Edited from a New England Council report

“Researchers from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst are using drones to investigate traffic risks between cars and bicycles in Somerville.

“In September, three UMass students and a university drone instructor released four drones from Conway Park in hopes of obtaining footage of a one-mile span of Beacon Street. This project sparked calls for improved bike safety following a fatal crash in Cambridge earlier that month.

“‘There’s a lot of bicycle traffic here compared to other places,’ said Eleni Christofa, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at UMass who is leading the research effort.’’