Four lanes, but no crosswalk and no light

RALEIGH -- On Nov. 13, two residents of the Palms Apartments were hit by a car between 5 and 6 p.m. as they left the CAT bus stop and tried to cross four lanes on Lake Boone Trail. There is no crosswalk there.

One woman was taken to the hospital by ambulance. The other woman, Pan Thien, was badly bruised and has complained of pains in her chest.

This week, Triangle Troubleshooter heard from Sue Yarger, a volunteer with Lutheran Family Services, who helps Thien and her two boys, Pa Ka, 18, and Doh Gay, 13, get adjusted to their new life in Raleigh after they fled Burma. Thien's husband was killed by Burmese soldiers.

"This bus stop does not have a crosswalk, nor is there a street light over it," Yarger said.

The Palms, Yarger said, has many low-income residents who rely on the CAT system to take them to work, medical appointments and errands. Lutheran Family Services has helped settle many refugee families in this complex because it is convenient to services and public transportation, Yarger said.

"Who is providing safety for those who are poor?" Yarger asked.

Troubleshooter called David Eatman, Raleigh's transit administrator, to ask whether other incidents have occurred at this site and whether upgrades are planned for the stop.

He said the Nov. 13 accident is the only one at the stop in the past few years. He also said no one has made a formal request to put a crosswalk there.

"Suburban environments are challenging," he said, because there is no intersection to put a light or a crosswalk. "In that location, you can have a stop or no stop at all."

There is a crosswalk about a quarter-mile up at Lake Boone Trail and Wycliff Road, just on the other side of I-440, and riders could walk up there to cross over.

Eatman also said Thien could remain on the bus as it does its loop route, then get off when it swings back on Lake Boone to the same side as her apartment.

How long that would take? Eatman said, "One hour."