RICHMOND, Va. -- People who live and work along Chamberlayne Avenue on Richmond's Northside are calling for action after a woman died in a hit-and-run over the weekend. It marked the second time a pedestrian was killed by a driver in just over a month.
Police said 64-year-old Nancy Johnson was struck Friday night in the 1400 block of Chamberlayne, which is near the intersection at Mitchell Street. Two drivers were involved in the collision, but one of them did not stay on the scene, according to investigators.
The incident came on the heels of another pedestrian fatality on the same street on October 26. In that case, police said the pedestrian was hit while crossing the road in the 2900 block of Chamberlayne, and the driver stayed on the scene.
“It's terrible when you got that much traffic and they're going that fast and not looking out for pedestrians," said Todd Alert, who lives near the area.
Alert said he was alarmed, but unfortunately not surprised, to learn of the latest pedestrian death. As someone who walks up and down the corridor frequently, he said it's not safe for people who walk or bike.
“It is dangerous here at night and during the day, because the people that drive, they don't care about the speed that they do," Alert said. "Because I've seen some of them do probably 60 to 70 going up Chamberlayne.”
Data from the DMV shows at least other six other crashes involving pedestrians along Chamberlayne in 2022. That's up from three total pedestrian-involved crashes reported in 2021.
Barkat Kahn has owned College Mart on the corner of Chamberlayne and Bacon Street for seven years. During that time, he said he's witnessed several dangerous encounters including a customer who was hit and killed in the street.
“Three years ago, one guy died here. He said 'Kahn, I'm going to cross the street.' He never came back," Kahn said. “This Chamberlayne Avenue is very dangerous for us.”
He said his store has also almost been hit by speeding drivers on three separate occasions.
“They need to put some sign up here and make it slow down the traffic," Kahn said.
Both Kahn and Alert said there are not enough safety measures in place.
Monday afternoon, CBS 6's cameras caught people running halfway to a median in the middle of the road, waiting and then dodging traffic to get to the other side. Residents in the area said that's the norm due to a lack of marked crosswalks.
“You need more crosswalks, you need more stop signs, you need more handicaps for the handicapped people to get up on a walkway and sidewalks," Alert said.
Kahn agreed and added that people will run back and forth across the busy road to catch the bus.
"They need to put something to make it easier so people can cross from the other side because there are two bus stops [on both sides]," Kahn said.
Brantley Tyndall, Director of Sportsbacker's Bike Walk RVA, said the Northside tragedy escalates the need for action on infrastructure improvements.
“Some of the life-saving measures that can be installed along Chamberlayne Avenue include raised crosswalks, lane narrowing to bring the speeds down, and shortening crossing intersections so that pedestrians don't have to walk as far or have to cross as many lanes," Tyndall said.
And it's not just this one street. He said there's a concern for pedestrian safety across Richmond. Citywide, he said there have been eight pedestrian deaths in 2022. That's a 100% increase from 2021 when there were four.
He said the city and regional partners have shown "good faith efforts" to improve safety, but it's hard to keep up with the demand created by "bad drivers."
“I think that the city is delivering as fast as it can, but I do think that it's obvious that the traffic fatality numbers are outpacing our efforts," Tyndall said.
Statewide, Tyndall said pedestrian fatalities are up 34%, and regionally, they're up 36%.
"I was hoping that the Richmond region would have had better numbers than the state because I think the Vision Zero effort here is worthwhile. I mean, it's easy to imagine it being better like we can all be idealists," he said.
CBS 6 requested an interview with an official with Richmond's Department of Public Works for updates on safety improvements along Chamberlayne Avenue. In response, a city spokesperson sent over messaging for its Vision Zero program which is a campaign aimed at eliminating all traffic fatalities and severe injuries in the city.
Additionally, the city sent over a list of twelve pedestrian safety improvements that have either been completed or are in the works on Chamberlayne.
One measure includes a stoplight in the 1400 block of Chamberlayne that was recently installed. Though it's not yet fully functioning and signaling, residents say they're hopeful it will slow down traffic.
But they say more needs to be done.
"This is very important because you're talking about peoples' parents and loved ones," Alert said. "I appreciate you guys coming out here doing this story because if that was my mom or dad, I'd be totally hurt."
"I'm glad you guys came here," Kahn said to the CBS 6 Problem Solvers. "They need to do something about this."
CBS 6 also requested an interview with 3rd District Councilmember Ann-Frances Lambert, who represents the Chamberlayne corridor, but Lambert was not available for an interview before the story aired.
Here is the list of improvements sent from the city:
