Data shows fewer Kelley Square crashes since peanut redesign
Courtesy | Massachusetts Department of Transportation
A rendering of the renovated Kelley Square
The reconstruction of Worcester’s notorious intersection may be leading to fewer car accidents, according to crash data from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
This year, there have been seven crashes in a 270-foot radius from the center of Kelley Square’s peanut-shaped roundabout. That’s a sharp drop from the 18 crashes occurring in the same area during the first six months of 2019, before the construction.
In 2016, Kelley Square was ranked by MassDOT as the eighth most crash-prone area in the state, with 148 total crashes from 2014 to 2016.
Construction to redesign the complex intersection, which cost $14.7 million, began in October 2019 and was mostly wrapped up by early 2021.
In tandem with ongoing construction of the Polar Park baseball stadium and its surrounding properties, the Kelley Square project included increased bike lanes and shortened crosswalks, along with the two-lane roundabout.
September is the worst month for crashes in Kelley Square, according to a 2017 audit.
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