A Safer Crosswalk For Evelyn
A few years ago, I had a very pleasant afternoon conversation with a former co-worker (and occasional babysitter for my children). I hadn't seen her for a while, and we shared stories of what we had been up to and what we had planned for the future. It was delightful to catch up with her once again. She was by far one of the nicest people I ever worked with, and her research was simply fascinating.
Just hours later, she was dead, killed when she was struck by a minivan while crossing Braddock Avenue in Regent Square.
Evelyn Wei was one of those people that you just can't forget. I still think of her every single day, and I'm grateful that I had the chance to know her for even a short period of time.
Today, as reported in the Tribune-Review and on KDKA, the intersection where she died has been made safer. I have to wonder why her family and friends had to donate $20,000 to make these improvements happen, and why the city couldn't have done these things before we ever got to this horrific point. But at least things are now safer than they were on the night she was killed.
I will always miss you, Evelyn.
1 comment:
I used to live practically at that street corner. I feel for Evelyn's family, of course, but I have mixed feelings about the crosswalk.
Residents had recently won many huge and extra signs for that crosswalk. For a time, further down on Braddock, a local contractor had put their own speed-limit radar alert out. And now there's a special, one-of-a-kind flashing sign that is operated by pedestrians.
Congratulations to the residents of Regent Square, but I feel bad for all the kids on all the streetcorners whose families don't have that kind of cultural capital, to make such dramatic changes.
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