Dad and mom of 5-year-old Andover woman killed by truck push for safer intersections

The previous few weeks have been unimaginably laborious 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 Road in Andover.

“There’s a void in every part we do. Whether or not it’s strolling my son to highschool or going for a motorbike experience, she’s lacking, and that’s actually, actually laborious,” he stated.

Olson stated he and his spouse, Mary Beth Ellis, have been getting by way of this time by channeling their power into doing good. Their first challenge was making a scholarship fund that may assist households in want pay for tuition to the SHED Youngsters’s Campus in Andover — an alternate “curiosity-based” faculty which Sidney attended for a number of years.

Knowledgeable Ironman athlete, Ellis can be beginning a youngsters’s operating program referred to as Sidney’s Rainbow Runners by way of the Merrimack Valley Striders operating membership. The objective is to get youngsters fascinated 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 achieve 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 stay on in the neighborhood. And we see that being a lot larger work of offering entry to academic packages, sports activities packages, issues that actually unlock the potential of individuals. However that begins with having a secure neighborhood,” Olson stated.

Why the Elm Sq. intersection is unsafe

Olson stated the Andover neighborhood has been involved about pedestrian security on Elm Road and on the Elm Sq. intersection for a very long time.

In April 2022, a 78-year-old girl was killed when she was struck by a automobile on the intersection of Elm and Whittier Streets, which is only a few 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 Essential Streets, however Essex Road, Excessive Road, and Submit Workplace Avenue all join with the intersection as nicely.

There are a number of causes this intersection may be harmful for pedestrians, Olson stated.

Firstly, Olson stated, although the city’s inhabitants dropped barely between 2020 and 2022, the city’s inhabitants elevated drastically over the previous few a long time, resulting in extra vehicles on the street. Based on U.S. Census knowledge, the city’s inhabitants elevated by practically 10% between 2010 and 2020.

Andover’s downtown has blossomed in the previous few a long time with extra eating places and outlets, Olson stated, making it a spot individuals need to each drive and stroll round. The St. Augustine College, which serves youngsters in preschool by way of Grade 8, in addition to Doherty Center College, are additionally simply blocks away.

“You’ve got a variety of younger individuals, households, but in addition younger individuals on their very own…traversing these intersections by themselves,” Olson stated.

Olson additionally claims the streets are slender, and there’s restricted visibility into the intersection earlier than a driver stops. Regardless of this, neighborhood members say motorists usually drive sooner than the 25 mph velocity restrict.

The intersection additionally consists of slip lanes, which permit vehicles making a proper flip to undergo the intersection with out stopping. This implies vehicles don’t must decelerate as a lot as they undergo the intersection.

“The way in which we use roads has developed a lot sooner than pedestrian security,” Olson stated.

Efforts to make the Elm Sq. intersection safer

On Might 1, Andover residents authorised funding for a site visitors research on the Elm Sq. intersection on the Annual City Assembly — just a bit over per week earlier than Sidney was killed.

Usually, funding authorised on the city assembly wouldn’t be accessible 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 a number of different methods lately. On the 2022 Annual City Assembly, Andover residents authorised a town-wide velocity restrict of 25 mph in thickly-settled areas.

Moreover, the city’s police division has elevated efforts to alert drivers of the velocity restrict change, the announcement stated. The city’s FY 2024 funds 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 latest weeks,” City Supervisor Andrew Flanagan stated 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 modifications to site visitors alerts at that intersection require state approval, the announcement stated. The concurrent audit might expedite any sign modifications the city decides it needs to make to the intersection.

“We need to see some urgency, however we admire and perceive that [government officials have] leaned in, and it is a precedence for them as nicely,” Olson stated.

The site visitors research and neighborhood discussion board

Based on the announcement, the brand new research assessed site visitors operations, intersection geometry, crash knowledge, pedestrian and vehicular motion, and public feedback in regards to the Elm Sq. intersection.

It’s anticipated to incorporate a listing of beneficial 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 is able to happen from 7 to 9 p.m. in Doherty Center College’s auditorium. Officers from MassDOT and representatives from TEC, the agency which performed the site visitors research, can even be in attendance.

The announcement stated the discussion board can even embrace 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.

Based on the announcement, Keefe beforehand stated authorities’ preliminary investigation indicated that, on the time of the crash, intersection alerts had been working correctly, the truck’s velocity was not an element, and that the truck didn’t malfunction.

What native activists need from city officers

The discussion board can be a possibility for “Sidney’s Rainbows,” a bunch of Andover neighborhood members involved about pedestrian and bike security, to have their voices heard. Olson stated the group needs three issues from city officers.

Firstly, he stated, the group needs officers to make zero site visitors fatalities and severe accidents the objective and normal for the city.

Secondly, the group needs officers to conduct a pedestrian and bicyclist street security audit for your entire city.

And thirdly, Olson stated, the group needs the city to institute a listing of modifications that might make intersections safer instantly.

These modifications embrace:

• Transferring 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 velocity limits by way of using indicators, moveable velocity bumps, and radar velocity indicators

“Nobody ought to ever be fearful for his or her life in a crosswalk,” Olson stated.