Crashes On Mill Street After Redesign Below Average: MassDOT Data

WORCESTER, MA — The Mill Street redesign has been in place for just over three months, but concerns about it contributing to an increase in crashes have elected officials and residents calling for a response from the city.

But MassDOT data on crashes dating back to 2014 show crashes have been below average since the redesign.

The city completed a re-striping of Mill Street in December that added a bike lane on either side of the road at the curb. The lane is separated by a buffer zone and parking spaces before one travel lane in each direction. Under the old configuration, there were two lanes of travel with parking up against the curb and no bike lane.

Residents and some city councilors believe that crashes are occurring because of parking being moved away from the curb. That feeling has been compounded by the death of Daniel Abraham, 90, who crashed into parked cars in late February along Mill Street. He died on March 5, according to his obituary.

Most bike lanes in Worcester are located between parked cars and vehicle travel lanes. Some have hailed that design as good for traffic-calming, but it also puts cyclists in a deadly zone between speeding traffic and car doors. Bicyclists often get injured or die in "dooring" incidents. The Mill Street parking-protected bike lane is meant to protect pedestrians and cyclists from doorings and collisions. There are examples of the design across Massachusetts, including in Boston, Somerville, Cambridge and potentially Northampton.

The redesign was the subject of debate at Tuesday's city council meeting, with orders from At-Large councilors Donna Colorio and Moe Bergman about the street. Bergman asked for a one-year pause on any street redesign in Worcester like Mill Street — although City Manager Eric Batista said there are no plans to use that type of layout for upcoming street safety projects. Colorio asked Batista for a report on crashes since the redesign.

There is publicly available data current documenting crashes along Mill Street. The MassDOT IMPACT portal offers some insight into crash patterns along the road — referred to for years by locals as "the speedway" — although the system doesn't capture crashes not reported to police, or ones police may not have reported to the state yet.

Transportation and Mobility Commissioner Steve Rolle said a more comprehensive report will be delivered to councilors in early April, firming up crash data from December, January and February that be incomplete in the IMPACT portal.

According to the data, there have been five crashes along the redesigned section of Mill Street since the beginning of December, which is when the re-painting was completed. The average number of crashes for each year dating back to 2014 for the period between Dec. 1 and March 12 is about seven.

Here are the crash numbers for the section of Mill Street between the start of the median at the south end and Chandler Street between Dec. 1 and March 12 of each period:

• 2023-24 — 5
• 2022-23 — 12
• 2021-22 — 2
• 2020-21 — 4
• 2019-20 — 8
• 2018-19 — 10
• 2017-18 — 9
• 2016-17 — 8
• 2015-16 — 4
• 2014-15 — 7

Here's the same data for that stretch of Mill Street, but only for the period of Jan. 1 to March 13 each year:

• 2024 — 3
• 2023 — 8
• 2022 — 2
• 2021 — 2
• 2020 — 3
• 2019 — 6
• 2018 — 6
• 2017 — 4
• 2016 — 4
• 2015 — 5
• 2014 — 5

The average for the Jan. 1 to March 13 period is about 5 crashes.

Most crashes along Mill Street happen outside the area that's been redesigned, according to the data. Of the 712 crashes between Jan. 1, 2014 and this week, 205 were in the redesigned area. The Mill and Park Avenue intersection sees the highest number of crashes each year, followed by the Chandler, Pleasant and Main Street intersections.

Here's a map of crashes along the redesigned section dating back to Jan. 1, 2014. The yellow markers indicate crashes that have happened since the redesign:

Bergman's order to pause Mill Street-like designs elsewhere passed 9-2 vote. At-Large Councilor Khrystian King also suggested the city should allow drivers to park up against the curb in the bike lane until new changes can be made along the road.

Rolle told councilors the city is planning a few changes this spring: painting bike lanes green wherever they cross streets; a right turn "pocket" at June Street; and adding flexible posts to deter drivers from using the parking lane as a travel or passing lane. The posts don't damage vehicles if they get run over, Rolle said.

“I’m not opposed to returning cars to the curb until it’s completed,” King said in response to those upcoming changes.

Rolle also said the corridor has seen "roughly" the same number of crashes compared to before the improvements. Traffic speeds have come down, he said.

The redesign may not be around for too long. Worcester has received a $2 million grant from the federal government to plan a "complete streets" redesign of Mill Street, which could mean more permanent changes like new sidewalks and protected bike lanes.