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Midvale residents fight to make deadly crosswalk safer

Posted at 9:25 PM, Feb 06, 2018
and last updated 2018-02-07 15:55:22-05

MIDVALE, Utah - After at least four auto-pedestrian accidents in Midvale crosswalks over the past year, the city is getting closer to making safety improvements.

“It haunts me and it’s going to for a few years,” said Bailee Conway, a 16-year-old student of Hillcrest High School who was hit on Jan. 24.

Conway broke his femur in his left leg and another bone in his right.

He faces a long road to recovery including rebuilding one knee with multiple torn ligaments.

“I am really unlucky, cause it’s like, I’ve got to live with this now,” said Conway.

Several residents stood up to speak at Midvale’s City Council meeting on Tuesday night regarding crosswalk safety.

Spencer Mears brought with him video he compiled from people trying to cross Center St.

At one point, a child waits more than a minute for a break in traffic.

In another video clip, two people in the crosswalk watch a car speed past just in front of them.

“Those happen every day. I live right near the crosswalk on Center Street near the Boys and Girls Club,” said Amanda Hollingsworth, another Midvale resident.

The city is working on the issue. It recently completed a crosswalk safety study.

Tuesday night, the city council was reviewing the study and listening to staff suggestions for what improvements should be made.

Already two crosswalks have seen some work at a cost of around $200,000.

The city received a $158,000 grant to start work on crosswalks near the Trax station on Center St.

“I would gladly have that additional cost for the safety of people around here,” Mears said, the resident who set up cameras to capture the problem.