Boston city councilors once again brought forward issues of pedestrian safety Thursday after 5-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,” said Councilor Enrique Pepen, who represents Hyde Park. “And we all know that while the investigation is still ongoing, trying to get to the specifics of what happened, we all know that it involved a vehicle, a school bus, and a child.”
Lens Arthur Joseph, a kindergartner at UP Academy in Dorchester, was hit by a school bus around 2:45 p.m. near 107 Washington St. in Hyde Park. The boy was taken to Boston Children’s Hospital, where he died.
An investigation into the accident is ongoing, and Boston Police and the Suffolk DA’s office said they have no new updates on the case 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, crossing guards, anything to slow down drivers.”
“There really isn’t one answer to all this,” said 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, Development, 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 9 on the topic.
Lens Arthur Joseph’s family set up a GoFundMe campaign following “overwhelming outreach and desired support from the community near and far” to “help through this tragedy.”
On the campaign site, the young boy’s uncle Ricardo Joseph wrote that at only 5 years old Lens had “so many big dreams for himself and an imagination beyond his years.”
“At only 3 years old Lens could say with confidence ‘I want to be a pilot,'” Joseph wrote. “By 5 years old the vision had changed and he told anyone that would listen ‘I want to be a cop.’ Lens’ smile lit up every room he was in, and his energy 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.”
BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper said 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 resources for the community.
“In this very difficult time, we are grateful for the outpouring of care and compassion from across our school community and the city,” Skipper said.