Raleigh completes crosswalk after waiting months for DOT to do job

The state Department of Transportation installed pedestrian crossing signals last summer on South Saunders Street, at the intersection of Pecan Road and Carolina Pines Avenue. But the signals sat dormant, covered by black plastic bags, for months, and no crosswalk was painted on the pavement.

Since then, two pedestrians have been killed in the area:

"We should have no more fatalities at an intersection like this when it's been requested on numerous times to be fixed," said Raleigh City Councilwoman Kay Crowder, who represents the area.

Crowder expressed frustration about DOT's delay in finishing the crossing at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

"We need to get this done, whether it's the city or DOT," she said.

Two days later, Raleigh hired a contractor to lay the crossing stripes and activate the pedestrian signals. The contractor also finished a similar job at the intersection of South Saunders Street and Ileagnes Road further south.

A DOT spokesman said the project was delayed because of difficulty lining up a state contractor's schedule with dry, warm weather at night to work.

Javier Medina, who owns a cellphone repair store on South Saunders Street, has seen car crashes and pedestrians hit over the years. He said he's relieved to finally see the stripes and signals.

"For pedestrians, yes," Medina said when asked if the signals will make a difference. "For cars, not so much. A lot of people still rush through it. They zoom through that intersection."

DOT will reimburse Raleigh for finishing the crossing.