Local News

4-year-old Gracie Gancheva was fatally struck at the intersection of Sleeper and Congress streets near the Boston Children’s Museum.

Boston officials met with Seaport District neighbors Saturday morning after a 4-year-old was fatally struck by a pickup truck last week at a problematic intersection near the Boston Children’s Museum.

Gracie Gancheva was killed on Mar. 24 at the intersection of Congress and Sleeper in Fort Point. Officials said she was with her family at the time, and the driver remained on the scene.

Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn spoke with Fort Point neighbors Saturday morning to remember Gracie. He joined the city’s Chief of Streets Jascha Franklin-Hodge to discuss ongoing safety improvements to the intersection. 

“I can’t accept the idea that four-year-olds can be killed on our streets,” Franklin-Hodge said, according to NBC Boston.

The City of Boston is currently redesigning Congress Street – which will include a raised crosswalk over Sleeper Street where the girl died. There will also be raised crosswalks over Farnsworth and Stillings streets. 

The new Congress Street will also have wider sidewalks, separated bike lanes, and designated places for short-term parking.

At the meeting Saturday morning, Flynn promised more changes to Sleeper Street. A parking spot on Congress has already been removed for increased visibility and replaced with flex poles to ensure drivers round the corner safely, The Boston Globe reported. 

Flynn said staff from the nearby Boston Children’s Museum joined the conversation. Last week, the museum called for safety upgrades to the dangerous intersection, which museum President and CEO Carole Charnow said in a statement has historically had issues “related to speed and sight lines.”

“Boston Children’s Museum is devastated by this tragedy and our hearts go out to the family of the little girl,” Charnow’s statement last week said.

Neighbors set up a memorial for Gracie at the intersection with flowers and stuffed animals.