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SALT LAKE CITY — Pedestrian fatalities are up 21 percent this year in Utah. With the goal of zero fatalities in mind, the Utah Department of Transportation is trying several new tactics for that persistent problem.
UDOT partnered with the Salt Lake City School District for one new tool that helps keep kids safer at pedestrian crossings in school zones. At the intersection of 700 East and 2700 South, crossing guard Sally Meyer said they can use all of the safety enhancements available.
"People don't seem to know what the flashing lights mean," she said in between trips across the street with kids in tow. When the lights are flashing in the school zone, motorists are supposed to slow down to 20 mph.
Those students, and many of their classmates, must cross busy thoroughfares every school day.
"Last week, I was almost hit in this crosswalk," Meyer said.
Close calls, speeders and rude drivers are routine at the intersection, Meyer said
You want your kids to be safe as they're walking home, look out for other people's kids.
–Jake Brown, a roadway operations manager with UDOT
"If we had a cop here every day, they would catch four or five easily," she said.
"You have eight lanes here. It's a little dangerous," said Jake Brown, a roadway operations manager with UDOT.
Seeing the kind of traffic the students and crossing guards have to deal with on a daily basis, he found new portable safety signs that the crossing guards can set up when they arrive for their shift and take down when it's over. They're about three feet tall, slip easily into a carrying bag, and clip into a heavy, rubber pedestal.
"It gives a little buffer between the car and the kids," Brown said.
The crossing guard said they've made a difference since she started using them regularly at the beginning of the school year.
"Because they are so obvious. Because they are so visible," she said.
"Anything we can do to bring more attention to the school zone, that's our goal," said Brown.
Similar signs permanently fixed in the sidewalk are already used at mid-block crossings downtown and around the Utah Capitol.
"The signs are right at eye level when you're driving a car," said Brown.
People don't seem to know what the flashing lights mean.
–Sally Meyer, crossing guard
Last year by the end of November, 28 pedestrian had been killed by automobiles in Utah. This year, there have been 34 fatalities so far. Plus 860 pedestrians are injured in an average year.
Just last night, a 14-year-old was hit and injured in Salt Lake City. UDOT believes the permanent signs at a driver's eye level and the portable school crossing signs can cut those numbers.
"You want your kids to be safe as they're walking home, look out for other people's kids," said Brown.
While the new signs enhance safety, they won't eliminate pedestrian fatalities. Meyer said driver responsibility is the key.
"Be aware," she said. "They're little children. They are our children. They are your children. It's very important to keep them safe."
Brown reminds all drivers to slow down when you enter a school zone, make eye contact with the crossing guard, and be alert for kids. UDOT partnered with Salt Lake City schools to buy the portable signs. In the future, it will work with other districts to safeguard dangerous intersections.
