Can Worcester End Traffic Deaths? 'Vision Zero' Planning Begins

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester will take its next step toward improving road safety citywide this month with the launch of a "Vision Zero" planning process that will guide future traffic design.

Vision Zero is a nationwide movement to reduce deaths and serious injuries along roads in areas — like Worcester — that prioritize cars over other modes of transportation. Worcester began its journey toward Vision Zero in 2022 with a gathering on a day set aside to remember people killed in crashes and collisions, with a particular focus on vulnerable road users like pedestrians. The city began accepting bids in October from firms that would be able to create a Worcester Vision Zero plan.

On Feb. 29, the city's Department of Transportation & Mobility will host an event to discuss the Vision Zero plan. The event will also feature Jeff Speck, author of the book "Walkable City." Worcester is using a federal grant to pay for the creation of the Vision Zero plan.

"The plan will have two main components: a Citywide Action Strategy to address Vision Zero goals through policy and systems changes and a data-driven High Injury Network Action Strategy to address location‐specific safety issues on the small fraction of Worcester roads that represent the most frequent and severe crashes," a city news release said. "A focus on equity will guide the plan and its implementation. The burden of traffic violence falls disproportionately on overburdened and underserved communities across the city and we must work to change that outcome."

The Department of Transportation & Mobility is a relatively new concept in Worcester. It was created in 2022 as the city's first transportation-focused department. Until then, the public works department handled road projects, but with no specific focus building a network of walkable, bikeable and safe streets.

The department launched just a few months after the death of Candice Asare-Yeboah, a 5-year-old girl who an SUV driver in a crosswalk along Stafford Street. She was one of eight pedestrians killed on Worcester roads in 2022. A total of 44 pedestrians have died on city streets dating back to 2010, according to MassDOT data — but that number rises to 108 adding other road users, including drivers and passengers. More than 1,000 people have sustained serious injuries in Worcester crashes and collisions since 2010.

The Worcester Vision Zero kickoff event will take place at 6 p.m. at the Jean McDonough Arts Center, 20B Franklin St.