Stadium-Market crosswalk gets green light
BOARDMAN
A crosswalk will be painted at an intersection where a 10-year-old girl was hit by a car earlier this year.
Alyssa Wilhelm of Boardman was at the Memorial Day Parade on Market Street in May. Clutching a bag of candy, Alyssa waited to cross Stadium Drive at Market Street along the parade route.
Alyssa said she was waved on by a driver, only to be struck by the car after she started to cross the road. The Ohio State Highway Patrol and Boardman police investigated the accident, and the patrol determined that the pedestrian caused it.
Alyssa did not have serious injuries but had to stay overnight at a local hospital, said her mother, Rhonda Wilhelm.
After the accident, Rhonda Wilhelm asked township officials and residents for suggestions to improve the safety of the area, which has higher pedestrian traffic than other areas of Boardman. Stadium Drive divides Stadium Elementary School and the Boardman Center Middle School campus that includes the high school football field.
“I thought a crosswalk would help, especially during crowded events,” Wilhelm said, adding that it would alert motorists that the intersection is frequented by pedestrians.
Road Superintendent Larry Wilson said his department plans to paint a crosswalk there during its regular paving and striping season that began Thursday and will continue until late September.
Wilson reminded Wilhelm at the Monday trustees meeting that the township has limited control over crosswalks once they are painted.
“We can’t put crossing guards out there on nights there are functions,” he said, encouraging her to contact the school district about that.
Wilhelm said she was pleased by the township’s response and that her family often uses crosswalks to get to school or the library. “We do appreciate crosswalks and use them,” she said.