10 pedestrians were hit near 3 West Charlotte bus stops. How can the city make them safer? (WFAE)
One of the deadliest spots for pedestrians in west Charlotte is near a pair of bus stops a few miles north on Freedom Drive. These stops are separated by nine lanes of traffic, about 80 yards from where Freedom Drive intersects Ashley and Tuckaseegee Road.
“Human nature says there’s a bus stop here, there’s a shopping center here, there’s a Wendy’s across the road, there’s homes over there. Most people will take the shortest route between their point A and point B, and especially if the weather’s bad, if it’s really hot or really cold, right? We’re all in a hurry to get where we need to go,” she said.
Freedom Drive is also a state-maintained road, just like Wilkinson Boulevard, meaning any changes would need state approval. Fencil thought changes were needed.
“Everyone certainly has a responsibility to interact safely with the street, but we also need to consider people may not know how to be safe on the streets, and so let’s really design with safety as the priority,” she said.
Fencil thought the road could have a wider median or fewer lanes. Angela Berry thought relocating the bus stops could help, though doing so might require changes to the bus route.