LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — News of another child being hit and killed by a car while crossing Charleston outside of a marked crosswalk near 30th Street on Thursday night has devastated our entire community, especially since this has happened so many times over the last year — and it prompted a viewer who lives nearby to reach out to us with her concerns about road safety in her neighborhood.
WATCH | Local shares safety concerns with Channel 13 after fatal crash involving child
Viewer Nicole Belkin lives near Charleston and Mojave in east Las Vegas, and sent us this email on Thursday night:
"I am writing as a concerned resident of the Las Vegas community regarding the recent tragic accident in which a 10-year-old child was struck and killed while crossing the street.
First and foremost, my heart goes out to the family who lost their child. No family should ever have to experience such a devastating loss. At the same time, this tragedy has raised serious concerns about street safety in our neighborhood. In the area where this occurred (Charleston and Mojave), it is very common to see children playing in the street, sitting on curbs with their legs in the street, running in front of cars and crossing roads in areas where traffic moves quickly and visibility can be limited. While drivers always have a responsibility to remain alert and cautious, situations like these can create extremely dangerous conditions for everyone involved.
I request you pull camera footage from the day prior because this is a recurring issue. These kids think it's fun and games. This incident highlights the need for greater attention to pedestrian and neighborhood safety.
I respectfully ask the city to review this area for potential safety improvements such as clearer crosswalks, additional signage, traffic-calming measures, or other solutions that could help prevent another tragedy. My hope is that something positive can come from this heartbreaking situation by improving safety for both children and drivers in our community."
I caught up with Belkin on Friday to hear more about why she reached out to us and more about what she thinks can be done to improve safety along Charleston in east Las Vegas.
"One voice is not a lot, but it helps," Belkin told me. "It's tragic — I feel bad for the family, and everyone that's involved, and it happens all so often."
Belkin told me one thing she'd like to see done is a traffic study in the area, and after talking with her on Friday afternoon, I saw close to a dozen people crossing Charleston outside of a crosswalk within 10 minutes of each other.
Now, it's worth noting there isn't a crosswalk on Charleston between the Lowes west of where the 10-year-old was killed Thursday night and Mojave, and there's very little signage dedicated to pedestrian safety.
"I feel horrible and I don't want to see it continue to happen," Belkin said.
WATCH | Two fatal pedestrian crashes in two days raise community concerns
I took Belkin's concerns and her request for a traffic study right to the City of Las Vegas — a city spokesperson told me they'd forward it over to the public works department who would start looking into it.
This particular stretch of Charleston happens to be right on the border between the city and Clark County, however it's commonplace for those two organizations — along with every municipality in Southern Nevada – to conduct traffic studies after critical incidents happen.
For example, the City of Las Vegas conducted traffic studies last year after Arbor View High School senior McKenzie Scott and 12-year-old J.D. Smith Middle School student Cristofer Suarez were hit and killed by cars while crossing the street on their way to school.
Both of those traffic studies resulted in safety improvements being added shortly after their completion, like pedestrian-activated flashers and better signage.
While viewer Nicole Belkin thinks more safety improvements will help on Charleston, she tells me — in her eyes — it's on all of us to help save lives on our roadways.
"It's important that we all play our part — use caution, drive a little slower, definitely educate your kids," Belkin said. "Just stay safe out there. It's a rough world, there's a lot of craziness going on out there."
If you have any traffic safety questions or concerns in your neighborhood, we'd love to hear them, as we continue the fight for safer streets on Channel 13. You can email them to me at Guy.Tannenbaum@KTNV.com, or by clicking the banner below.
