council, http://www.nsc.org/safety_road/DriverSafety/
(17) Red Alert, Liberty Lines, Fall 2012, http://public.libertymutual-cdn.com/insuranceauto-home-life/documents/liberty-lines/liberty-lines-fall2012.pdf?version=34886015922
(18) Walking and Cycling to School: predictors of increases among children and
adolescents, Hume, C. et. al, American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 3/2009, p. 195200