Springfield, ODOT to make safety changes
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- A teenager's death along a dangerous stretch of Main Street in Springfield is spurring changes.
Oregon Department of Transportation officials met with the Springfield City Council Monday night to find a way to make that stretch much safer. At that meeting, a crowd of Sherry Varo's friends were there to show their support for a safer Main Street.
Officials from ODOT asked the city council for their support in a pedestrian safety study. One Springfield city counselor suggested better lights and a reduced speed limit, asking ODOT to speed up the process as much as they can. Those are changes that Sherry Varo's friends said they would support.
A friend KVAL News talked to said they want to make sure changes come as soon as possible so more families don't get hurt. At first, the project was expected to start in the next few months, then wrap up in another six, but after last night's meeting, Sonny Chickering with ODOT said that could happen a lot sooner. Funding for the pedestrian study will come from ODOT.
This isn't the first time a pedestrian was killed at this intersection. According to ODOT, Varo was the sixth pedestrian to die on this road in the last seven years.
