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O’Bronia Jackson recently pushed her 1-year-old grandson in a stroller along West Tyvola Road where there are no sidewalks.
“I was praying all the way down the street,” Jackson, 47, said before a public hearing Tuesday night on building a much-needed sidewalk along the road through west Charlotte.
She was thinking about the February deaths of two brothers – Kadrien Pendergrass, 5, and Jeremy Brewton, 1 – who were struck and killed by a delivery truck along West Tyvola at Shady Lane.
Jackson attended the meeting Tuesday at University Memorial Baptist Church, off West Tyvola not far from where Kadrien and Jeremy were killed.
The city plans to build a sidewalk along the road between Old Steele Creek Road and West Boulevard. The project will take three to four years.
That stretch, which is about four-tenths of a mile, includes a bus stop, two convenience stores and a Family Dollar store, all of which get a lot of foot traffic, Jackson said.
City officials wanted residents to tell them on which side of the street the sidewalk should be built. They also asked residents to share other concerns about traffic and safety.
About 15 people came to the meeting, and Charlotte City Council member LaWana Mayfield said she expects to see more neighbors at the next meeting in November.
After directing the city manager to review the sidewalk program, the Charlotte City Council agreed in March to pay for the Tyvola sidewalk and those in three other areas with high priorities. Officials said $2.1 million will go for sidewalks on West Tyvola, Eastway Drive, Carmel Road and Nevin Road.
James Bouler, who has lived in the neighborhood for about 10 years, attended the meeting and said he has mixed feelings about the project.
“You shouldn’t have to lose a life to bring this forward,” he said.
He said he’d also like to see more safety measures in place before the sidewalk is finished – like cutting trees and bushes to give pedestrians space to walk now.
“But overall, I’m pleased to know something is being done,” he said.
Other neighbors brought up safety concerns about speeding cars, the need for cleared grass and a request for a roundabout at West Tyvola and Old Steele Creek to reduce and prevent accidents.
