Deadly crossing eyed for upgrade
Seaport intersection is site of crash that killed girl on sunday
The crash that killed a 4-year-old near the Boston Children’s Museum on sunday occurred in an area that Mayor Michelle’s Wu administration has targeted for a pedestrian safety upgrade, including a raised sidewalk at the intersection where the girl was hit, according to city records.
The girl, whose name has not been released, was struck by a 2015 Ford F150 pickup truck at the intersection of sleeper and Congress streets shortly after 5 p.m. The child was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to police.
The driver remained at the scene and has not been criminally charged or cited, police said Monday. An investigation into the crash is ongoing.
According to the city’s website and WalkMassachusetts, a group that advocates for pedestrian safety, the intersection of sleeper and Congress streets is slated to be rebuilt under a plan to improve the Congress street corridor by adding bike lanes, widening sidewalks, and building raised sidewalks to slow vehicle traffic at intersections.
A spokesperson for the Boston Transportation Department said the city expects to put the project out to bid this fall, with construction to start sometime next year. The department is trying to determine whether some improvements could be undertaken more quickly, a spokesperson said.
“BTD is assessing the area to determine what additional safety improvements can be made in the short term,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“We believe that one fatality is too many and are committed to building roadways that are safer for everyone, especially our most vulnerable,” department officials said.
Wu, at an unrelated public event Monday, called the child’s death “heartbreaking” and sent her “condolences to the family for an unimaginable, unimaginable, situation.”
“This is why it’s so important that we need to have streets that are safe, and i know Boston police are continuing to investigate exactly what happened with
the vehicle,” Wu said.the mayor said the Seaport District is “a very, very busy pedestrian area.”
“it’s one where i know there’s been lots of conversation, as the Seaport has developed, and as there’s been more and more car traffic to get to all the different locations there, and more and more employees, and visitors, and tourists,” she said. “this is an area where we need to be very, very clear about having pedestrians safe.”
Carole Charnow, president of the Children’s Museum, said the staff is “devastated by this tragedy and our hearts go out to the family of the little girl.”
Charnow said museum staff “know that there continue to be issues with this intersection of Congress Street and Sleeper Street that are related to speed and sight lines. While we know that there are plans in the works to permanently address this issue, we hope that something can be done right away to ensure pedestrian safety.”
Museum officials, she said, “are planning to attend a previously scheduled Fort Point neighborhood Association meeting [on tuesday] to learn more about the plans to immediately address our safety concerns.”
tom Ready, spokesman for the Fort Point neighborhood Association, said the city’s plans have “taken on a new sense of urgency with the tragic death of the toddler.”
“not only are we expecting an overall update on the project but we have also asked what will be done in the interim to fix any deficiencies with the intersection of Congress Street and Sleeper Street,” Ready said by email.
brendan kearney of Walk-Massachusetts said the fatal crash bore tragic similarities to the death last year of Sidney Mae Olson, a 5-year-old who was hit by a truck in Andover while crossing an intersection with her family. Her parents wrote of their loss and the need for improved pedestrian safety in the Globe last november.
“We can’t walk down our street without reliving the horror of that day, hearts racing every time a child crosses” the street near their Andover home, Mary beth Ellis and Eric Olson wrote. “it doesn’t have to be this way.”
According to a state database, three pedestrians have been fatally injured in boston this year. last year, seven pedestrians were killed on the city’s streets, the database shows.
in February, a pedestrian was killed near the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass boulevard. in January, a woman was struck and killed by a snowplow truck near boston Medical Center, officials said.
in July, a 4-year-old boy, ivan Pierre, was killed in Hyde Park by an alleged hit-and-run driver. the driver, Olguens Joseph, has pleaded not guilty to leaving the scene of crash.