Crosswalk Danger
Metro, Smith's team up for pedestrian safety event
Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) -- A dangerous crosswalk near a local supermarket was the subject of a special safety event Thursday.
Managers at Smith's decided it would be a good thing to do before someone else gets hurt.
There have been several crashes near the Smith's at the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Jones Boulevard, including one earlier this month involving a security guard being hit by a car.
So the store teamed up with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to bring awareness to the problem.
"We wanted to do something for our community and our employees, and we thought this would be really good because of the area we live in. We've had problems with people crossing the street and getting hit," said LeAnn Beeson, Human Resources at Smith's.
"Because we've had a lot of occurrences happening in the Valley where people have been injured, we're trying to heighten public awareness," explained Debbie Beaudry, Law Enforcement Support Technician with Metro.
And awareness is key. Which is one of the many reasons for the safety event Thursday: Awareness, education and community teamwork.
Smith's decided to host the safety event after several accidents happened at intersections around the store. Intersections like Tropicana and Jones, where there is a lot of vehicle traffic and pedestrians.
While Action News shot video of the intersection, we noticed as pedestrians crossed in crosswalks, several cars still turned in front of them, even while the pedestrians had the right-of-way.
This driving etiquette has been a problem.
"I think I've heard three [deaths]. And when you have three deaths because of crosswalks, it's just scary to know that it could have been a customer, we don't know. So this is what we thought we'd do," said Beeson.
Another goal of the event was to get the community involved, by recruiting more crossing guards. Metro collected 150 applications for its crossing guard program at the event. They're hoping to fill around 40 positions for the upcoming school year. If you're interested in becoming a crossing guard, call Metro at (702) 828-3446.
"I think we all need to get involved in our community right now," said Las Vegas resident Larry Chapman. "Times are tough for everybody. Parents don't have the resources they used to have, schools don't have the resources, government doesn't have the resources. So anything you can do is a big help."
Action News is dedicated to "Making Las Vegas a Better Place to Live."
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