Safety measures urged in wake of fatal crash along Belmont St. near UMass, Lake Ave.

WORCESTER — A 13-year-old girl lost her life last week after a Honda Acura hit her while she was walking across Belmont Street, renewing concerns over pedestrian safety on a stretch of road near UMass Memorial Medical Center — University Campus.

The section of the road, a part of state Route 9, lacks a crosswalk for a long stretch. City officials have found the street is one the worst for serious crashes.

In the wake of the crash, the city is looking at both short-term ways to improve safety and longer-term traffic-calming measures as part of its Vision Zero program intended to eliminate crash deaths and serious injuries.

Residents and city officials describe a six-lane street where many drivers go well above the speed limit.

"It's extremely, extremely sad that something like that took place there," District 2 City Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson said. "That road is so dangerous."

Furthermore, this portion of the street between Plantation Street and Lake Avenue cuts between a neighborhood and UMass Chan Medical School and UMass Memorial Medical Center, significant employers in Worcester.

The June 27 crash remains under investigation Wednesday, a police spokesperson said. Neither the victim nor the Accord operator have been identified by authorities.

Police have shared the following:

The crash occurred in the area of 370 Belmont St. at about 2:30 p.m., within the section of Belmont Street (Route 9) between Lake Avenue and Plantation Street.

The girl was rushed to nearby UMass Memorial Medical Center — University Campus, where she was pronounced deceased.

An initial investigation revealed that a Honda Acura was traveling west on Belmont Street when the girl was struck as she crossed the street, police said.

The Telegram & Gazette received camera footage and a photo reportedly showing the crash, the moments leading up to it and the aftermath from the nearby Eddy's Complete Auto Repair & Gas at 390 Belmont St.

The footage, which was taken from across the street and does not have the clearest view of the victim, shows someone walking down Belmont Street, before she crosses the middle of the street to get to the median between the lanes. The western portion of the street appears to be clear of cars in her immediate area when she begins to walk

As she crosses the street, she begins to run as a white car comes into frame and collides with her. The impact appeared to be strong enough to send the girl into the eastern portion of the street, going past the median.

The white car, which remains the only visible vehicle on the western portion of the street, veers into the right-hand lane after the collision and appears to stop driving seconds after the crash. A picture provided by the auto shop showed the victim lying on the right lane of the eastern portion of the street with people gathering around the scene.

In the picture, a man is seen sitting on the center median in a yellowish green shirt and red hat. A man with the same outfit was also captured by a T&G photographer on the day of the crash as police spoke to him.

Major urban arterial

Belmont Street is a major urban arterial for the city. Many motorists use the street as they enter or exit the city via the Kenneth Burns Memorial Bridge over Lake Quinsigamond.

According to Todd Kirrane, Worcester's assistant director for the Department of Transportation and Mobility, the city's ongoing Vision Zero study identified Belmont Street as one of the 10% of city-owned streets where 72% of severe and fatal crashes have occurred.

While the state Department of Transportation has a major interest in Belmont Street's operation due to its state route designation, Kirrane said the city has the authority to make changes to it while keeping its characteristics and regional significance in mind.

In the past five years, approximately 32 pedestrian crashes have occurred on Belmont Street, Kirrane said. There is also a high number of nonfatal-injury motor vehicle-on-vehicle crashes on the corridor, Kirrane added.

While none of the prior crashes in the past five years had been fatal, Kirrane said, 28 had caused severe injuries.

While the speed limit is 35 mph, 15% of cars drive 45 miles or more, Kirrane said.

Belmont Street was already a major corridor of concern for the city.

"There's clearly a high level of concern for safety along Belmont Street," Kirrane said. "That is one of the corridors that is likely to be targeted for safety enhancements coming out of the Vision Zero plan."

28,000 vehicles on average

On average, close to 28,000 vehicles drive on the section of Belmont Street where the crash occurred, Kirrane said.

On Tuesday morning several people could be seen crossing the street — without a crosswalk — in the stretch between Plantation Street and Lake Avenue. Many crossed at times when there appeared to be no cars approaching. In some cases, walkers would get to the median and wait for the coast to be clear before finishing their walk to the other side of the street.

While traffic was not at peak its time late Tuesday morning, many pedestrians made their way across the street as lunchtime approached.

Two residents, Cyndi Fusco and Alicia Giroux of Worcester, brought up the 1980s arcade staple "Frogger," where the player directs frogs through a busy road.

Fusco, a resident of nearby Alvarado Avenue who works at UMass Chan, talked to a reporter over the phone Monday. Fusco said she crosses Belmont Street with a co-worker every day at Alvarado Avenue.

Fusco said she feels crossing the street by Alvarado is actually safer than crossing by the crosswalk, where she said drivers can ignore traffic lights. When she crosses through the median, Fusco said, she felt more in control of the level of traffic she was walking through.

"People just go buzzing through that light — whether it's red, yellow, green — it doesn't matter," Fusco said. "If you're in the middle of it and someone decides to go through, you're going to get clipped."

In addition, Fusco felt the section of Belmont Street that was closer to the top of the hill it was built on was more dangerous than crossing by Alvarado Avenue. The crash victim was hit near Dustin Street.

The amount of traffic on the street can vary between days and in certain times, Fusco said. She feels more comfortable crossing in the morning than after 5 p.m., when traffic tends to get heavier after regular work hours.

Fusco said she hopes the city installs a crossing signal with flashing lights to help with pedestrian safety.

Giroux was along Belmont Street Tuesday during her daily lunchtime walk. She said she does not cross Belmont Street because she thinks it is unsafe.

'The cars fly by'

"People shouldn't be crossing it. The cars fly by," Giroux said.

Boyaa Judd, a homeless man who was panhandling on Belmont Street Tuesday, could be seen crossing the street to get to the median to reach out to cars driving past.

Judd regularly crosses Belmont Street and he said the street is safe for him about 90% of the time and dangerous about 10% of the time with motorists on their phones or otherwise distracted.

Judd, who was standing near the bridge when a reporter spoke with him, said most drivers tend to be nice to him while he asks for money, while others can be aggressive to him as he makes his way through the street. He said he has been hit by cars himself and has seen others experience close calls.

"This bridge is like a highway," Judd said.

Bill Wilson of Worcester, who was also walking along Belmont Street Tuesday, agreed people could go fast whenever the lights change on the street. However he said people can be all right crossing if they are careful while crossing.

Mero-Carlson, who represents the area, said pedestrians such as the 13-year-old victim "fight" to get to the other side of the road on the six-lane stretch.

"It was a real sad day for the city, and certainly for this young girl's family," Mero-Carlson said. "It certainly puts a spotlight that this is a road that we as a city should certainly be looking at, and looking at it fairly quickly."

Belmont, Lincoln Sts. in review

Mero-Carslon has submitted an order for the next City Council meeting, which is scheduled to take place July 16, requesting Batista work with Transportation and Mobility and the state Department of Transportation review pedestrian safety measures in place on Belmont Street and the lower end of Lincoln Street to determine any quick improvements to the areas.

In a statement, Mayor Joseph M. Petty said he was signing onto Mero-Carlson's order.

"This most recent death was unfortunate. Pedestrian deaths are very concerning, there is no question about it. I recognize there are staffing issues that keep us from only using traffic enforcement to lessen the danger of problem streets like Belmont," Petty said. "I want to think outside the box moving forward. With the city’s commitment to zero traffic deaths, I look forward to seeing how we can make these tragedies a thing of the past."

Mero-Carlson said the Shrewsbury Street neighborhood and Shrewsbury Street Area Merchants Association have often talked about traffic enforcement for the area. The restaurant- and business-heavy Shrewsbury Street is another street known for accidents.

Mero-Carlson said the city needs to install an additional traffic light, which she said could be more effective than a crossing signal with lights. She also called for more enforcement of the traffic rules.

"As a city, we need enforcement," Mero Carlson said. "We don't have a ton of folks in the traffic division at the Police Department to do all the enforcement that we need."

Traffic safety is a major focus for City Manager Eric D. Batista's administration. In his May State of the City address , Batista spoke about his commitment to prevent accidents, referring to the deaths and serious injuries incurred on the road as "traffic violence."

A big part of the focus on traffic safety was the creation of the cabinet-level Department of Traffic and Mobility in 2022 with Batista appointing city planning director Stephen Rolle to the role of commissioner and hiring Kirrane, a longtime planner for the Town of Brookline.

Report due in fall

The city's final Vision Zero report is expected to be finalized in the fall, Kirrane said. The plan would identify policies and procedures within the city that should be modified to get to zero fatalities. About five to 10 key corridors would be identified in the report, with Belmont Street likely to be one.

For the high-target corridors, the plan would look at their characteristics and make recommendations for implementing safety changes. The changes could include enhancing safety at pedestrian crossings, filling in gaps in pedestrian access and implementing speed reductions, Kirrane said.

The city would then work with city councilors and the manager to undergo a design process for the corridors with community input, Kirrane said. The city would then work with state partners to find funding.

For pedestrian and bike crashes, Kirrane said public health studies have shown that the rate of pedestrian or bicyclist survival decreases as motor vehicle speed increases.

Kirrane said the Department of Transportation and Mobility is working to identify any short-term and intermediate-term solutions to Batista while the department works through the longer-term Vision Zero plan, per Mero-Carlson's request.

The measures would have to be built quickly and would not necessarily be the systemic changes the city hopes to implement down the line, Kirrane said.

Less than a week before the Belmont Street crash, a 1-year-old girl was struck by a vehicle after running into the street on Lincoln Street. She suffered a head injury. Mero-Carlson said Lincoln Street is another street known for crashes.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Safety measures urged in wake of fatal crash along Belmont St. near UMass, Lake Ave.