Emphasis Area 

MPO Action Item 

Action Support 

Action Type 

Timeline 

Cross-cutting 

Develop engaging messaging and educational materials to raise awareness about key crash causes and best practice interventions (including street design changes). 

Education and Engagement 

Short-Term 

Transition the MPO’s Regional Vision Zero Task Force to an Action Plan Implementation Task Force. 

Process 

Short-Term 

Create a toolkit of engineering countermeasures, including typical dimensions and specifications or standard drawings, drawing from local best practices (Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville guides), MassDOT, NACTO, FHWA, and AASHTO guides. 

Process 

Short-Term 

Further analysis of the prioritized high-injury network (HIN) and coordination with municipalities to understand key crash types, causes, and locations (intersection versus corridor) to develop interventions (including quick-build solutions). 

Municipalities/ 
MassDOT 

Process 

Short-Term 

Work with municipalities, MassDOT, and public health stakeholders to involve public health professionals in roadway safety efforts, including public health staff and epidemiologists as well as staff from the DPH Injury Prevention and Control Program. 

Municipalities/ 
MassDOT 

Education and Engagement 

Short-Term 

Coordinate with municipalities to explore the need for roadway safety educational materials that can be used to facilitate communication with the business community. 

Municipalities 

Education and Engagement 

Short-Term 

Work to align MPO planning and programming with Vision Zero goals and Safe System principles.  

Process 

Medium-Term 

Research the potential of new technology solutions and share information with municipal and state partners, including intelligent speed assist and intelligent transportation system technologies such as adaptive signal control and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication. 

Process 

Medium-Term 

Plan and host peer exchanges to share best practices and problem solving with municipal planners, Depts of Public Works, law enforcement, elected officials, school leaders, and first responders.  

Education and Engagement 

Ongoing 

Cross-cutting (continued) 

Provide annual progress reports the Regional Vision Zero Action Plan implementation. 

Process 

Ongoing 

Track state legislative changes related to roadway safety and communicate priority bills and safety impacts to stakeholders. 

Process 

Ongoing 

Coordinate with MassDOT to implement the actions assigned to MPOs in the Strategic Highway Safety Plan. 

MassDOT 

Multiple 

Ongoing 

Intersections 

Conduct a data gap analysis and explore public health datasets ((e.g., hospital records, EMS data, syndromic surveillance, trauma registries) to explore and analyze further the causes of injury. 

Data 

Medium-Term 

Research the potential of new technology solutions and share information with municipal and state partners, including intelligent speed assist and intelligent transportation system technologies such as adaptive signal control and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication. 

Municipalities/ 
MassDOT 

Process 

Ongoing 

Develop prioritized list of high-crash intersections and coordinate with municipalities to develop safety interventions. 

Municipalities/ 
MassDOT 

Process 

Ongoing 

Lane Departure 

Use HIN and high-risk network (HRN) to develop list of top locations for roadway departure crashes and roadway departure crash risk. 

Process 

Short-Term 

Complement infrastructure improvements with targeted educational campaigns to address behavioral factors contributing to roadway departures, including partnering with state agencies and advocacy groups to conduct public awareness campaigns on the dangers of distracted and drowsy driving; and enhancing outreach and education about the MA hands-free law. 

Education and Engagement 

Medium-Term 

Vulnerable 
Road Users 

Using the Regional Active Transportation Plan, prioritize closing identified gaps in the bicycle and pedestrian network aligned with the HIN and HRN. Focus on prioritizing connections to transit, schools, hospitals, and commercial centers.  

Infrastructure 

Short-Term 

Older Drivers 

Use crash and risk data to prioritize locations to address the safety of older adult roadway users and for targeted messaging campaigns. 

Municipalities/ 
MassDOT 

Process 

Short-Term 

Collaborate with MassDOT and the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) to help share information and resources about safe driving for older adults, including resources from AAA, AARP, and MIT AgeLab. 

MassDOT/RMV 

Education and Engagement 

Medium-Term 

Partner with state and national organizations to educate older adults and their families about advanced vehicle safety features (e.g., blind spot monitoring, lane keeping assist, automatic emergency braking) and encourage the adoption of vehicles equipped with these technologies. 

Education and Engagement 

Medium-Term 

Continue to invest in research and planning that expands and improves public transit options, paratransit services, and community-based transportation programs tailored to the needs of older adults, reducing their reliance on private vehicles. 

Process 

Long-Term 

Coordinate with the MBTA to facilitate “travel training” programs that help older adults learn to use public transportation safely and confidently. 

Municipalities/ 
COAs/RTAs 

Process 

Long-Term 

Speeding 

Expand guidance and provide resources for municipalities to perform speed data collection more effectively, enabling data-driven identification of speeding hot spots and evaluation of countermeasure effectiveness. 

Municipalities/ 
MassDOT 

Process 

Short-Term 

Develop and disseminate public awareness materials highlighting the dangers of speeding and the direct correlation between speed and crash severity for all road users. 

Municipalities/ 
MassDOT 

Education and Engagement 

Short-Term 

Research required speed-limiter devices for repeat and/or reckless speeding offenders. 

MassDOT 

Process 

Medium-Term 

Help spread awareness of and implement MassDOT’s speed management guidance to collect information and analyze data, establish target speeds, design roadways for speed control and separation, set speed limits, and build a community-wide safety culture. 

Municipalities 

Process 

Medium-Term 

Speeding (continued) 

Provide guidance to municipalities to develop traffic calming prioritization protocols to help municipal staff communicate to colleagues and residents about when and where traffic calming interventions should be implemented. 

Municipalities 

Process 

Medium-Term 

Review crash data on speeding related crashes and coordinate with municipalities and MassDOT to identify pilot locations for automated speed safety cameras. 

Municipalities/ 
MassDOT 

Process 

Medium-Term 

Large Vehicles 

Develop educational materials that municipalities can use for awareness campaigns for commercial motor vehicle drivers on how to better share the roadway and improve safety for all (e.g., Share the Road Campaigns). 

Municipalities/ 
MassDOT 

Education and Engagement 

Short-Term 

Develop and model safe fleet transition plan for municipalities to adopt. 

MassDOT 

Process 

Medium-Term 

Collaborate with MassDOT to promote local adoption of safety measures on large vehicles and municipal fleets according to Massachusetts Acts of 2022 Chapter 358—An Act to Reduce Fatalities, including installing side guards, backup cameras, and cross-over mirrors, as well as prohibition of hazardous aftermarket devices like bull bars and lifted suspensions. Provide guidance to municipalities on effectively incorporating these safety requirements into residential parking permit programs to encompass privately owned vehicles.  

MassDOT 

Process 

Medium-Term