The death of a young man injured in a crosswalk in Dartmouth last week is renewing calls for drivers to slow down, and for flashing lights to be installed at the crosswalk where he was struck.
“This is a terrible crosswalk,” says one area resident. “If anything, they should have a set of lights there.”
“Every time you walk across that crosswalk, you’re risking your life,” says another.
The crosswalk at the corner of Pleasant and Carleton Streets has been deemed dangerous for years, but it’s now considered deadly.
Peter Archibald was trying to cross the road around 9 p.m. on Sept. 24 when he was struck by a vehicle travelling southbound on Pleasant Street.
Police say it was a rainy night and the 56-year-old driver stopped his vehicle immediately.
The driver was not injured, but the 19-year-old man was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre with life-threatening injuries.
Police confirm he was taken off life support and passed away on the weekend, six days after the crash.
The driver was issued a ticket for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.
“It is still being investigated but at this time no other charges are anticipated,” says Halifax Regional Police Const. Pierre Bourdages.
The city’s traffic authority will be installing overhead lights in November. The decision was made before Archibald was hit, but people who use the crosswalk say improvements should have been made years ago.
“I wait for my dad here in the morning because I am terrified to cross here by myself,” says 16-year-old Shayna Preeper.
Preeper was struck in the same crosswalk last month, on the first day of school.
“He hit me with his mirror and dragged me by my purse,” she says.
Coun. Jackie Barkhouse has hounded the city for years about the controversial crosswalk.
“This is an extremely sad situation because I personally wonder if it would have made a difference,” says Barkhouse.
“I guess we’ll never know, but that’s why it’s important why we get it in and get it in soon.”
With files from CTV Atlantic's Kelland Sundahl
