PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city of Pittsfield joins MassBike on Sunday, Nov. 20, in observing "World Day of Remembrance," which honors the victims and families of pedestrian and cyclist traffic

crashes. 

 

City Hall will be among several downtown buildings lit in yellow from Sunday through Saturday, Nov. 26.

 

"We recognize that these unfortunate incidents and near misses require proactive action from transportation stakeholders," said Public Services and Utilities Commissioner Ricardo Morales. "In the last five years, five people were killed on streets throughout Pittsfield in traffic crashes in which they were either walking or biking. 

 

"The World Day of Remembrance intends to recognize the devastating impact that traffic deaths cause in Pittsfield and around the commonwealth. It reinforces the need for traffic safety stakeholders to act to make our streets safer for the most vulnerable user."

 

 

Morales said traffic-related deaths are preventable and that Pittsfield wants to highlight changes that will make

the city safer – including re-designing streets as well as providing safe spaces for people walking and

bicycling. 

 

"We need to keep changing our streets into places where we can use them safely, no matter which type of transport we use, whether driving, walking, or biking," he said. 

 

In the five years leading up to the pandemic, Massachusetts saw an average of 336 fatalities yearly. In 2021, at least 418 people were killed in Massachusetts in traffic crashes. The year-to-date numbers for this year are higher than the same point last year, suggesting more fatalities in 2022 than in 2021.

 

 

The World Day of Remembrance is an international event, started in 2005, which honors the 1.35 million

people killed and millions more injured on the world's roads each year and organizing change to prevent

these incidents.

 

For more information, visit the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition.