Berkshire Benchmarks Releases State of the County Update

03:00PM / Monday, May 15, 2023Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Benchmarks data team recently released a State of the County Update for 2023.

This brief report builds on the Berkshire Benchmarks State of the County Report published in May 2022 and highlights notable changes in regional indicators over the past year. The berkshirebenchmarks.org website has also been updated to reflect the most current available data.

The purpose of the Benchmarks initiative and report is to highlight the region's successes and challenges.

The 2022 Berkshire Benchmarks State of the County report provided a comprehensive overview of our region's performance across eight sectors: Economy, Education, Environment, Government, Health, Housing, Social Environment, and Transportation.

In the future, the Berkshire Benchmarks team will continue to monitor these and other indicators to aid with the regional understanding of changes in these sectors and whether the work happening throughout the region is having the intended impact.

Berkshire Benchmarks is a collaborative initiative managed through Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC). Our sources are publicly available data, including the U.S. Census Bureau, the American Community Survey, various Massachusetts data sets, and periodic surveys of Berkshire County residents.

Berkshire Benchmarks aims to work with the community to understand priorities and help inform the region on how we are doing and if we are improving. Berkshire Benchmarks enhances the region's access to quality data and analysis.

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Pittsfield: No E-Bikes on Sidewalk

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:33AM / Wednesday, October 28, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— The city will place signage downtown to remind people that e-bikes are not allowed on the sidewalk.

On Monday, the Ordinances and Rules subcommittee heard an update about e-bike enforcement in response to a petition from Councilor at Large Kathy Amuso and Ward 3 Councilor Matthew Wrinn.

Commissioner of Public Services and Utilities Ricardo Morales confirmed that under Massachusetts law, it is illegal for any motorized bicycle, regardless of the class, to ride on the sidewalk.

"So, at this point, we will start installing some signage in the North Street area," he reported.

"Doing so for the whole city is going to be very cumbersome, and we're not going to be doing that, but I think there's something to be done in terms of education and outreach and enforcement citywide for that."

Pittsfield has begun to develop what that signage will look like in the downtown corridor. Amuso has received many complaints about the North Street and Elm Street areas; Morales said they could work to locate some key spots on Elm Street for signage.

"I know it's a citywide problem, but I think if we start on North Street and work our way out and come up with a plan, that would be good," she said.

The councilors petitioned to increase enforcement of bicycle and e-bike use on Pittsfield streets, install signage in high-traffic areas, and launch an educational program for kids.

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