Story by Sarah Choi
Sinclair Larson, UNC graduate student
“They hit me and my dog while we were walking. I don’t remember that incident. I had a lot of brain damage after, so I don’t even, like, remember leaving my house for the walk.”
TRACK:
Sinclair Larson was in her junior year at UNC when she and her dog, named Jasper, were hit by a car in a crosswalk on East Franklin Street. The driver was going 20 miles over the speed limit…leaving Sinclair and her dog severely injured.
Sinclair Larson, UNC graduate student
“When I woke up from the accident, I couldn’t remember how to speak. So, like, for a few days I, like, was completely mute. And then like, after, like, I just had a lot of trouble, like, forming, like, words.”
TRACK:
The accident left Sinclair and her dog with lasting trauma. But sadly, their experience is just one of many. Pedestrian deaths are on the rise in North Carolina. In 2022, there were 2,229 deaths…up 13% from 2007. And in the triangle, the number of pedestrian deaths has been consistently higher than the state average between the same years.
In response, Chapel Hill is aiming for zero traffic-related injuries and fatalities by 2031—part of a nationwide program called Vision Zero.
Bergen Watterson, Chapel Hill Vision Zero Program Manager
“One of the tenants of Vision Zero is that one is too many. One singular loss of life on our roads is one too many.”
TRACK:
Stephen Heiny is a research associate at the UNC Highway Safety Research Center. Both Heiny and Watterson agree that roads with multiple, wide lanes see the most accidents.
Stephen Heiny, UNC HSRC Research Associate
“These higher speed roads also make it a little bit harder to recognize that there might be pedestrians, there might be people walking around near the road or attempting to cross at some point. So if you’re going down a wider, higher speed road that doesn’t have very many crosswalks. You don’t get that cue as a driver to start to look for people that might be crossing it someplace.”
TRACK:
This is another one of Vision Zero’s initiatives. These are called rectangular rapidly flashing beacons—or RRFBs. RRFBs are installed on wider, multi-lane roads like this one to make pedestrians more visible. But initiatives like these may not be enough. Larson was hit in a crosswalk just like this one.
Sinclair Larson, UNC graduate student
“When I was in the hospital, it was not like funny, but kind of funny, that like the nurse was like oh, yeah, like we get people that were hit on crosswalks, like all the time here and I was like all the time? Like that’s a problem.”
TRACK:
Larson said she wasn’t aware that the town has a Vision Zero program. And she’s not alone.
Bergen Watterson, Chapel Hill Vision Zero Program Manager
“I don’t know that we’ve gotten a ton of community feedback on Vision Zero. In fact, I probably say that the majority of the community doesn’t know what it is. We are working to change that. That’s, that’s a goal.”
TAG:
Larson said she doesn’t think the town’s current infrastructure supports pedestrians, and she’ll continue to avoid the crosswalk where she was hit. I’m Sarah Choi, reporting.
TRT: 2:30
