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Carolina Curious: When will a busy Triad intersection get a crosswalk for pedestrians?

Looking at Goodwill Industries from across the seven lanes of traffic on University Parkway in Winston-Salem. Lighted, countdown push-button pedestrian crosswalk signs are scheduled to be installed at all four corners of the busy intersection by early 2027. DAVID FORD/WFDD

Looking at Goodwill Industries from across the seven lanes of traffic on University Parkway in Winston-Salem. Lighted, countdown push-button pedestrian crosswalk signs are scheduled to be installed at all four corners of the busy intersection by early 2027. DAVID FORD/WFDD

There’s a growing awareness in the Triad that making foot traffic convenient and safe is a good thing for the community. And yet some major intersections still lack adequate pedestrian crossing signage.

On this Carolina Curious, WFDD reporter David Ford wanted to know why the busy corner of University Parkway and Coliseum Drive in Winston-Salem still doesn’t have a pedestrian crosswalk with countdown lights. 

When I first reported on this busy 7-lane intersection across from Goodwill Industries and near bus stops on each side of University, the pedestrians I spoke with there were concerned. They said they often had to run across multiple lanes as cars whizzed by at highway speeds.

That was 2009. Sixteen years later, city and state Department of Transportation officials have agreed to collaborate on a pedestrian crossing upgrade. Winston-Salem DOT Director Jeff Fansler says, given the size and complexi

Before his arrival in the Triad, David had already established himself as a fixture in the Austin, Texas arts scene as a radio host for Classical 89.5 KMFA. During his tenure there, he produced and hosted hundreds of programs including Mind Your Music, The Basics and T.G.I.F. Thank Goodness, It's Familiar, which each won international awards in the Fine Arts Radio Competition. As a radio journalist with 88.5 WFDD, his features have been recognized by the Associated Press, Public Radio News Directors Inc., Catholic Academy of Communication Professionals, and Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas. David has written and produced national stories for NPR, KUSC and CPRN in Los Angeles and conducted interviews for Minnesota Public Radio's Weekend America.

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