A light for Mary: Panama City residents demand action on pedestrian safety

Yahoo

3 days ago

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) – Family, neighbors, and friends, young and old, called for increased pedestrian safety measures at the March for Mary on Wednesday morning.
81-year-old Mary Spitzer was crossing the street in her wheelchair at Beach Drive and Harrison Avenue, by her home at St. Andrews Towers, last week. Panama City police say a drunk driver blew through a stop sign and hit her.
She later died at Ascension Sacred Heart Bay Hospital.
'For years, we've known this is a dangerous intersection. It was Mary herself who was always making the comment, 'one day, somebody is gonna get killed on this corner. ' And it just happened to be her,' friend and neighbor of Mary Spitzer, Diane Cummings, said.
Although there is a four-way stop, protesters argue the stop signs are hidden by trees or light poles. They want a stoplight or a safety measure with increased visibility to return to this intersection.
When workers built the Harrison Streetscapes Project, the city removed the traffic light.Protesters say they've been asking city officials to put it back ever since.
'When you come up the hill from the Beach Drive heading east, you can't see the crosswalk. It's because of the hill. There's no way to see the white lines of the crosswalk. We don't have any flashing signs. We don't have any walk signals. We don't have anything like that,' St. Andrews Towers Service Coordinator Darby Paille said.
But the March for Mary was about the larger issue of pedestrian safety in the area.
Almost two months ago, 53-year-old Donna Santiago was fatally struck by a car while walking along Lisenby Avenue.
'I'd hate to see anyone in the position that I'm in or the Spitzer family, so I'm here advocating and just being a voice for these people. Pedestrian lives matter. We've got a vision for safer streets out here, and we're just ready to come together as a community and try to eliminate problems like this,' son of Donna Santiago, Karson Walker, said.
Protesters reached City Hall just minutes before Allan Branch was sworn in as Panama City Mayor.
Branch came out to address the protestors, saying he would advocate for the safest intersection at every city intersection, and encouraged protestors to follow up with him.
Mary lived in the towers for 20 years, making her one of the longest residents. Friends say she was loved by all who knew her.
This is a developing story. News 13 will provide updates as more information becomes available.
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