Several blocks of Diamond Street near Broad Street were paved months after city workers dug deep to replace sewers. But long after pipe was laid and Diamond Street was paved, the intersection at Park Avenue—where a Temple lacrosse player was critically injured riding her bike when a car hit her—still didn’t have crosswalks.
Former backup goaltender Rachel Hall remains on a long road to recovery after a hit-and-run at the intersection around 7 p.m. April 29. City workers painted crosswalks at the intersection this weekend.
Aside from the hit-and-run, it’s clear to us that this was a dangerous intersection; during the past few months, our staff has seen students and community residents alike staring down oncoming traffic at Main Campus’ northern border before deciding to make a run for it.
Until recently, pedestrians had to look out for oncoming traffic from both directions on Diamond Street without anything to deter that traffic.
The Philadelphia Streets Deptartment met with university officials this past summer to focus on traffic safety. Keisha McCarty-Skelton, of the city’s Streets Department, told The Temple News in an email that “even when the engineering solution is in place, safety involves good behavior on the part of the traveling public.”
There’s a stop sign for southbound traffic from Park, and the intersection is part of a 15 mph speed limit “school zone” for the nearby Philadelphia Military Academy.
But that speed limit is only active around the opening and closing of school, and Hall was hit at night, when students who live in housing north of Main Campus will likely be crossing.
The crosswalks are a welcome addition and should keep students and residents much safer. But it’s clear there’s a need for swifter oversight of dangerous intersections.
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