Local residents react to pedestrian improvement on Allen Street in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Springfield is making infrastructure improvements in the Sixteen Acres neighborhood, installing a new pedestrian crossing on Allen Street.

People living along Allen Street and Allen Park Road are thrilled to have these improvements underway.

The Shared Streets grant project will add a new pedestrian crossing across Allen Street, connecting two bus stops on opposite sides of the street with a raised crosswalk and flashing pedestrian beacon.

Springfield DPW Director Chris Cignoli told 22News, “The Shared Streets, the idea is that all of the users of the road need to be taken care of in their own way.”

The project will also build out the bus stop on the north side of Allen Street. Cignoli added, “Number one… the bus stop on the other side of the street is just sitting there in the grass and dirt and there isn’t a cross walk to get to it.”

“It’s a good thing. Glad they are doing it. Big improvement from what it was. There’s a lot of traffic that comes back and forth, and makes it accessible for those of us who take the bus,” said Edwin DeBarry, a resident of Allen Park Road.

Edwin told 22News that his home has been hit three times by cars over the 10 years he has lived there, so he hopes the improvements will slow down cars a little bit.

This is all part of a city-wide initiative to improve pedestrian safety through the shared streets and spaces program. This project costs about $55,000 total, just about one-third of the grant money awarded for this and two similar projects on Bay Street near Central High School and near the intersection of Dickinson and Fountain Streets.

“Really, what we are doing is making better connections. We have a bus stop and we have a big residential area with a lot of residents. You know they are walking there every day, so you got to provide them something,” said Cignoli.