For any outside the area, please note that Springfield, MA is a very dangerous city—one of the worst slums in the country.
Not sure why you would post that. It’s no more dangerous than Hartford or New Haven. Certainly not much worse than Worcester.
Springfield is a crossroads of North/South from Canada to NYC; East /West highways Ross at Springfield as well. If something is “trafficked” in the Northeast, it comes and goes through Springfield.
This has been true since people started walking in North America.