Boston councilors urge city to make streets safer after boy killed

Boston city councilors once again brought forward issues of pedestrian safety Thursday after -year-old Lens Arthur Joseph was fatally hit by a school bus in Hyde Park on Monday In the hearts of a lot of the residents in my district the conversation of transportation safety and pedestrian safety has been very heavily on their minds since the tragic death of Lens explained Councilor Enrique Pepen who represents Hyde Park And we all know that while the study is still ongoing trying to get to the specifics of what happened we all know that it involved a automobile a school bus and a child Lens Arthur Joseph a kindergartner at UP Academy in Dorchester was hit by a school bus around p m near Washington St in Hyde Park The boy was taken to Boston Children s Hospital where he died An probe into the accident is ongoing and Boston Police and the Suffolk DA s office reported they have no new updates on the matter or charges on Thursday Councilors Pepen and Benjamin Weber sponsored a hearing order Thursday to address how to make streets safer Pepen raised several topics including adding more cross crosswalks stop signs speed homes passing guards anything to slow down drivers There really isn t one answer to all this reported Pepen We have to look at this on a holistic lens So I m heavily urging the administration to take this seriously and to act quicker than just a hearing Councilor Sharon Durkan chair of the Planning Maturation and Transportation committee noted the issue of speed humps and pedestrian safety has been raised on the floor four times and suggested combining the hearing with one scheduled June on the topic Lens Arthur Joseph s family set up a GoFundMe campaign following overwhelming outreach and desired backing from the region near and far to help through this tragedy On the campaign site the young boy s uncle Ricardo Joseph wrote that at only years old Lens had so a great number of big dreams for himself and an imagination beyond his years At only years old Lens could say with confidence I want to be a pilot ' Joseph wrote By years old the vision had changed and he reported anyone that would listen I want to be a cop Lens smile lit up every room he was in and his power was unmatched Lens was so funny and witty that he would make all of us laugh out loud with a joke or comment and then look at him wondering how did he come up with it The kindergartener loved running outside playing with his siblings and cousins watching planes fly and seeing fast cars Lens was a beautiful curious and intelligent boy taken from us too soon Joseph wrote As we grieve and face this heartbreaking new reality we would like to extend our appreciation for the generosity and compassion shown to our family from all those also affected by the tragic loss of our loving Lens Related Articles Two Massachusetts high school seniors killed in Florida car crash Unimaginable time Randolph Police sergeant killed off-duty in Abington commuter rail accident BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper explained Wednesday that she has been in direct contact with Lens family and noted that the district is coordinating with UP Academy Dorchester to coordinate counseling services and other guidance for the area In this very intricate time we are grateful for the outpouring of care and compassion from across our school society and the city Skipper reported