Native
“Nobody ought to ever be fearful for his or her life in a crosswalk,” Eric Olson, father of Sidney Mae Olson, mentioned.
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The previous couple of weeks have been unimaginably onerous for 44-year-old Andover resident Eric Olson. On Might 9, his 5-year-old daughter Sidney was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer whereas crossing Elm Avenue in Andover.
“There’s a void in all the pieces we do. Whether or not it’s strolling my son to high school or going for a motorcycle journey, she’s lacking, and that’s actually, actually onerous,” he mentioned.
Olson mentioned he and his spouse, Mary Beth Ellis, have been getting by way of this time by channeling their vitality into doing good. Their first undertaking was making a scholarship fund that may assist households in want pay for tuition to the SHED Kids’s Campus in Andover — another “curiosity-based” college which Sidney attended for a number of years.
An expert Ironman athlete, Ellis can also be beginning a youngsters’s working program referred to as Sidney’s Rainbow Runners by way of the Merrimack Valley Striders working membership. The objective is to get youngsters occupied with endurance sports activities and in doing so enhance their resilience and confidence.
Essentially the most pressing effort the couple is spearheading is the push to make Andover intersections safer for pedestrians and bikers. This initiative will acquire steam Thursday when city officers current the findings of a security research on the Elm Sq. intersection, which is the place Sidney was killed.
“All of [what we’re doing] is about residing [Sidney’s] spirit and serving to that dwell on locally. And we see that being a lot greater work of offering entry to academic applications, sports activities applications, issues that basically unlock the potential of individuals. However that begins with having a protected group,” Olson mentioned.
Why the Elm Sq. intersection is unsafe
Olson mentioned the Andover group has been involved about pedestrian security on Elm Avenue and on the Elm Sq. intersection for a very long time.
In April 2022, a 78-year-old lady was killed when she was struck by a automobile on the intersection of Elm and Whittier Streets, which is just some blocks down from the place Sidney was killed.
Olson described the intersection at Elm Sq. as being a “basic New England intersection” the place 5 roads come collectively. The primary intersection is between Elm and Foremost Streets, however Essex Avenue, Excessive Avenue, and Submit Workplace Avenue all join with the intersection as properly.
There are just a few causes this intersection might be harmful for pedestrians, Olson mentioned.
Firstly, Olson mentioned, although the city’s inhabitants dropped barely between 2020 and 2022, the city’s inhabitants elevated drastically over the previous couple of a long time, resulting in extra automobiles on the highway. In line with U.S. Census knowledge, the city’s inhabitants elevated by almost 10% between 2010 and 2020.
Andover’s downtown has blossomed in the previous couple of a long time with extra eating places and retailers, Olson mentioned, making it a spot folks wish to each drive and stroll round. The St. Augustine Faculty, which serves youngsters in preschool by way of Grade 8, in addition to Doherty Center Faculty, are additionally simply blocks away.
“You’ve a whole lot of younger folks, households, but additionally younger folks on their very own…traversing these intersections by themselves,” Olson mentioned.
Olson additionally claims the streets are slim, and there’s restricted visibility into the intersection earlier than a driver stops. Regardless of this, group members say motorists typically drive sooner than the 25 mph pace restrict.
The intersection additionally consists of slip lanes, which permit automobiles making a proper flip to undergo the intersection with out stopping. This implies automobiles don’t must decelerate as a lot as they undergo the intersection.
“The best way we use roads has advanced a lot sooner than pedestrian security,” Olson mentioned.
Efforts to make the Elm Sq. intersection safer
On Might 1, Andover residents accepted funding for a site visitors research on the Elm Sq. intersection on the Annual City Assembly — just a bit over every week earlier than Sidney was killed.
Usually, funding accepted on the city assembly wouldn’t be obtainable till July 1, however in response to Sidney’s demise, City Supervisor Andrew Flanagan approved the site visitors research to start instantly, the city introduced on Might 24.
The city has additionally acted to enhance pedestrian security in just a few different methods lately. On the 2022 Annual City Assembly, Andover residents accepted a town-wide pace restrict of 25 mph in thickly-settled areas.
Moreover, the city’s police division has elevated efforts to alert drivers of the pace restrict change, the announcement mentioned. The city’s FY 2024 price range consists of funding for 2 officers to be added to the division to reestablish its site visitors division and enhance enforcement of site visitors legal guidelines.
“Our dedication to pedestrian security has by no means been higher, and it has solely been strengthened within the current weeks,” City Supervisor Andrew Flanagan mentioned within the Might twenty fourth announcement.
After Sidney’s demise, the Massachusetts Division of Transportation (MassDOT) started a Street Security Audit of the Elm Sq. intersection.
Beneath the phrases of a 1982 settlement between Andover and the state, any adjustments to site visitors indicators at that intersection require state approval, the announcement mentioned. The concurrent audit might expedite any sign adjustments the city decides it desires to make to the intersection.
“We wish to see some urgency, however we recognize and perceive that [government officials have] leaned in, and it is a precedence for them as properly,” Olson mentioned.
The site visitors research and group discussion board
In line with the announcement, the brand new research assessed site visitors operations, intersection geometry, crash knowledge, pedestrian and vehicular motion, and public feedback concerning the Elm Sq. intersection.
It’s anticipated to incorporate an inventory of advisable infrastructure initiatives to enhance pedestrian and biker security on the intersection.
Andover officers from the Police, Amenities, and Public Works departments, in addition to from the City Supervisor’s workplace, will attend Thursday’s discussion board, which can happen from 7 to 9 p.m. in Doherty Center Faculty’s auditorium. Officers from MassDOT and representatives from TEC, the agency which carried out the site visitors research, may also be in attendance.
The announcement mentioned the discussion board may also embody an replace from Andover Police Chief Patrick Keefe on the continuing investigation into Sidney’s demise, which is being led by the Essex County District Legal professional’s workplace.
In line with the announcement, Keefe beforehand mentioned authorities’ preliminary investigation indicated that, on the time of the crash, intersection indicators had been working correctly, the truck’s pace was not an element, and that the truck didn’t malfunction.
What native activists need from city officers
The discussion board might be a chance for “Sidney’s Rainbows,” a gaggle of Andover group members involved about pedestrian and bike security, to have their voices heard. Olson mentioned the group desires three issues from city officers.
Firstly, he mentioned, the group desires officers to make zero site visitors fatalities and critical accidents the objective and commonplace for the city.
Secondly, the group desires officers to conduct a pedestrian and bicyclist highway security audit for all the city.
And thirdly, Olson mentioned, the group desires the city to institute an inventory of adjustments that may make intersections safer instantly.
These adjustments embody:
- Shifting automobile cease strains farther again from crosswalks
- Eliminating turns by way of intersections when pedestrians have a stroll signal
- Constant police presence at busy intersections throughout peak site visitors instances
- Elevated enforcement of site visitors legal guidelines
- Elevated efforts to make drivers conscious of pace limits by way of using indicators, moveable pace bumps, and radar pace indicators
“Nobody ought to ever be fearful for his or her life in a crosswalk,” Olson mentioned.
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