KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Fraternity Village Drive is undergoing some changes. The city is working on ways to make the residential area safer. This comes a week after Hunter Hudgins was sentenced to up to 15 years in prison for hitting and killing a WMU student while driving down the street.
“With all the things that have gone on, you know, the past few years, this is definitely something that we could use right now,” said resident, Max Omili.
Remembering the night Bailey Broderick was hit and killed while trying to cross Fraternity Village Drive in 2021, Omili says he’s looking forward to a safer neighborhood.
Kalamazoo started making improvements to the area following a number of concerns expressed by residents. So far, the city has added sidewalk paths and stop signs, which Omili says is already making a difference, adding that residents used to drive like its “Formula One Racing.”
Part of the project is pretty much done. City Traffic Engineer Dennis Randolph told FOX 17 that the next step of the $400,000 plan involves putting up street lights, as well as speed and pedestrian signs. Later, they will add a mini roundabout.
“Part of what we did with the sidewalk is make sure we have all the proper ramps that are in and now we'll be able to have to resurface to put in crosswalk markings for everybody,” he said.
The hope is that these added safety measures will prevent future crashes.
“Out on this side of town for Fraternity Village Drive and West Michigan, we, unfortunately, have had in the last 10 years, four fatal crashes involving pedestrians and cars,” said. Randolph. He added that most of the crashes involve pedestrians walking at night.
According to him, the crashes are a combination of drunk driving, speeding, and pedestrians not paying attention.
“When you have a whole set of fatalities, like that same type, pedestrian type fatalities, you really need to look at and see what's going on, give it a little priority,” Randolph said.
The plan is to have majority of the project completed by August.
