City of Worcester, MA

Worcester Ready to Go Back to School

For Immediate Release: 8/26/2016 10:56 am

Worcester, MA (August 26, 2016) - Worcester Public Schools are back in session on Monday, August 29th and the City of Worcester is working to ensure this school year is a safe one.

Over the summer, the City's Department of Public Works was busy repainting more than 650 crosswalks across the City, with special emphasis on crosswalks near schools, making the City a safer place for kids walking to school.

The restriping is part of a broader interdepartmental effort to improve pedestrian safety across the City. A newly expanded team of city employees and representatives from WalkBike Worcester and the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission have recently begun a review of traffic patterns, sidewalks, crosswalks and new city policies in an effort to improve pedestrian safety.

"More than 13,000 Worcester kids walk to school every day, and we want to make sure they're safe," said City Manager Edward M. Augustus, Jr. "Repainting crosswalks is a small thing that could go unnoticed, but it can mean a world of difference for drivers and pedestrians alike."

Over the course of just 26 days, DPW repainted:

• 652 Crosswalks
• 18 Miles of White Skip Line, Lane Lines and Edge Lines
• 53 Miles of Double Yellow Center and Edge Lines
• 4,000 Feet of Yellow Gore Lines
• 451 Stop Bars
• 236 Legends and Symbols

The work will continue through the fall. The City will spend $360,000 repainting streets this year, ensuring our roadways are clearly marked for drivers and pedestrians.

The Worcester Police Department offers these tips for drivers, as city streets will once again be filled with yellow school buses and young ones walking to school.

• Watch for children on and near the road in the morning and after school hours.
• Slow down and be especially alert in the school zones.
• School zones generally have a lower speed limit than other surrounding areas. Pay attention and obey the speed limits.
• Enter and exit driveways and alleys slowly and carefully.
• Reduce any distractions inside your car so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings.
• It is illegal to pass a school bus that is stopped to pick up or drop off children.
• Traffic is heavier in the City when school is in session; be sure to allow for extra travel time.
• In a school zone when a warning flasher or flashers are blinking, you must stop to yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a marked crosswalk or at an intersection with no marked crosswalk.