Southwest Edmonton community calls for intersection changes after pedestrian killed

There are growing calls for safety improvementsat asouthwest intersection aftera pedestrian was killed crossing the street on Tuesday.

"I've had quite a lot of feedback from residents, particularly on our Facebook page, saying that is a very bad intersection,"saidBlackmudCreek Community League president Rob Powell, who notedcalls for changes have "been constant" since the incident.

The 29-year-old woman was hit by a pickup truck while crossing James Mowatt Trail where it intersects with Desrochers Gate and Allard Boulevard.

Hearing 'a lot' of concerns

Ward 9Coun.Tim Cartmellsaid he washearing from concerned residentsbefore Tuesday's death.

"We've had a lot of concerns expressed," Cartmell said, adding much of them focus on the safety ofcrossing James Mowatt in particular.

MonikaCupidosaid she drives through the intersection on an almost daily basis and is among thosespeaking out about changes.

"It's poorly lit and I have had to slow down quite a lot to make sure there's no one standing there," she wrote in an email to CBC. "I wouldn't want to be a pedestrian trying to cross there on a good day."

Police saidthe woman was in an unmarked crosswalk when she was hit.

Unmarked crosswalks typically don't have painted lines on the ground or signage.

It islegalfor pedestrians to cross the street at unmarked crosswalks and drivers must yield the right-of-way.

"It's very busy, there's two lanes on each side plus a turning lane into Allard for people southbound, so five lanes where thepedestrian was hit," said Powell. "There's no lines on the crosswalks, there's no signage that I can recall and there's no lights."

Powell said he doesn't know why the intersection doesn't already have moresafety features.

"I'm not 100 per cent sure but it may have something to do with the fact that it's a new area," he said. "In a case like this where there's that many lanes it should be put in a lot sooner.

"Obviously it cost someone their life so it's not the right approach. There should have been at least a crosswalk there with painted lines and a button for people to push to stop cars."

Cartmellsaid that southwest part of the city has many roadway issues due to rapid growth.

"There's no question that the road system in southwest Edmonton is extremely challenged and over capacity and these things are coming at us very quickly," hesaid. "It's changing so quickly that it's difficult to say whether anything should have been done earlier than this or not."

Police are still investigating Tuesday's incident, and so far details of what happened have not been made clear. EPS is asking witnesses to come forward.