Community proposing longer wait times at crosswalks after CSU employee killed in accident

COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM) - It’s been one month since a Columbus State University employee died in a tragic accident involving a dump truck in Uptown.

Now many are raising questions on what can be done to prevent it from happening in the future.

“As an engineer, we’re always open to hear new methods and new ways to make it safer,” said Columbus Design Engineer Farhad Alifarhani.

This comes one month after a Columbus State University employee, William “WD” Feeney, was struck and killed by a dump truck while trying to cross the road. Now, those in the community are counting the seconds.

“You only have eight seconds to cross and it’s just too fast. They need to extend the crossing for handicapped and people crossing because it’s downtown and it’s so crowded with people walking all the time,” explained Columbus resident Carole Whetstone.

Public input, along with a planned proposal from concerned residents in the community to the city council says safer measures should be taken. They propose longer wait times for vehicles between traffic lights and more time to cross for elderly and those with limited mobility.

“I’m 100 percent for the idea to give the crosswalks more time because it’s just safer for everyone in town. We enjoy downtown with the college students and people that come down here every weekend. Why not make it safer and enjoyable,” said CSU student Sam Desir.

Alifarhani said the possibilities are endless and it’s not out of the question for something to possibly change for safer conditions, but he said there may be a downside to the idea of change.

“It can cause delay and delay itself could further cause accidents and other problems associated with that,” said Alifarhani.

A planned proposal could go before the Columbus City Council in the coming meetings to put the idea on the forefront for city leaders. Frequent Uptown visitors said they’re hoping to never have to deal with another death to not have their spirits down in Uptown.

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