FORT SMITH -- A handful of young adults have their eyes on prevention in reaction to the deadly increase in vehicle-pedestrian accidents this year in Fort Smith.
"It's really impossible to ignore," said Samantha Holland, director of case management for Jessi's House. "We really just wanted to start actually putting in some work personally to try and help it."
Located in Fort Smith, Jessi's House is a residential program for LGBTQ+ young adults who are homeless or about to become homeless, according to the group's website.
Jessi's House aims to give these young people basic necessities like food and shelter first, and then assistance with their individual goals.
In addition to Holland, Jessi's House assistant case managers Dante Vincent and Cyd Keener, along with resident Heart Amorett, took to the sidewalks at Grand Avenue and 50th Street on Friday night to start a movement.
They deposited eight small bins of reflective items at multiple corners along Grand on the north side of the University of Arkansas Fort Smith. The gear is for pedestrians to use with the idea that it will enhance their safety as they cross busy Fort Smith streets.
"We definitely want people to take what they need and give what they can," Holland said. "Hopefully, if we see a little bit of change, or if this is taken really well by the community, we want to expand."
DEADLY YEAR
This fall in Fort Smith, three people have died in pedestrian-auto accidents, one of them a 13-year-old boy. At least five others have been seriously injured in such incidents, city officials reported.
"The Fort Smith Police Department remains steadfastly committed to doing our part in making the streets and pedestrian ways of Fort Smith safe for all who travel upon them," Police Chief Danny Baker said in a Sept. 20 news release.
An increase in crashes involving pedestrians in Fort Smith between 2023 and 2024 is shown in basic statistics from Fort Smith police records.
For all of last year, a total of 46 such accidents were reported, including 15 at four-way intersections and 22 not at intersections, the department reported.
For 2024, just through Nov. 1, that total was 64, including 17 at four-way intersections and 36 not at an intersection, police reported.
Most recently, a man crossing Towson Avenue was killed Dec. 7 in the third fatal vehicle-pedestrian accident of the year in Fort Smith.
Baker said that incident was the 75th pedestrian-involved collision of 2024.
ACTIONS BEING TAKEN
Added to the continuing rash of pedestrian-vehicle accidents and injured pedestrians, the Dec. 7 fatal accident prompted the police department to announce a no-tolerance policy on jaywalking.
According to Baker, jaywalking -- crossing the street in an illegal or careless manner -- has contributed to a nearly 35% increase in pedestrian collisions that happen outside intersections from 2023 to 2024, Baker stated.
"This is not about punishment; it is about prevention," he said.
The police department has implemented a number of efforts to improve street safety.
"We have increased traffic enforcement across the city, established a dedicated 8-Officer Traffic Unit, and launched public awareness campaigns to educate drivers, pedestrians, and our youngest citizens on the critical importance of traffic and pedestrian safety," Baker stated.
In the meantime, city leaders are working to implement the "Safe Fort Smith Action Plan." Released in August, the more than 100-page document examines traffic patterns, looks at trends and summarizes input from survey respondents in Fort Smith.
The plan also looks to prioritize safety projects and monitor progress.
In addition, the city announced Nov. 18 it is receiving more than $1 million in federal grant money to help with street safety efforts.
The funding will boost safety improvements including work along Park Avenue and Grand Avenue.
REFLECTORS TO HELP
The Jessi's House four came up with the idea of distributing high-visibility items while brainstorming about ways to help prevent pedestrian injuries.
They came across an article and study from Finland.
"They said that having free provided light-reflective gear brought down the vehicle-pedestrian collisions by 50%," Keener said.
According to the Finnish Road Safety Council, a person is visible only 54 yards away in a car's low-beam headlights.
Add a reflector or high-visibility gear, and pedestrians can be seen 380 yards away so drivers have more time to react, the council stated.
Reflective wristbands, high-visibility vests, highly reflective tape and other high vis clothing is available in the small plastic bins, topped with white lids and adorned with reflective tape, that the Jessi's House crew deposited Friday night.
They want to expand the effort to other key areas, including Towson Avenue and near Fort Smith schools.
"We want to protect the kids or protect anywhere in Fort Smith that's high traffic," Holland said. "So hopefully we can expand and do more."
Dante Vincent, left, assistant case manager at Jessi's House, prepares to push a button to cross 50th Street at Grand Avenue on Friday night in Fort Smith. Along with Samantha Holland, director of case management, and assistant case manager Cyd Keener and resident Heart Amorett, shown across the street, Vincent placed eight small plastic bins of reflective gear for pedestrians to use at corners along Grand. The effort is aimed at enhancing street safety. (River Valley Democrat-Gazette/Penny Weaver)
Resident Heart Amorett, from left, and assistant case managers Dante Vincent and Cyd Keener of Jessi's House show reflective wristbands that are part of the contents of eight small plastic bins of safety gear distributed for pedestrians to use. Along with Samantha Holland, director of case management for Jessi's House, the trio placed the containers at corners along Grand Avenue in Fort Smith on Friday night. (River Valley Democrat-Gazette/Penny Weaver)