The news of Mary Jeanne Flaherty being struck and killed by a shuttle bus in Oakland Sept. 17 was sad but not entirely shocking. I recall grimly how a Pitt student was struck and killed by a Port Authority bus in January.
After living in Oakland for four years, I know how dangerous crossing a street can be. Drivers of all vehicles frequently speed and fail to give pedestrians the right of way. I remember one incident in which I was nearly struck in a crosswalk by a nonemergency ambulance.
In my experience, students complain to the universities about these conditions, but the schools insist it is a city government issue; then when complaints are filed with the city, nothing comes of them.
Oakland is the third largest economic center in Pennsylvania after the downtowns of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Oakland’s economic power will be needed to help in Pennsylvania’s economic recovery post-covid-19. However, this economic power will be lost if people do not even feel safe crossing the street.
The universities and the city need to come together and find a solution to these conditions. Reduce speed limits and install speed bumps or some other option to slow vehicles. Otherwise, the death count will only rise.
Austin Jepsky
Moon