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SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City is making changes to keep bicyclists and walkers safe at an intersection that's already seen a deadly accident.
"It's kind of a hectic intersection. There's a lot of vehicle traffic that comes through here, and there's also just a lot of people who are walking and bicycling, especially people with children ... going to different community destinations," said Will Becker, 900 West project manager.
It's not just a busy intersection at 900 West and California Avenue. It's a dangerous intersection where a 4-year-old boy died after being struck by a car in 2019.
"That was one of the big pushes from the community to make safety improvements at the intersection," Becker said.
Since then, community members have been demanding safety upgrades, and now the city is responding.
"What we hear a lot is that we want our streets to work better for people and not just vehicles," Becker said.
Right now, the city is adding a protective bicycle lane and adding floating islands, forcing drivers to slow down and giving walkers a safe spot to stop.
"We are really trying to respond to what we know a lot of people in the city want, which is streets that work better for everybody," Becker added.
More needs to be done to the intersection, he said. Orange cones will eventually be replaced with permanent beams and striping on the pavement, letting drivers know they physically cannot drive closer to pedestrians and bikers while nearing the intersection.
