Pedestrian Advocates Want Safer Oakland Streets For Seniors
OAKLAND (KCBS)— A coalition of seniors and public-transit advocates are pushing for improvements to make Oakland city streets safer for pedestrians.
According to the group California Walks, 40 percent of the victims in pedestrian accidents are senior citizens.
On average, 300 of Oakland's annual pedestrian accidents end with the victims either injured or killed, according to California Walks. The group said some minor changes can make a big difference.
KCBS' Chris Filippi Reports:
"When seniors are hit by cars, they're hospitalized at maybe $75,000 a stay," said David Grant with California Walks. He added that only about a third of them ever come home. Many end up end up in an assisted living facility if not killed.
Grant added it wouldn't cost much to make changes at busy intersections - like 14th Street and Broadway.
"Moving the stop line back behind the crosswalks so turning cars don't dodge through pedestrians, changing the timing so it's longer," were among his suggestions for making the intersection safer for seniors.
Safety advocates point to changes San Francisco made at 19th Avenue as an example where the speed limit was lowered and the number of rolling green lights was reduced.
Advocates added those changes brought injury accidents down 20 percent.
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