February 2017 | Business View Magazine

156 157 one, we have prioritized fixing roads and sidewalks, dou- bling the amount of roadwork done each year after the passage of the 2013 override, but starting this year, we are going beyond to hold our roads to a higher standard by tripling our investment in road work. “Under Department of Public Works Commissioner Jim McGonagle, we have taken an innovative, data-driven approach to assessing the state of our streets and side- walks using the Streetscan technology so that we can transform them, making them safer, more accessible, and sustainable. Before Streetscan, the city’s data was inconsistent, limited to surface-level assessments based on the appearance of the roads and sidewalks. Now we have a comprehensive set of data on conditions, not only on the surface, but structurally below the surface, where Tufts Health Plan is proud to provide health insurance benefits to the City of Newton employees, retirees, and their families. Tufts Health Plan congratulates the City of Newton on its achievements. tuftshealthplan.com Newton, Massachusetts there may be underlying issues. “We have crafted an accelerated roads plan with the aim of being as accessible and as safe as possible for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists alike: a 10-year plan to transform and improve the condition of the roads and sidewalks that takes into account other work planned on traffic, water and gas line improvements so that work is strategically coordinated, scheduled, and sequenced citywide in a way that is smart and minimizes disruption for our residents, businesses, and visitors. This will also enable us to make investments in the smartest way possi- ble by giving us the hard data needed to assess and improve our performance. “Thanks to close cooperation between Public Works and Planning, we are holding the condi- tions of our roads and sidewalks to a high stan- dard while also making sure they are designed as complete streets that consider different ways of getting around, such as driving, cycling, and walking, and how and where Newton’s traffic moves as well as how our city looks and feels. “We are focusing on complete streets and congestion to prioritize cyclist, driver, and pe- destrian safety in an efficient way that minimiz- es traffic. This includes outfitting traffic signals with new technology to reduce congestion and improve safety, increasing the efficiency of park- ing in our villages with smart parking meter Mayor Setti D. Warren