After two serious pedestrian accidents, Quincy residents blame speeding, poor lighting

Peter Blandino, The Patriot Ledger
·4 min read

QUINCY − Two recent pedestrian crashes on the stretch of Southern Artery between Washington Street and Quincy Avenue left an 85-year-old man dead and another man in critical condition.

Even before the accidents, local residents had raised safety concerns with city officials for years, concerns which have now taken on added urgency.

It's not difficult to understand why the area can be prone to accidents. With dense multifamily housing at Faxon Commons and Presidential Estates, three buildings of senior housing at 1000 Southern Artery and Clifford Marshall Elementary School all clustered along one of the city's major north-south roads, the area combines heavy pedestrian and vehicular traffic.

Southern Artery in Quincy looking north from Quincy Avenue near Presidential Estates. There have been two serious pedestrian accidents on the road, one of which was fatal.
Southern Artery in Quincy looking north from Quincy Avenue near Presidential Estates. There have been two serious pedestrian accidents on the road, one of which was fatal.

City councilor and residents blame high speeds, poor lighting

Ward 2 City Councilor Richard Ash, who represents the area, told The Patriot Ledger that residents have been voicing concerns about lighting and speed limit enforcement for a couple of years.

"There aren't a lot of lights over there at all," Ash said.

Ash said the area has historically suffered from a lack of speed limit enforcement, though that has changed since the latest accident.

"I will say, over the last few weeks, there's been more of a police presence over there. ... It's not that work hasn't been done, but (accidents) seem to keep occurring. We have to figure out what's going take care of those issues."

A pedestrian struck in a hit-and-run on a Southern Artery crosswalk in Quincy is in serious condition, police say.
A pedestrian struck in a hit-and-run on a Southern Artery crosswalk in Quincy is in serious condition, police say.

Marge Roberts, a resident of 1000 Southern Artery and president of the tenants association, said she agrees with Ash's assessment.

"The cars are speeding," she said. "At night, it's too dark. They have to do something with the street lights. ... They don't radiate down on the street. When someone starts crossing, even if they use that caution sign, you can't really see them."

Roberts said nicer weather will draw more people outside, bringing the potential for more accidents.

"The summer's going to be awful," she said. "You'll have kids around, kids on bikes. People walk around here. They all have walkers. These are serious conditions."

Police have been monitoring speeds with radar guns and issuing tickets in recent weeks, Roberts said. Still, she said people frequenting the area have to cope with high levels of risk.

"You step off the curb and you take your life in your hands," she said. "It's really sad. ... Something definitely needs to be done."

Traffic safety: Quincy's 5 most dangerous intersections. How the city plans to improve them

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State crash data and the city's plans to address safety concerns

Although the sites of the two accidents − near 1000 Southern Artery and 1020 Southern Artery − are not among the top 5% of Massachusetts' most dangerous intersections, they have had a combined 36 crashes over the past three years.

At the intersection near 1000 Southern Artery, 25 crashes occurred between 2021 and the end of February 2024, including seven injuries and one death, according to data provided by Quincy Traffic Engineer Allison Ruel.

Not far down the road, where Southern Artery meets Presidential Estates Driveway, 11 crashes have been reported over the same time period, resulting in four injuries, two of which are described as minor.

Ruel emailed The Patriot Ledger a memorandum sent to residents of 1000 Southern Artery from the city's department of Traffic, Parking, Alarm and Lighting on Feb. 22, 2024, that outlines the city's past and ongoing efforts to improve area safety. They include the following:

  • Speed feedback signs to make drivers more aware of their speeds.

  • A new crossing at Presidential Estates added in the fall of 2023 with rapid flashing beacons. The man struck in the Feb. 28 hit-and-run was using this crosswalk at the time of the collision. Video shared by the Quincy Police Department shows the beacons flashing as an SUV hits the pedestrian.

  • A $190,000 state grant went toward improvements to the Southern Artery-South Street intersection. They included the reduction of pedestrian crossing distances, extended crossing times for slower-moving pedestrians in the senior zone and accessible pedestrian signal push buttons with auditory and tactile cues for the hearing- and sight-impaired.

  • This spring, the traffic department will review area conditions to identify what additional work would improve safety the most. The department is pursuing grant money to implement those findings.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Residents look to improve safety on Southern Artery after two crashes