For Immediate Release: 8/1/2024 10:38 am
In light of three recent and tragic pedestrian crashes—one involving a child and two others involving young adolescents struck by motor vehicles—City Manager Eric D. Batista and Mayor Joseph M. Petty are declaring a Road Safety and Traffic Violence Crisis. The intent of this declaration is to draw attention to the serious and worsening problem of traffic violence and rally the community behind actions to address it.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of injury-related deaths for Americans 24 years of age and under, and the second leading cause for all ages. Injuries and deaths from traffic violence have surged nationally since the COVID-19 pandemic, and Worcester is no exception. Already in 2024, more than 2,800 motor vehicle crashes have occurred in Worcester, resulting in 51 serious injuries or deaths. More than 90 crashes to date have involved pedestrians and cyclists.
It is critical that we prioritize the safety of our street network. The Worcester Police Department’s Traffic Division has an important role in this through public education and traffic enforcement. Over the past 12 months, WPD has issued a total of 3,180 citations for traffic infractions, and regularly conducts educational campaigns on topics such as distracted driving, bicycle safety, crosswalk awareness, and impaired driving.
Enforcement is an essential part of addressing the culture of speeding and traffic violence, but it alone will not resolve it. The City’s Department of Transportation and Mobility (DTM) is working in collaboration with consultants, other municipal departments, and community partners to develop a Vision Zero Safety Action Plan that will specify a comprehensive and coordinated strategy to improve the safety of our streets, aiming ultimately to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries. This plan, which will be completed in late fall of 2024, is identifying a priority network comprised of Worcester’s most dangerous street segments and intersections. It will specify both near-term and longer-term actions to be implemented across municipal departments to improve roadway safety, forming the basis for an ongoing Vision Zero program that will oversee implementation and monitor progress.
Recognizing the need for immediate actions to address this crisis, the Vision Zero team is accelerating the project schedule and in coming weeks will begin releasing key study findings and initial actions that can be implemented rapidly. Two proposals are pending before the City Council - reducing the statutory speed limit citywide from 30 mph to 25 mph and enabling establishment of 20 mph Safety Zones. The proposed ordinance governing this regulation is expected to return to the City Council floor from the Traffic and Parking subcommittee soon. As part of the implementation, the municipality will embark upon a public education campaign to enhance public awareness and enforce limits.
In addition, City officials have called upon DTM to initiate “quick response” assessments of traffic safety and near-term improvements for Belmont Street and Shrewsbury Street. These studies, to be completed within 60 days, will identify the most pressing safety issues in each corridor and identify ways to improve the safety of all users on these busy and densely populated corridors, emphasizing quick build changes that can be implemented within one year. They will also identify longer-term, larger-scale safety improvements on these corridors and outline steps necessary to fully evaluate, design and implement them.
Making streets safer and more accommodating for all users requires more than government actions alone. As a community, we need to work together to ensure our collective safety and well-being. We urge everyone to respect the rules of the road, slow down, watch for other road users, and exercise patience and restraint. The best way to show our sympathy to the families impacted by these tragedies is through action. We send them our strength and our pledge to end traffic violence now and we invite every resident and road user in the City of Worcester to join us in this mission.
