Tag: Springfield

Statewide Fatal Crashes in MA, June 2023

Each month, we post about the fatal crashes in Massachusetts from the previous month, and share any trends that we see. For the full list of monthly posts, head here.

Last month, we took a look at crashes listed in the MassDOT Crash Portal in May; six were identified as people walking. In this post, we’ll look at crashes in MA in June 2023. The information in the chart below is compiled from news reports, and was checked against the MassDOT Crash Portal Dashboard “Fatal Crash Information.” Any Google Street View images included below use the address listed in the crash portal.

Of the 20 fatal crashes in Massachusetts in June in the MassDOT Crash portal, 3 were identified as people walking.
The average age of pedestrians hit & killed in June was 41.3.

Date	6/13/2023, 4:22 AM
Location	I-93 SOUTH, south of EXIT 21
Town	Medford
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	31
Sex	M

WCVB reports a 31-year old man was struck and killed after jumping from an overpass onto 93-South.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, I-93 is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is a limited access highway, with 4 travel lanes in each direction with a divided median. The speed limit is 55mph.

Date	6/15/2023, 4:56 PM
Location	1037 St. James Ave.
Town	Springfield
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	50
Sex	M

WWLP reported that a 50 year old man was struck by the driver of a vehicle as the man was crossing the street near a bank. The man was transported to Baystate Medical Center with serious injuries. This crash was categorized as a fatal crash in the MassDOT portal when checked on July 21st.

The nearby intersections of St. James Avenue, Carew Street, and St. James Boulevard is listed for construction through the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP); locations are selected based on the HSIP Top 200 Crash Cluster mapping and in coordination with the District and Regional Planning Agency. This project is planned to be funded through the 2023 Transportation Improvement Program for the Pioneer Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization; notice to proceed was given on May 17, 2023.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, St. James Avenue is under local jurisdiction. It is a two-way street, with 1 travel lane in each direction. (The travel lanes are wide; the road inventory lists the surface width as 44 feet). There is a sidewalk on each side of the street. The speed limit is 30mph.

Date	6/24/2023, 9:01 PM
Location	224 Low St.
Town	Newburyport
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	43
Sex	F

MassLive reports 43-year old Mercy Kimani was struck and killed by the driver of a GMC Denali SUV near Port Plaza on Low Street in Newburyport.

The Daily News reported that the investigation is ongoing:

“The circumstances that led to the fatal accident remain unclear with officials still trying to piece together whether the victim was crossing the road, walking alongside the road where there is no sidewalk or if something else happened.”

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Low Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two-way street, with 1 travel lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side of the street. The speed limit is 30mph. (It is listed as 99 on the road inventory, but viewable nearby on street view.)

Google Street View images show that vegetation has encroached on sidewalk access in previous years near the plaza.

Updates
If you have an update about a community member who was killed in one of these crashes, please contact Brendan so we can update our 2023 list. WalkBoston has maintained a list each year since 2016, pulling the information from news reports, social media, and from people like you that share the information with us.
Yearly trackers: | ||||| 2022 | 2023
Report: Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA (2021)
Report: Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA (2022)

Reminder about the data from the MassDOT portal
MassDOT makes no representation as to the accuracy, adequacy, reliability, availability or completeness of the crash records or the data collected from them and is not responsible for any errors or omissions in such records or data. Under no circumstance will MassDOT have any liability for any loss or damage incurred by any party as a result of the use of the crash records or the data collected from them. Furthermore, the data contained in the web-based crash report tool are not an official record of what transpired in a particular crash or for a particular crash type. If a user is interested in an official copy of a crash report, contact the Registry (http://www.mass.gov/rmv/). The City of Boston Police Department may be contacted directly for official copies of crash reports and for crash data pertaining to the City of Boston. In addition, any crash records or data provided for the years after 2018 are subject to change at any time and are not to be considered up-to-date or complete. As such, open years’ of crash data are for informational purposes only and should not be used for analysis. The data posted on this website, including crash records and other reports, are collected for the purpose of identifying, evaluating or planning the safety enhancement of potential crash sites, hazardous roadway conditions or railway-highway crossings. Under federal law, this information is not subject to discovery and cannot be admitted into evidence in any federal or state court proceeding or considered for other purposes in any action for damages that involves the sites mentioned in these records (see 23 USC, Section 409).

AARP 2023 Community Challenge Grant Announcement!

“AARP is thrilled to include Walk Massachusetts as part of our Community Challenge Grants this year. Their project in Springfield will empower residents to make their community more accessible and livable for people of all ages.” – Mike Festa, State Director AARP Massachusetts

We are excited to announce that WalkMassachusetts is one of 310 recipients (out of over 3,600 applicants!) of an AARP Community Challenge grant! AARP Community Challenge is a grant program to make tangible improvements in communities that jump-start long-term change. It is part of AARP’s nationwide Livable Communities initiative, which supports the efforts of cities, towns, neighborhoods and rural areas to become great places to live for people of all ages. To learn more, visit aarp.org/Livable.

This grant will fund the Walk Audit Academy (WAA), a walk audit training program that we will lead with WalkBike Springfield. WAA was piloted in Worcester with the REACH program, UMass Worcester Prevention Research Center, Health Resources in Action, and funds from the CDC. WAA is an experiential learning theory-based curriculum that guides learners in: 1- discovering and documenting their local transportation and land use decision making context; 2- learning walk auditing basics; 3- developing an action plan; and 4- implementing the action plan.

WAA includes a video series, produced by WalkMassachusetts, that guides learners in the process of planning, conducting, and summarizing walk audits. It employs a “flipped classroom” model to extend the capacity of WalkMassachusetts and WalkBike Springfield, and enable community groups to engage in co-learning that benefits the entire Springfield community, with emphasis on environmental justice block groups (minority, income, English isolation). WAA walk audits are intended to build community, and collect information about infrastructure conditions that can be shared with elected/appointed officials to improve walking safety, convenience, and comfort. WAA will allow Springfield residents to better participate in their planning and transportation processes, ensuring that local voices are heard. WAA will also help to improve the safety and walkability of Springfield, which in 2021 had 9 fatal pedestrian crashes, the same number as Boston which has a population over 4x that of Springfield.

Safer streets benefit everyone— however, older adults will benefit from safety improvements the most, as people ages 50+ make up the vast majority (69%) of crash victims in MA (2021, WalkMassachusetts Fatal Pedestrian Crash Report). Improved neighborhood walkability also results in better physical, social and cognitive health for the whole community, and more accessible streetscapes mean more independence for people with disabilities, whose mobility options are most limited.

Thank you again to AARP for their generous support! To learn about the other Community Challenge grantees, visit: www.aarp.org/CommunityChallenge

Worthington and Armory Walk Audit in Springfield

On Saturday, May 20, 2023, WalkMassachusetts joined Springfield Mass in Motion, Way Finders and 20 local community members to complete an in-person walk audit. The route covered Armory Street, Taylor Street, Kibbe Avenue, Worthington Street, and Federal Street.

This process focused on sidewalks, crosswalks, pedestrian safety, curb cuts, general access, neighborhood safety, and walkability as well as making observations about green spaces and parks along our route.

The planning decisions for this walk audit, including the walking route and starting location, were made by a group of engaged Springfield residents supported with facilitation from Mass in Motion and Way Finders.

The next steps include a walk audit draft report that will be shared with participants to make sure their opinions and recommendations were captured before finalizing the report.

Over the years, WalkMassachusetts has been a technical service provider to communities through the Mass in Motion program including many in Springfield. Mass in Motion is a statewide movement that promotes opportunities for healthy eating and active living in cities and towns across the state of Massachusetts. Thank you to MAPC for including us in the work this year.

Boston Globe: “Dangerous intersections and roads in Boston and Springfield are about to get multimillion-dollar upgrades”

Brendan Kearney, deputy director of the advocacy group WalkBoston, said he was pleased to see federal dollars going toward road safety, not just traffic congestion. It’s an urgent issue, he said, and one that is literally life-or-death.
He recalls a particularly urgent conversation with a manager at the Boch Center’s Wang Theatre at Stuart and Tremont Streets, one of the intersections targeted for safety improvements.
“He’s incredibly nervous about the safety of their patrons,” Kearney said.
Kearney noted that the commitment to Springfield is meaningful, too.
His group, which advocates for walkability in communities statewide, released a report last spring that found Springfield, despite being about a quarter of the population of Boston, had the same number of fatal pedestrian crashes in 2021. In 2022, Springfield saw 12 fatal crashes and 94 serious injury crashes, according to state data, and Boston saw 23 fatal crashes and 31 serious injury crashes.

Posted February 1, 2023

Statewide Fatal Crashes In MA, December 2022

Each month, we post about the fatal crashes in Massachusetts from the previous month, and share any trends that we see. For the full list of monthly posts, head here. Earlier this year, we released a year in review for 2021 to highlight common issues.

Last month, we took a look at crashes listed in the MassDOT Crash Portal in November; nine were identified as people walking. In this post, we’ll look at crashes in MA in December 2022. The information in the chart below is compiled from news reports, and was checked against the MassDOT Crash Portal Dashboard “Fatal Crash Information.” Any Google Street View images included below use the address listed in the crash portal.

Of the 34 fatal crashes in Massachusetts in December in the MassDOT Crash portal, 8 were identified as people walking.
The average age of pedestrians hit & killed in December was 56.125.
We could not find any additional information for two of the fatal crashes.

Date	12/10/2022, 11:02 AM
Location	331 Highland Ave.
Town	Salem
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	69
Sex	F

NBC10Boston reports 69-year old Karen Raffa was struck and killed by a 87-year old driver in the parking lot of a doctor’s office.

This fatal crash happened in a parking lot, which is usually not included in FARS crash data. According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Highland Avenue (State Route 107) is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is a two way divided street, with two lanes and a shoulder in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side. The speed limit is unclear, with 35mph and 45mph both listed in the database.

Date	12/11/2022, 2:38 AM
Location	I-93 NORTH, near EXIT 15
Town	Boston
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	26
Sex	M

We could not find any additional news coverage of this crash. If you have any information, please let us know.

There was a fatal pedestrian crash near this location in the southbound lanes of I-93 in October.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, I-93 is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is a limited access highway, with 4 travel lanes in each direction with a divided median. The speed limit is 55mph.

Date	12/12/2022, 12:48 PM
Location	Harrison Ave. + Bernardston Rd.
Town	Greenfield
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	72
Sex	M

We could not find any additional news coverage of this crash. If you have any information, please let us know.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Bernardston Road is under MassDOT jurisdiction and Harrison Avenue is under local jurisdiction. Each is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side. The speed limit is 30mph.

Date	12/14/2022, 3:42 PM
Location	Congress St. + Dwight St.
Town	Springfield
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	62
Sex	M

A 62-year old man was struck and killed by a driver at Congress and Dwight Street in Springfield.

WWLP talked to a police spokesperson in response to this crash:

Walsh said Springfield police officers have issued 2,000 more traffic citations this year than last year already. The department credits that for reducing the number of deadly crashes, nine this year compared to 20 last year.
“Things have gotten better in the city of Springfield thanks to the enforcement and all the infrastructure efforts being forth by Chris Cignoli and the DPW,” said Walsh.
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and the Police Department said they were frustrated by the court’s role in this, calling on the justice system to keep some of these dangerous drivers off the roads.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Congress Street and Dwight Street are both under local jurisdiction. Congress Street is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. Dwight Street is a two way street, with two lanes in each direction and an additional turn lane at the signalized intersection.There is a sidewalk on each side of both streets. There are crosswalks at all four legs of the intersection. The speed limit for Congress Street is 30mph. The speed limit is unclear for Dwight Street, as it is not indicated in the database.

Date	12/20/2022, 5:34 PM
Location	251 Piper Rd. + Monastery Ave.
Town	West Springfield
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	25
Sex	F

Neely Murray and her dog, Chance, were hit and killed by a 22-year old driver while they were crossing the street in a crosswalk.

Western Mass News spoke to a nearby resident:

“I realized that the accident happened the road was blocked off and I immediately thought of that crosswalk at Monastery as we’ve had problems there many times in the past,” said Nichole Bottaro of West Springfield.
Bottaro is just one of many residents who told Western Mass News that people drive too fast in that area of town.
“There have been times where we stood at the crosswalk for at least 10 minutes, not a single car has stopped. There have been times where cars have stopped and a car behind them tried to go out and around when we are mid crosswalk and almost been hit,” Bottaro added.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Piper Road and Monastery Avenue are under local jurisdiction. Each road is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side of Piper Road at this location, and on one side beyond the intersection; there are no sidewalks on Monastery Ave. There is a crosswalk at this location across Piper Rd. The speed limit is 35mph.

Date	12/23/2022, 11:31 AM
Location	SR-132 (1481 Iyannough Rd.)
Town	Centerville
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	31
Sex	M

The Cape Cod Times reports a 31-year old man was struck and killed by the driver of a disposal truck on Route 132 in Hyannis. (Centerville is one of the seven villages of Hyannis.)

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Iyannough Road is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is a two way road, with two lanes in each direction and a median. There is a sidewalk on one side. The speed limit is 45mph.

Date	12/26/2022, 1:27 PM
Location	93 West St.
Town	Douglas
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	71
Sex	F

NBC1oBoston reports 71-year old Dong Mei Ying was struck and killed near her driveway on West Street by the driver of a Honda CRV. The name of the driver has not been released, but police said they were under age 18.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, West Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. There is no sidewalk. The speed limit is unclear, with 99mph and 30mph both listed in the database.

Date	12/26/2022, 8:43 PM
Location	414 North Main St.
Town	Sharon
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	93
Sex	M

WCVB reports 93-year old Joseph Vasconcelos was struck and killed by a driver on Route 27 (North Main Street), near the intersection of Bayberry Drive and the entrance to the Sharon Green Condominiums.

The Boston Globe shared a quote from the District Attorney’s office:

“There was significant damage on the passenger side, which would be consistent with hitting someone who was walking in the roadway, on the side of the road,” Traub said.

What is not included in the article is that there is only a sidewalk on one side of North Main Street.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, North Main Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on one side. The speed limit is 35mph.

Updates
If you have an update about a community member who was killed in one of these crashes, please contact Brendan so we can update our 2022 list. WalkBoston has maintained a list each year since 2016, pulling the information from news reports, social media, and from people like you that share the information with us.
Yearly trackers: | ||||| 2022
Report: Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA (2021)

Reminder about the data from the MassDOT portal
MassDOT makes no representation as to the accuracy, adequacy, reliability, availability or completeness of the crash records or the data collected from them and is not responsible for any errors or omissions in such records or data. Under no circumstance will MassDOT have any liability for any loss or damage incurred by any party as a result of the use of the crash records or the data collected from them. Furthermore, the data contained in the web-based crash report tool are not an official record of what transpired in a particular crash or for a particular crash type. If a user is interested in an official copy of a crash report, contact the Registry (http://www.mass.gov/rmv/). The City of Boston Police Department may be contacted directly for official copies of crash reports and for crash data pertaining to the City of Boston. In addition, any crash records or data provided for the years after 2018 are subject to change at any time and are not to be considered up-to-date or complete. As such, open years’ of crash data are for informational purposes only and should not be used for analysis. The data posted on this website, including crash records and other reports, are collected for the purpose of identifying, evaluating or planning the safety enhancement of potential crash sites, hazardous roadway conditions or railway-highway crossings. Under federal law, this information is not subject to discovery and cannot be admitted into evidence in any federal or state court proceeding or considered for other purposes in any action for damages that involves the sites mentioned in these records (see 23 USC, Section 409).