SPRINGFIELD — Facing a rise in post-pandemic traffic crashes across the region, the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission recently unveiled a new safety blueprint aimed at reducing vehicle-related crashes and fatalities and serious injuries through infrastructure upgrades, data analysis and a public crash-reporting tool.
According to the PVPC, the goals of the Pioneer Valley Safe Streets program include conducting “comprehensive crash analyses,” performing “systematic assessments of transportation infrastructure,” developing “evidence-based recommendations that prioritize safety for pedestrians, cyclists, transit users, and motorists,” and creating an “actionable roadmap for implementing safety improvements.”
“The whole strategy of Safe Streets for all is to reduce crashes, vehicle fatalities, and serious injuries on roadways,” said Carl E. Jackson, principal transit planner at the PVPC, in an interview with the Gazette.
“This basically puts us up to par and meets all the federal requirements, so that jurisdictions within the Pioneer Valley can then apply for specific money for physical construction projects,” said Jackson. “Whether it’s redesigning a roadway, fixing an intersection, bike paths, bike lanes, you name it.”
In addition to infrastructure upgrades, the program also includes a digital mapping tool which allows users to pinpoint the exact areas where they feel unsafe on the road, or where they’ve witnessed a car crash or near-miss. The PVPC will then assess those areas for potential safety improvements.
The program’s overarching goal is to drastically reduce the number of injuries and fatalities on roads and highways in the region. “We’ve just approved what’s called a Vision Zero statement, and this is a statement which says that we’re committed to the goal of achieving zero roadway fatalities and serious injuries by 2050,” said Jackson.
Pioneer Valley Safe Streets will be funded by the federal “Safe Streets and Roads for All” grant provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation under the infrastructure bill passed by the Biden administration in 2021. The PVPC received a $1 million federal Planning and Demonstration grant in 2023, and MassDOT provided an additional $250,000 in funding.
The grant applies to 43 jurisdictions within Hampshire and Hampden County, though the communities of Springfield, Ware, Westfield, Holyoke, Chicopee are developing their own safety action plans with separate federal grants.
The Pioneer Valley Safe Streets program is still in an early phase, with a focus on analyzing existing roadway conditions and planning infrastructure improvements, but physical construction is not far off.
“As part of this grant, we’re doing a demonstration project to upgrade some of the existing (traffic) signals that are within Springfield,” said Jackson. That demonstration project is set to begin later this fall.
“We’re going to do everything we can, first from a planning perspective, and then later, from an engineering perspective, to make sure that we design roadways to reduce the chances of serious injuries and fatalities,” he said.
Reducing the number of roadway-related injuries and fatalities is a pressing goal for regions across the country, and the Pioneer Valley is no exception; according to MassDOT’s Crash Data Portal, there were over 2,000 car crashes in Hampshire County in 2025.
“Post-pandemic, people returning back to driving to work, we’ve actually seen a slight increase in crashes in the region, and people are concerned about what we’re going to do about it,” said Jackson. “Now we have an opportunity to really start addressing it by developing this plan and coming up with some good projects that can help us out.”