BUFFALO, N.Y. — There are concerns about the safety of a busy intersection in North Buffalo where we found a missing crosswalk button for pedestrians.
"It's just a very dangerous intersection, and if it's dangerous for me and my family, I know it's dangerous for others," Charles Roberts says.
That's why Roberts wrote an article for Buffalo Rising Wednesday pointing out safety concerns he has about the intersection of Hertel and Colvin in North Buffalo.
“I just thought, let's put it out there on Buffalo Rising and see what kind of community feedback we get, and certainly the response has been tremendous," Roberts said.
"Lots of near misses with intersections like this," Sean Brodfuehrer added.
Brodfuehrer is one of the neighbors who runs the North Park Community Association Facebook group where Roberts shared what he wrote.
"You see a lot of people cutting the corner, they don't want to wait for the light, they'll run through the parking lot here, they'll cut through Hertel Alley real quick to do the same thing," Brodfuehrer said.
Added Roberts: "You have rounded corners, and just a sea of pavement here that really leads to an environment in which cars travel way too fast, in what's supposed to be a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood."
One of the crosswalk buttons is missing for pedestrians who want to cross Colvin.
"I'm starting to teach my kid how to bike, and bike to the park and get around, and these intersections make you very nervous, especially when the buttons aren't working or they're missing completely," Brodfuehrer said.
"So, how do you teach a 5-year-old how to cross the street if he doesn't have a button to push?"
Brodfuehrer and Roberts would like to see this part of Hertel made more pedestrian friendly. They think bumping out the curbs and adding arrows to the lights could help.
"You've asked the city about this, right?" 2 On Your Side’s Kelly Dudzik asked.
"I've been reaching out to the city for about two years, you know most recently in July. All responses have been very non-committal and as you can see nothing's taken place,” Roberts said.
A spokesperson for the City of Buffalo told 2 On Your Side on Thursday that higher visibility crosswalks will be installed at this intersection this construction season and that the city is checking on the crosswalk button issue.
UPDATE: After the 2 On Your Side story aired, the city installed a new one on Friday. Viewer Charles Roberts, who was featured in our story, tweeted during the afternoon that: "Less than 18 hours after the story aired on WGRZ ... a call button has been installed at Hertel and Colvin. One problem down. More to go."