For Immediate Release: 10/10/2024 2:11 pm
WORCESTER, Mass. – The City of Worcester announced Thursday the first phase of Vision Zero initiatives, which will help improve traffic safety as the municipality continues to work on long-term infrastructure changes to the city’s transportation network.
The initiatives include the Department of Transportation and Mobility’s (DTM) implementation of the city’s new 25 mph statutory speed limit, a Rapid Response program, the release of a Vision Zero StoryMap that details data on crashes and the city’s high-injury road network, and the installation of permanent speed humps.
"As we continue to develop our Vision Zero Safety Action Plan, it is important we identify and implement immediate steps to improve traffic safety in the city,” said City Manager Eric D. Batista. “We need to keep in mind, however, that road safety is a shared responsibility. Residents need to exercise caution, adhere to the rules of the road, and commit to ensuring we, collectively, achieve our goal of zero serious or fatal injuries on our roads."
Installation of 82 new 25 mph citywide speed limit signs is scheduled to begin the week of Oct. 21 and will take approximately three weeks to complete. To spread awareness of the new speed limit, DTM will deploy variable message signs at high visibility locations around the city, make yard signs available that residents can place on their property, and roll out a public educational outreach campaign.
As part of the Rapid Response program, DTM will work in partnership with the Worcester Police Department (WPD) to assess crash sites. Following the WPD Crash Reconstruction Team’s response to serious crash scenes, DTM will assess roadway conditions to determine actions that can be implemented immediately to positively impact traffic safety. This might include actions such as improved signage and pavement markings, which can provide immediate safety benefits while long-term improvements are worked on.
The first Rapid Response actions, to be installed the week of Oct. 13, involve installation of crosswalk markings and signage at the South Ludlow and Clover Street intersection and the addition of advance yield lines, crosswalk daylighting to improve visibility of pedestrians, and the installation of supplemental crosswalk signs on Shrewsbury Street.
This fall, DTM will roll out permanent speed humps at locations where initial trials over the past two years proved successful. These traffic calming elements help manage vehicle speeds in residential neighborhoods year-around. Full details and a schedule for installations can be found at https://www.worcesterma.gov/mobility/projects-engineering/traffic-calming.
To supplement these new initiatives and increase educational efforts to improve pedestrian and traffic safety in the city, WPD has been sharing educational videos on crosswalk safety and school bus safety.
DTM, in partnership with consultants Stantec and Speck/Dempsey, is publishing a web-based StoryMap to illustrate the work and scope of the municipality’s Vision Zero efforts to date. This new interactive website details the priority network, including how it will be used and how it was developed.
The StoryMap includes injury crash data, maps of the city’s priority network, which is where improvements will be most impactful at reducing crashes and injuries, top priorities of the municipality, community input mapping, and near-term focus corridors. The StoryMap is expected to be released by mid-October.
