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Residents say pedestrian death spotlights Transit Rd. dangers

2 On Your Side spoke with people living around the area of a fatal pedestrian crash on Transit Road who tell us safety improvements are needed.

ELMA, N.Y. — Investigators are still working to identify the pedestrian hit and killed walking across Transit Road in Elma, Saturday night.

MORE: Pedestrian hit on Transit Road has died

2 On Your Side checked in with the Erie County Sheriff's Office on Monday.

Spokesperson Scott Zylka says the investigation is still open and that there's no new information to add Monday, other than the fact that the victim's autopsy would happen at some point in the day.

People living along that area of Transit Road, where the crash happened between Clinton Street and French Road, say the deadly crash highlights a number of safety issues with the roadway.

"It's dangerous. There's no stoplights or nothing over here," June Galbo tells 2 On Your Side. The crash happened just a few feet from her home, which is right across the street from The Cove, Seafood and Banquets, "Fridays, Saturdays and Thursdays is really busy over here."

There are no sidewalks on the northbound side of that section of Transit Rd. It's about .6 miles between the crosswalks at French and Clinton, which equals about 3,168 feet.

According to the State of New York's Pedestrian Safety Action Plan, if there isn't a crosswalk within 600 feet that is a risk factor that can promote walking outside of designated crosswalks.

Where the victim was hit and killed Saturday night was more than 1,000 feet from the crosswalk at Clinton Street and more than 2,000 feet from French Road's crosswalk.

"Something has to be done over here because a lot of cars speed around here, too," adds Galbo.

And there is also the issue of street lighting. Residents told 2 On Your Side, at night, it is extremely dark in some sections of Transit Road, and we found where the crash happened Saturday night there is, in fact, a few hundred feet where there are no street lights at all.

2 On Your Side requested crash data for that section of Transit Road from the Erie County Sheriff's Office. But Zylka tells us, "We patrol only a short portion of Transit Road. Therefore, the Sheriff's Office cannot provide stats for your inquiry."

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