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Letter: Poor city planning is to blame for the death of Hill Air Force Base employee

(Courtesy Hill Air Force Base) Chiyoko Copeland washes dishes at her job at Hill Air Force Base. She'd been working at the base, walking there most days no matter the weather, since 1995. She was killed Dec. 15, 2017, when a vehicle struck her while she crossed the street in Layton.

I was deeply saddened to see the news of yet another traffic fatality in Utah. I was also struck by The Tribune’s decision to focus on the detail that Chiyoko Copeland was not using a crosswalk, when there are no crosswalk options available in that half-mile section of roadway in Layton.

If Copeland had chosen to use a crosswalk, she would have encountered driveways and cross streets, sidewalks clogged with poles and signs, sidewalks crossed by turn lanes, and sidewalks that end abruptly in parking lots with no clear path of travel.

In addition, the wide travel lanes on Main Street encourage vehicles to travel faster than the posted 40 mph speed limit. Aside from encouraging speed, the street width also makes getting across the street challenging for all but the most fit among us.

I do not believe the driver of the vehicle is to blame here. Rather, traffic engineers, city and state officials responsible for our communities and roadways have neglected folks who choose to walk or have no other options.

Perhaps the Tribune could dig a bit deeper into the real issues the next time one of us is a victim of poor planning.

Myron Willson, Salt Lake City