WORCESTER – Worcester City Manager Eric Batista and Mayor Joe Petty released a joint statement on Thursday, Aug. 1, declaring a Road Safety and Traffic Violence Crisis in the city.
The declaration intends to draw attention to the worsening problem of road safety and traffic violence in the city. Unlike a declaration of a state of emergency from the governor, the declaration does not initiate a process enshrined by law.
The statement comes after three recent motor vehicle crashes involving pedestrians in Worcester. One of those crashes involved a child, while the other two involved adolescents.
The latest pedestrian-involved crash occurred on Shrewsbury Street on Tuesday.
According to the statement, there have been over 2,800 crashes in the city in 2024. Of those, 51 led to serious injuries or deaths, while over 90 involved pedestrians or cyclists.
The statement notes that the Worcester Police Department Traffic Division has issued 3,180 citation for traffic violations over the past 12 months, and adds that enforcement alone will not resolve the crisis.
The statement says the city is taking multiple actions to address the crisis.
Addressing the Crisis
Vision Zero Safety Action Plan
Worcester has joined the Vision Zero Network, a collaborative campaign that works with communities to eliminate traffic related fatalities and serious injuries. The Federal Highway Administration, a division of the U. S. Department of Transportation, coordinates with the network.
The city expects its Vision Zero Action Plan in the late fall of 2024. The plan will include a comprehensive and coordinated strategy to improve the safety of our streets. It will also include identification of a priority network of Worcester’s most dangerous street segments and intersections and specify short-term and long-term actions to improve roadway safety in the city.
The city’s Department of Transportation and Mobility (DTM) is leading development of the plan while working with consultants, other municipal departments, and community partners.
The Vision Zero team will also accelerate its project schedule and in the coming weeks will begin releasing key study findings and initial actions which it can rapidly implement.
City Council to Consider Speed Limit Reductions
Two proposals currently before the City Council Traffic and Parking Committee are expected to be returned to the full city council soon.
The first proposal would reduce the statutory speed limit across the city from 30 miles per hour to 25. The statutory limit only applies in areas where no posted limit exists.
The second proposal would enable the establishment of 20 mile per hour safety zones.
Near-Term Improvements for Belmont Street and Shrewsbury Street
DTM will start “quick response” assessments of traffic safety and near-term improvements for Belmont Street and Shrewsbury Street. Pedestrian-involved crashes have recently occurred on both streets.
The studies are expected to be completed within 60 days.
These assessments will identify both changes that can be implemented with a year, and longer-term, larger-scale safety improvements.
City Council Delayed Decision on Declaring a State of Emergency
During the last Worcester City Council meeting Tuesday, July 16, District Five Councilor Etel Haxhiaj raised an order which requested the “declare a public health and safety emergency for vulnerable road users (pedestrians, bicyclists, people on wheelchairs).”
Councilor At-Large Moe Bergman requested a “report concerning the impact declaring pedestrian crashes associated with vulnerable road users would have relative to the authority of the City Manager and City Council on the issue.”
District Three Councilor George Russell asked for a “report concerning whether the purview of any issues is taken away from City Council if a public health and safety emergency is declared.”
Bergman held the item, which moves it to the next city council meeting on Aug. 27.
Statement from @MayorJoePetty and I on Traffic Violence. pic.twitter.com/Cdhul9T815
— CM-Batista (@CM_Batista) August 1, 2024
