Springfield Archives - Page 2 of 9

Roosevelt Ave Walk Audit in Springfield

On Thursday July 20th, WalkMassachusetts joined WalkBike Springfield, Wayfinders, Mass in Motion Springfield, and local residents to complete a Walk Audit of Roosevelt Avenue. After a round of introductions, the group left from Springfield High School of Science & Technology (SciTech), and continued down Roosevelt before turning back at the Wilbraham Rd intersection.

This walk audit was part of a bigger WalkBike Springfield effort. With support from America Walks and the Safe Roads Alliance, the group is gathering input regarding how people use Roosevelt Avenue, how safe they feel, and what changes they would like to see on the 3.3 mile stretch of Roosevelt in Springfield from Island Pond Road to East Street. This corridor reaches the East Forest Park, Upper Hill, Bay/McKnight and East Springfield neighborhoods. More info can be found here.

Walk Audit participants begin at SciTech with some introductions and friendly conversation.

This stretch of Roosevelt Ave had previously been highlighted by residents as an area of concern, given the many dangers faced by pedestrians, particularly those at SciTech. People driving frequently hurtle down the road at speeds well over 40 mph; there is one sidewalk along the street, and no crosswalk directly connects the school with the sidewalk on Roosevelt.

WalkMassachusetts Deputy Director of Advocacy Brendan Kearney uses a radar gun on Roosevelt Ave, observing speeds well over the legal limit.

Walk Audit participants identified a clear need to implement more traffic calming measures and expand the crosswalk and sidewalk network. Better maintenance of existing pedestrian infrastructure was also discussed, with overgrown vegetation both blocking walkways and obscuring driver views.

Due to Roosevelt Avenue’s high speeds and a lack of crossings, participants chose to wear high visibility vests on this walk audit.

All the written notes, observations, and conversations between WalkMassachusetts and other participants will be instrumental in generating a final report of the audit. The information will allow us to highlight pressing issues in pedestrian safety, supporting advocacy efforts to create a safer Springfield for all.

WalkMassachusetts expresses its gratitude to our collaborating partner organizations, local community members, and MAPC, the funding source for this project. The collective effort demonstrated during the Walk Audit is a significant step towards fostering a more pedestrian-friendly 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