LOWELL — It’s been a painful and sobering start to the new year for the administration, students and families of UMass Lowell who have processed several incidents in which cars have hit pedestrians, some fatally.
In early February, a pedestrian was airlifted with serious injuries after being struck by a Lowell Police cruiser while crossing Wilder Street on UMass Lowell’s South Campus. Retired Gloucester Fire Department lieutenant, 60-year-old Daniel Kennedy, a Billerica resident, died from his injuries last Wednesday.
One week after Kennedy’s accident, another car-on-pedestrian crash was reported. The latest incident occurred at Aiken and Perkins streets on UML’s East Campus. According to previous reporting, two pedestrians were struck. One suffered minor injuries and was not hospitalized, while the other was transported to Lowell General Hospital with injuries described as not life‑threatening.
Both incidents remain under investigation.
Shortly after Kennedy’s death was announced by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office in a press release, UML Chancellor Julie Chen also released a statement.
“Nothing is more important to our university than the safety and well-being of UMass Lowell students, staff and faculty,” Chen said in a Friday statement. “Events of the past two weeks, including the tragic death of a student from injuries sustained when he was hit by a car, remind us of the critical importance of monitoring conditions on our urban campus and making improvements.”
Chen said UMass Lowell campus police, facilities and student affairs teams regularly assess traffic patterns, lighting, signs and pedestrian markings in areas where students, staff and faculty travel. She said the university works closely with the Lowell police and the city of Lowell to address conditions on roadways that fall outside university jurisdiction.
In light of the recent tragic events, Chen said her administration is reviewing pedestrian safety measures and will be initiating a Campus Pedestrian Safety Task Force.
“I have asked UMass Lowell Police Chief Ron Dickerson to lead this effort,” Chen said. “The task force will work closely with both the university police and the city’s police department to assess current conditions and implement additional pedestrian safety measures, including improvements at key crossings in coordination with our city partners.”
The city and the university have tried to collaborate before, particularly on the intersection of Pawtucket-Wilder streets where the latest accident occurred.
In 2023, following a UMass student pedestrian who had been struck by a vehicle at that intersection, UML hired TEC Engineering Corp. to improve the safety of the intersection.
Pawtucket Street and Perkins Street intersect Aiken Street to form a four-legged intersection. The roadways fall under the jurisdiction of the city of Lowell. The intersection was identified as a high-crash location based on a Massachusetts Department of Transportation 2017-2019 crash cluster analysis.
Although the designation was removed during the 2018-2020 analysis period, the report said “TEC expects that the intersection will again be identified as a high-crash cluster following the frequency of pedestrian crashes that involved injury.”
A temporary four-way stop caused significant traffic disruptions based on the steady and consistent flow of pedestrian students crossing Aiken Street.
“At one point, the constant flow of pedestrians crossing stopped vehicle traffic for over three minutes with no vehicle movement through the intersection,” the TEC report said, and the all-way stop was removed.
The report prepared by TEC indicated that a full traffic signal was warranted at the intersection. Other alternatives suggested a raised intersection, curb bump outs, or raised crosswalks to increase awareness of pedestrians and slow vehicle traffic. TEC also said prominent flashing beacons that require pedestrian activation could be considered.
The flashing beacons that were suggested nearly three years ago got another look from City Councilor Sidney Liang, whose motion requested that City Manager Tom Golden work collaboratively with UML to explore pedestrian safety improvement crosswalks by installing rectangular rapid flashing beacons at the intersection of Pawtucket-Walker and Pawtucket-Wilder streets by the start of the summer.
The motion response will be heard at the council’s Tuesday night meeting at City Hall.
The City Council meets in the second-floor chambers of City Hall, 375 Merrimack St. on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. To speak at a meeting, contact City Clerk Michael Geary before 4 p.m. the day of the meeting at 978-674-4161 or [email protected].
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