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A week after another pedestrian death on Highland Avenue, the City of Selma has announced a cooperation with Auburn University and the Fifty Fund to address the issue of pedestrian safety within the city limits of Selma.

The goal of the project is to produce a Comprehensive Transportation Safety Action Plan in a city-wide effort to make traveling around Selma safer. With input from Selma residents, this plan will produce a roadmap for improving transportation safety, with an emphasis on pedestrian safety. With assistance from the Alabama Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration’s Alabama Division, Selma will be working directly with AU’s Safety Technical Assistance for Counties and Cities program.

Mayor James Perkins Jr. was joined by Rod E. Turochy, associate director for outreach with the Auburn Transportation Research Institute, and Aretha Dix, community engagement specialist with the Fifty Fund, not far from the site of that crash. 

Perkins said Selma’s rate of pedestrian deaths is much higher than the state and federal average. Since 2018, 13 people have been hit while walking along Highland Avenue; three lost their lives.

The rate has improved in recent years with the addition of sidewalks and crosswalks, but Perkins said it’s not enough. One-fourth of all crashes in the city occur on Highland Avenue, many involving pedestrians.

“Selma’s pedestrian safety situation is most critical. Two years ago, we found that Selma’s pedestrian crash rate was three and a half times the state average,” Perkins said. “Last week’s death underscores the need for more to be done.”

Turochy said his group along with the Fifty Group is currently researching the issues surrounding pedestrian safety in the city. They are looking at everything from recommending more sidewalks and public transportation to improved education.

“It’s a shared responsibility to improve transportation safety,” Turochy said. “We’ll take a holistic approach, and we look forward to working with a wide range of stakeholders, including ALDOT, FHWA and the Fifty Fund on this effort over the coming months, as well as residents of the city.”

Dix said they have a challenge trying to find ways to improve pedestrian safety.

“This is not a quick fix,” Dix said. “We have to make certain that we are going to be able to raise the resources and funds necessary to do these projects.I look forward to working with our partners who have come forward, and I want to thank them for their willingness to participate.”

At this point of the process, Perkins said all options are on the table. 

“Keep in mind that this is the reason that you see federal, state and local participation in this,” Perkins said. “(Highland Avenue) is a federal highway. We have several state and federal highway systems within the city. So this is a very strategic partnership that makes sense.”