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John Daley Reporting Neighbors on Salt Lake's east bench are at odds with state road managers over what to do about a dangerous intersection.
Three people in five years have been hit there. One died. Neighbors think a yellow caution light is not enough.
Cars often race along this stretch of 13th East. But there are 4,000 students at four schools in a three-block radius of this intersection. The mother of the teenager killed here wants a stop light before there's another victim.
At 700 South and 13th East, even the mailman has to be careful. It's a busy spot. Tens of thousands of cars go through each day with a confusing configuration, a clearly marked crosswalk on the north, but not the south.
Gerri Osman has been working hard for changes since February, when her 16-year-old son Sebastian, an East High student, was killed. He was hit by a car as he crossed in front of a stopped UTA bus.
She says UDOT's solution-- a flashing yellow light-- isn't enough.
Gerri Osman/ Sebastian's Mother: "What if they don't see the yellow flashing light? What if something is obscuring the yellow flashing light? There's so many different scenarios. We need to get traffic to stop, and that's why we're pushing for a regular red, green, yellow light."
UDOT says besides the pedestrian activated light, they're adding a pair of medians, will redirect pedestrians to the north crosswalk and restripe it.
UDOT's spokesperson says new traffic lights are determined by a mix of factors, not just the number of people struck.
Bethany Eller/ UDOT Spokesperson: "So we're just looking at the traffic patterns and the pedestrian usage, as well as some of the crash history data as well."
The larger issue seems to be a perpetual challenge. Case in point-- a few miles away, another auto-pedestrian crash in which a boy was hit this week near Lincoln Elementary, just hours before the city announced new get-tough fines.
Here, neighbors have been pushing for a traffic signal for 10 years.
Gerri Osman/ Sebastian's Mother: "Part of me can't help but wonder, well after the first child, the studies were done. We didn't meet the criteria. The second child, the third child in five years. That speaks so much louder to me than any study they can do."
UDOT's spokesperson tells us they may add a traffic light later. But for now, they're looking to get the new pedestrian-activated yellow light and other changes installed by the end of the year.
