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Research bureau tells Worcester council: parking revenue up, crash risk concentrated near transit and redlined neighborhoods
Summary
The Worcester Regional Research Bureau presented three reports showing increased public garage usage since 2021, growth in Passport app revenues, and an analysis of vulnerable-road-user crashes that found higher severe-crash risk near WRTA stops and in historically redlined neighborhoods.
Paul Matthews, executive director and CEO of the Worcester Regional Research Bureau, briefed the committee on three reports the bureau released this year: Feeding the Meter (public parking usage), Public Parking: Worcester’s past, present and future, and Towards Safer Streets (risk factors for vulnerable road users).
Matthews said Passport app data and garage counts show increased public garage usage since 2021, with Major Taylor garage among the busiest. The bureau mapped public garage and lot use (about 3,313 public garage spaces analyzed) and noted growth in app revenue and longer stays, particularly during baseball season and downtown events.
On street-safety analysis, the bureau examined crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists from 2012–2019 and identified disproportionate impacts: blocks in historically redlined districts were four times more likely to have a severe crash; areas with high environmental-justice rankings were seven times more likely. The report also found that 71% of severe or fatal crashes occurred within 300 feet of a WRTA bus stop.
"We found that greater lane counts and lane width are associated with higher severe crash rates; medians and shoulders reduce risk," Matthews said. He emphasized disproportionate effects on seniors and children and estimated fiscal costs associated with crashes (medical, lost productivity, liabilities).
Councilors asked about downtown parking revenue and options such as making McGrath Lot free or validating library users; Matthews and DTM staff said they are studying revenue impacts and noted that parking revenues fund garage operations and related services, while enforcement revenue goes to the general fund.
Commissioner Raleigh and councilors praised the bureau’s work and noted alignment with the city's Vision Zero planning. The committee filed the three communications and requested DTM continue coordination with the bureau and WRTA on stop spacing and pedestrian-safety priorities.
