'One of the worst streets in Richmond': residents concerned about crosswalk safety after deadly collision

Some Richmond residentsare concerned about pedestrian safety at a local crosswalk after a crashat the intersection claimed the life of an elderly woman Tuesday night.

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The crosswalk at Tucker Avenue and No. 1 Road is marked, but does not have a pedestrian-controlled light.

One resident said he rarelysees cars slow down in the area.

"It's a little scary because there's so many elderly people in this area and there's a lot of children," said Tim Rudenfeld.

'One of the worst streets in Richmond'

Richmond RCMP said an 81-year old-woman was in the crosswalk around 6.30 p.m., when she was struck by an SUV.

She was taken to hospital where she died.

Police are investigating and they say the driver stayed at the scene and is cooperating.

Resident Brady Wright also lives near the crosswalk and was at the scene of the collision.

"It's out of control ... it's one of the worst streets in Richmond," Wright said.

Wright said he has written to the City of Richmond with complaints about the crosswalkafter witnessing several close calls with cars over the past month.

"Lighting at this crosswalk would be incredible," he said. "It's taken a life. Lights are pretty minimal compared to a life."

The accident is Richmond's first road fatality of 2018.

The City of Richmond said the crosswalk is one of several it is considering upgrading over the next year and a half, but did not give a specific time for when changes would be made.

Cities need to be better, planner says

The Richmond fatality is just one of several recent collisions at crosswalks in the Lower Mainland.

In Burnaby, a cyclist was injured and a pedestrian was killed in two separate incidents less than 24 hours apart.

And in Delta, a hit and run sent a woman to hospital Wednesday morning.

San Diego urban planner Katie Matchett says these cases illustrate the need for cities to plan better crosswalks.

"We're really talking about peoples' lives," she said. "There's so many things cities can do to protect the people moving in those cities.

"It should be about them, not just trying to move cars as quickly as possible."

When it comes to crossings, Matchett says cities should make them extremely visible to drivers: that could mean lights, bright coloursor even eye-catching public art.

She says Portland, Ore., is taking a bold step by lowering the speeds on most streets to 20 m.p.h. about 30 km/h.

She says sucha move is likely to generate significantpushback from drivers, but it would ultimately save lives.

With files from Liam Britten and Anita Bathe