Worcester Vision Zero: Priority Network
Details of the Vision Zero Priority Network including how it will be used and how it was developed.
Traffic Violence Crisis
The human impact of traffic violence in Worcester
From 2019 to 2023 there were 45 fatal and 461 additional severe injury crashes on Worcester’s streets. These tragic incidents have caused irrevocable damage to our families and communities. Even one of these incidents is too many.
Personal stories from the Vision Zero survey
Over the first half of 2024 we heard from more than 1,200 Worcester residents about their experience on the city’s roads. One in four of them report having been involved in a crash in Worcester, and two out of every three respondents know someone who has been involved in a crash in Worcester, one quarter of which were fatal or severe. Survey respondents also told us:
Driving on Belmont Street last year, I slowed to come to a stop behind another vehicle that had stopped at a cross walk to allow a pedestrian to cross at a marked side walk. As a result of slowing down from the speed of traffic to a full stop and the excessive speed of the driver behind me, I was rear ended near Bell Hill Park and have suffered whiplash symptoms for over a year. I … now fear that I might experience chronic pain for my foreseeable future. I think that traffic goes too fast on Belmont Street to be safe for pedestrians or the drivers stopping for pedestrians.
Was walking with my service dog. We had the walking light and a car turned into us. Luckily we weren’t hurt. It was very scary and we specifically waited for the walking light not to have this happen.
Our building … has been hit 6 times in the last 10 years. A mini van ended up inside the office from one collision. We need speed bumps … and better lighting. We also need the sidewalk extended so we can put bollards in front of our glass storefront. The excessive speeding in the very early morning hours is out of control.
Recent tragic headlines
Even in the past few months of 2024, severe crashes have made headlines for killing and injuring Worcester residents. Each crash a preventable tragedy, causing a family to be forever changed.
One thing is clear: the status quo on Worcester’s streets is not safe and change is needed.
Sources: Worcester Telegram & Gazette; 10Boston
The City of Worcester is committed to addressing this problem
Mayor Joseph M. Petty and City Manager Eric D. Batista declared a Road Safety and Traffic Violence Crisis in Worcester . In their statement they note:
The best way to show our sympathy to the families impacted by these tragedies is through action. We send them our strength and our pledge to end traffic violence now and we invite every resident and road user in the City of Worcester to join us in this mission.
Feb 26, 2024
The City Manager and DTM convenes a Vision Zero Internal Working Group consisting of department heads across City Hall, tasked with determining how they can better prioritize safety in their day-to-day operations. This group includes the Worcester Police Department, Fire Department, and Public Schools, among others.
Feb 29, 2024
Vision Zero launches to the public at the State of Our Streets Forum. City leadership is joined by author and urban planner Jeff Speck for an inspiring and informative talk to kick-off the City's Vision Zero efforts. Read Vision Zero…Safer Streets , by Worcester Youth Poet Laureate Serenity C. Jackson.
Sept 9, 2024
The Worcester Board of Health votes to also declare the Traffic Violence Crisis and to support the resolution on posted speed limits.
Sept 10, 2024
The Worcester City Council passes a resolution “supporting the inclusion of traffic calming and other Complete Streets safety improvements as part of all the city’s roadway projects, to increase the safety and accessibility of the city’s public ways for motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists.”
Sept 24, 2024
The Worcester City Council unanimously adopts a 25-mile-per-hour (mph) citywide statutory default speed limit and a 20-mph Safety Zones policy for roads where it is especially important to drive slowly, along with support for further deployment of traffic calming and Complete Streets.
Vision Zero
What is Vision Zero?
Source: FHWA
What if we aimed for zero fatal and severe injury crashes on Worcester’s roadways? Starting this year, the City of Worcester is approaching transportation safety in a new way. That approach is called Vision Zero and is motivated by a goal to eliminate fatal and severe injury crashes.
Vision Zero is a goal. It is also an international movement that asserts that deaths and severe injuries on our roadways are not acceptable. The movement started in Sweden in the 1990s and has spread worldwide. In the US, cities like Alexandria, VA and Hoboken, NJ have achieved Vision Zero through concrete action. Many more cities, including some in Massachusetts, have made progress toward this goal.
The Safe System Approach
Source: USDOT & Stantec
How do we get to zero? The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) has begun recommending the Safe System Approach as a process to achieving safer streets.
The Safe System Approach begins with a set of powerful statements that offer a common starting point for tackling safety challenges. In these statements, the Safe System Approach calls us to acknowledge that people make mistakes, and that those mistakes should not result in fatalities or severe injuries.
Source: USDOT & Stantec
The Safe System Approach offers five holistic objectives to work toward (USDOT):
- Safer People – Encourage safe, responsible driving and behavior.
- Safer Vehicles – Expand the availability of vehicle systems and features that help prevent crashes and impact of crashes.
- Safer Speeds – Promote safer speeds through thoughtful, equitable, context-appropriate roadway design, education, and enforcement.
- Safer Roads – Design roadways to mitigate human mistakes and encourage safer behaviors.
- Post-Crash Care – Enhance the survivability of crashes while creating a safe working environment for first responders and preventing secondary crashes.
The Worcester Vision Zero Safety Action Plan will provide recommendations that move Worcester closer to these objectives.
Data Driven Approach
So, where do we start?
Please zoom-in, click around, and explore.
This map is Worcester’s DRAFT Priority Network
Part of the challenge of Vision Zero is to narrow down the roughly 600 miles of roadway in the city to a Priority Network where improvements will be most impactful at reducing crashes and injuries.
The Priority Network reflects a number of factors, chief among them the concentrations of fatal and severe injury crashes. In addition, the Priority Network is informed by:
- Community input provided in the Vision Zero interactive webmap (open February to June 2024);
- Massachusetts Environmental Justice Population OR Federal Climate and Economic Justice Population areas.
- The locations of community facilities like schools, healthcare facilities, community centers, libraries, and shelters (within 1000 feet).
- Where the posted speed limit is above 35 mph or traffic data indicates most cars are traveling more than 35 mph.
The Priority Network isn’t the only location where safety improvements will be implemented, rather it provides a focus for investment. While the highest scoring corridors will be the City’s top priorities, all corridors with a score need attention. Lower scoring areas may receive neighborhood appropriate traffic calming or Safe Routes to School programs.
Highways Version of the Priority Network
Priority Network: Top Priorities
Top Priorities represent the locations most in need of safety investment. These locations scored in the "High" category on the previous map. The Top Priorities represent:
- 56% of Worcester’s severe and fatal crashes (282 of 506 crashes)
- 7% of Worcester streets (43 of 605 miles)
73% of the Top Priority mileage is located in federal Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool zones that have been historically overburdened and underresourced
Please zoom-in, click around, and explore.
Priority Network: Actions
With these priorities determined, the next step is action. This map breaks down the Top Priorities into the following four categories:
Progress is Underway. Corridors in light blue already have design or construction projects underway.
Improvements have already been implemented. Corridors in dark blue were recently reconstructed and have seen promising crash reductions. However, due to the timing of the reconstruction, the improved crash data are not shown in the Vision Zero data time period.
Near-Term Focus Corridors (red) represent the highest priority for action. Most of these corridors were the subject of public Walk Audits conducted by the City the week of Sept. 9, 2024. Concept recommendations for these corridors will be detailed in the Vision Zero Plan to be released this year.
The remainder (yellow-orange) represent the next round(s) of priorities where the City will focus their efforts in future years.
Please zoom-in, click around, and explore.
Development of Priority Network
The Priority Network is based on an analysis approach that includes crash data, contextual roadway and land use characteristics, and community input.
All of these variables together serve to narrow down all roads in Worcester to a manageable list of priority locations, where the City can invest to make the most progress toward improving safety and reducing crashes. The Priority Network combines:
- Trends-based Network: Where existing fatal and severe injury crashes occur based on past crash trends.
- Risk-based Network: Where high-risk contexts occur, regardless of the crash history, based on roadway and land use context characteristics.
- Community-based Network: Where do people feel unsafe? Crashes may be underreported. There may be common near-miss locations.
Injury Crash Data
The most critical input into the Priority Network is the crash history. This map includes crashes in Worcester that involved an injury in the past five years. This dataset excludes property damage only (PDO) crashes because Vision Zero is focused on the human experience and protecting human life.
Please zoom-in, click around, and explore.
High Injury Network
The fatal and severe injury crashes were connected into a High Injury Network (HIN). The HIN is the most critical input to the Priority Network.
The HIN includes 74% of Worcester’s severe and fatal crashes (376 of 505 crashes) and just 11% of Worcester streets highways, and interstates (67 of 605 miles).
The HIN on its own still includes a large number of roadways to address. To further prioritize locations, the following additional variables were assessed.
Please zoom-in, click around, and explore.
Context data
Crash concentrations occur in locations for a reason. City staff looked at a long list of land use, demographics, and roadway conditions to determine if fatal and severe crashes tend to be proportionally overrepresented in certain contexts. In Worcester, this analysis reveals that the following context variables have the most meaningful overlap with fatal and severe crashes on roadways located:
- Within Massachusetts Environmental Justice Population OR Federal Climate and Economic Justice Population areas.
- Near community facilities like schools, healthcare facilities, community centers, libraries, and shelters (within 1000 feet).
- Where the posted speed limit is above 35 mph or traffic data indicates most cars are traveling more than 35 mph.
Using these variables, these city streets were analyzed to highlight locations with high risk, regardless of crash history.
Please zoom-in, click around, and explore.
Context data: Environmental Justice
Using the Federal government Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST), the city identified places historically receiving less public investment. This tool is based on factors related to Climate Change, Energy, Health, Housing, Legacy Pollution, Transportation, and Water & Wastewater.
In Worcester, these places represent about 28% of the city’s land area, but they are home to 68% of the city’s fatal and severe crashes.
Please zoom-in, click around, and explore.
Context data: Environmental Justice
Massachusetts has a similar tool. The Massachusetts Environmental Justice (MA EJ) Population designation is based on household income, race & ethnicity, and English proficiency.
In Worcester, 74% of fatal and severe crashes occur in MA EJ areas which represent just 35% of the city’s land area.
For this analysis, two or more of the MA EJ criteria must be met; 90% of the city's land area meets one or more criteria. For more details on the criteria, use the link above to access the original source.
Criteria Code | Criteria Definition |
|---|---|
MI | Minority and Income criteria met |
ME | Minority and English Language criteria met |
MIE | Minority, Income, and English Language criteria met |
Criteria Key for Map Pop-Up
Please zoom-in, click around, and explore.
Context data: Schools
With a lot of vehicular activity around arrival and dismissal, schools also represent risk indicators, in particular for people who are walking and biking. Massachusetts law calls these people Vulnerable Road Users because they are vulnerable to serious injuries from crashes.
In Worcester, 30% of pedestrian and 32% of bicycle injury crashes occur within 1,000 feet of a school. Only about 14% of land in Worcester is within 1,000 feet of a school.
Vernon Hill School dismissal on the day of the Vision Zero Demonstration Event, described in more detail in more detail under Next Steps.
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Context data: Community Facilities
Other important community facilities also reflect risk indicators for Vulnerable Road Users. In Worcester, those facilities account for:
- Health care facilities: 22% of pedestrian and 21% of bicycle injury crashes, compared to only 6% of Worcester’s land area (within 1,000 feet)
- Community centers & libraries: 14% of pedestrian and 14% of bicycle injury crashes, compared to only 4% of Worcester's land area (within 1,000 feet)
- Shelters: 23% of pedestrian and 21% of bicycle injury crashes, compared to only 4% of Worcester's land area (within 1,000 feet)
Please zoom-in, click around, and explore.
Context data: Observed Speed
For a pedestrian hit by a vehicle, the risk of death goes up dramatically as the vehicle speed goes up. At 30 mph there is a 50% risk of the pedestrian dying, compared to 90% risk of death at 40 mph.
To better understand actual travel speed on the roadway, this map includes a third-party data vendor called Streetlight Data that uses Connected Vehicle data, purchased from auto and freight companies, to estimate speeds. (This data reflects January 2022-May 2023, weekday and weekend average combined).
In Worcester:
- 47% of fatal crashes occur on roadways with observed 85th percentile* speeds greater than 35 mph.
- 26% of all injury crashes occur on roadways with observed 85th percentile* speeds greater than 35 mph.
- These roadways only represent 11% of Worcester’s roadway miles.
*85th percentile speed is the speed at or below which 85% of the drivers will operate.
In September 2024, the City Council passed a resolution to lower the citywide statutory speed limit from 30 to 25 mph. This analysis reflects the speed limits at the time of the crashes (2019-2023). The goal of this reduction is to mitigate this crash risk factor; a similar change has led to improved safety in the City of Boston .
Please zoom-in, click around, and explore.
Community Input Mapping
As part of the Vision Zero effort, the community had a chance to highlight locations where they experience unsafe conditions. The Vision Zero interactive webmap was open for public input from February to June 2024.
The map received 744 comments across all modes of transportation. The most common type or comment related to pedestrian safety (20% of all comments).
DTM talking with members of the public at the World of Food event on June 1, 2024
Please zoom-in, click around, and explore.
Priority Network
Together this data forms the DRAFT Worcester Vision Zero Priority Network. This Network will guide decision making and next steps for changes to roadways to save lives.
Please zoom-in, click around, and explore.
Next Steps
Near-Term Focus Corridors
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On Belmont Street West we talked about access to the Belmont Street Community School and strategies for reducing speed and improving pedestrian connections.
Belmont Street East has the same cross section as the Mass Pike (I-90) on this segment. On this Walk Audit we discussed the need for more and safer crossings and the potential for repurposing travel lanes.
On Lincoln Street we talked about sidewalk quality and the time it takes a pedestrian to cross a wide street.
On Cambridge Street we focused on large and undefined intersection configurations with poor vehicle visibility and limited pedestrian options.
On Park Avenue we talked about balancing the needs of people walking and people driving. We also discussed the inherent risks of pedestrians crossing four lane roads vs. two lane roads.
In July 2023, the city hosted a walk audit on Main Street near Webster Square. On this walk audit, we discussed the difficulty in crossing large, complex intersections, the importance of accessible curb ramps and pedestrian signals, and how a lack of trees increases the sidewalk temperature on hot days.
Here is what solutions can look like
The Safe System Approach includes multifaceted solutions to the Traffic Violence Crisis. The Vision Zero Safety Action Plan will include ways that Worcester will work across all these fronts, with street redesign being a critical part of the approach.
Components of Safe Streets
Initial solutions can be quick-build investment to act now, followed by future, bigger investment
While in the long run the City may want to complete full redesigns and reconstructions of some streets (expanding sidewalks and moving the curb), it is critical that Worcester acts now and maximizes funds. To that end, many of the initial projects may be “quick-build” or “demonstration” projects that can be accomplished using paint on existing asphalt, with smaller budgets and in more locations.
In June 2024, the City completed a Demonstration Project at the Vernon Hill School. Some changes were implemented using paint, which is still on the roadway today, while other elements were implemented using cones and hay bales that were only present on the day of the demonstration. This is an example of a “demonstration” project used to affect immediate change on a low budget.
Before and during comparison of the Vernon Hill School Vision Zero Demonstration Event changes which added colorful crosswalks, an artistic intersection design, temporary curb extensions, and a temporary bike lane.
In 2023, the City of Worcester completed an Interim Complete Streets project on Mill Street . This project included revisions to lane markings implemented as part of a pavement preservation project to improve safety and expand accommodations for nonmotorized modes on an interim basis, while comprehensive improvements are designed and implemented. The future Transformative Enhancements will entail full roadway reconstruction that includes improved sidewalks, crosswalks located at regular intervals, enhanced streetscapes and landscapes, streetlighting, on-street parking areas, and installation of permanent separated bicycle facilities.
Before and after comparison of the Mill Street Interim Complete Streets project which included a road diet to reduce the number of travel lanes from four to two and incorporate protected bike lanes.
Remaining steps of the Safety Action Plan
The DRAFT Vision Zero Safety Action Plan will be released for public comment in Fall 2024. This plan will cover the analysis, best practices, engagement, and recommendations for street redesigns and other Vision Zero city policies.
Completion of the Plan will make Worcester eligible for additional Federal funds to implement Vision Zero projects.
Come back for future updates
Worcester is committed to following through on next steps. Check this site in the future to see where we have made investments.
City of Worcester Department of Transportation & Mobility Contact Information
76 East Worcester Street Worcester, MA 01604
Phone: 508-929-1300 ext. 49500 Fax: 508-453-2888 Email Us
Office Hours: Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
