HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) – A new three-story mural guided by data, and driven by local voices to work towards the Community Voices for Road Safety Program, was unveiled in Holyoke today.
“We know the dangers, yet too often we are all guilty of pulling out our phones to check a text or watch a reel on TikTok, while driving,” said Elizabeth Hemenway, Senior VP of operations for Travelers Marketing.
The mural, located on the side of a barbershop at St. Jermaine Avenue and Dwight Street, was created through a partnership between MassDOT, Travelers Marketing, Common Wealth Murals, the city of Holyoke, and hundreds of community members. It aims to remind drivers of the risks associated with using mobile devices while driving, a problem that has led to numerous accidents and fatalities.
“In Massachusetts, over the last 9 months, an average of 1300 tickets have been issued for distracted driving. While those numbers seem large, so many more continue to operate distracted,” said Jay DiLisio, assistant registrar of service center operations at the RMV.
The mural includes a poignant bilingual life-saving reminder of the consequences of distracted driving, featuring a story about a puppy named Lucky, who was hit by a car two days ago near the new mural. Chaneyra Rivera, a Holyoke resident who lost her puppy in the incident, shared, “My 16-year-old son was taking him for a walk, and Lucky unfortunately ran to the street. The driver was speeding so fast, she didn’t even notice she ran over something.”
Mayor Joshua A. Garcia of Holyoke emphasized the community-driven nature of the project, stating, “This was a community-driven effort to understand what kind of campaign is going to fit best for the city of Holyoke.”
Officials hope that the mural will serve as a constant reminder for drivers to stay focused on the road, potentially reducing the number of distracted driving incidents in Holyoke. “It reminds us that every person deserves to make it home to someone who loves them and who they loved,” a community member reflected.
The campaign is similar to a previous initiative in Brockton that successfully increased seatbelt usage by 30 percent, demonstrating the effectiveness of community-focused safety campaigns.
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All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WWLP. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WWLP staff before being published.
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