LOWELL, MASS. (WHDH) - The sound of crashing cars haunts Jenny and Artie Barbato.
“We hear big bangs and crashes all the time, and we are constantly running to the window to see if our car is okay,” Jenny Barbato said. “It’s every night we’ll go through that. We live in fear basically.”
The couple has lived on East Merrimack Street in Lowell for over two decades. They park their cars on the street, and over time, they’ve had two vehicles totaled and multiple rear-view mirrors damaged.
“My first total car was hit and it spun right around the sidewalk and into our metal fence, so that is a lot of speed,” Jenny Barbato said.
The couple said cars race down their street and other neighbors have also had their vehicles smashed by speeding cars.
“Three next door, two next door from that,” Jenny Barbato shared.
And it is not just cars taking the hits. Drivers have even slammed into the school across the street, sending a car right through the window during the school day.
“There are always kids there during the daytime and the car went right through the window of the school,” Artie Barbato recalled.
Fortunately, no one was hurt, but neighbors remain concerned about what the cars will strike next. Multiple small businesses, a hospital, a school, a church and houses are all in the area right outside of downtown Lowell.
“It is absurd that they haven’t done anything. There’s been so many accidents; they know about it, they owe it to us. They owe it to us. We have the right to the safety of living here,” Jenny Barbato said.
Residents who live off East Merrimack Street believe the intersection just before their homes is part of the problem. There is only one stop sign at the intersection of East Merrimack and High Street.
A study conducted in 2017 called the intersection “confusing” and cited that it is difficult for pedestrians to cross and a cross guard felt it was “unsafe.” The study recommended the city install four stop signs for a short-term fix. In the long term, a traffic signal and sidewalk replacements were recommended.
Nearly a decade later, those changes have not been made and accidents continue to occur.
More than 120 incidents have occurred since 2016, according to Lowell police records obtained by 7 Investigates. These incidents have included more than a dozen hit-and-runs and several sideswipes throughout all hours of the day.
Police reports reveal the accidents have also involved pedestrians and school buses.
Artie and Jenny Barbato said they can’t help but feel ignored.
“They just brush you aside,” Jenny Barbato said. “This is a problem and they’ve known about it.”
Lowell City Councilor Corey Belanger regularly drives in the area said he knows the challenges of the intersection.
“I feel for these residents. We are going to try to find them a solution,” Belanger said.
He explained that one reason for the delays in installing traffic lights is an upcoming project to upgrade gas lines, work that would dig up the street.
“They would ruin our infrastructure that we install and it is just too costly to do that at this time,” Belanger said. “As soon as that is done, there is a good chance we are going to put in lights at this intersection.”
However, this project could take years, so city leaders continue to weigh options.
Belanger said one option could be to work with residents to find parking off the street so they could at least decrease the damage to their cars.
City Manager Tom Golden told 7 Investigates the city plans to be making some changes next year but leaders are still figuring out what specifically they can do.
Although the area is considered a high-risk road, other streets in Lowell have higher priority because they’ve had more reported injuries, according to the Greater Lowell Vision Zero Action Plan.
Golden said that despite this, this intersection is on the city’s radar.
Without actual changes, neighbors remain concerned that the risk remains.
“We actually said to them, ‘Are you waiting for someone to die?’” Jenny Barbato said.
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