AMHERST, N.Y. - Back in June, the New York State Department of Transportation sent out a press release about 25 intersections that would get high visibility upgrades this summer.
The state said each intersection would have them across Niagara Falls Boulevard as well as at signalized side streets or driveways that are 3 lanes or wider.
Now that the summer is over, 2 On Your Side went out to check that the work had been done and found that, for the most part, it was.
24 intersections had the upgrades while one appears to have been missed completely. A crosswalk in one of the busiest areas of the Boulevard: the Target Plaza entrance.
We told NYSDOT about the omission, and we’re still waiting to hear when they plan to address it.
2 On Your Side had first brought the lack of a crosswalk to the attention of NYSDOT back in May.
While there is a signal timer at this intersection for pedestrians to cross Niagara Falls Boulevard, there are no pavement markings indicating a crosswalk, let alone a ladder bar crosswalk.
While just about half of the intersections had four crosswalks with signals, the rest had two to three.
A recent walk audit by the towns of Amherst and Tonawanda pinpointed this section of the boulevard, north of the I-290 as not just the most dangerous section, but also the most deadly.
Police data from both towns show the 6 deaths in the past five years happened north of Ridge Lea Road.
The deadliest intersection being Willow Ridge Drive, where three people died.
Auditors pointed out the lack of crosswalks on the south legs of a number of intersections as areas of concern.