GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A busy Gwinnett County road with a history of pedestrian deaths is getting an influx of federal dollars to try and make the corridor safer for the community.
Just last August, Angela Sherrell died crossing Singleton Road in Norcross while on her way to her friend’s house.
Gwinnett County Police later arrested a driver they say struck the Norcross mother as she crossed outside of a crosswalk and then kept driving.
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Sherrell’s death is one of at least seven reported along the Singleton Road Corridor over the past five years.
Many neighbors in the area echo concerns from Sherrell’s family that there aren’t enough safe places to cross.
“Singleton is a dangerous road,” Adrian Beasley, Sherrell’s nephew, told Channel 2′s Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson. “It’s been going on for as long as I can remember.”
Now Senators Rafael Warnock and Jon Ossoff helped secure just over $1 million in federal funds to address pedestrian safety along Singleton Road.
The U.S. Department of Transportation will send the money to Gwinnett County through a program called SMART grants.
“Through the bipartisan infrastructure law, pedestrian safety upgrades along Singleton Road are on the way,” said Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Georgia).
The money is expected to help install flashing lights that indicate to drivers when a pedestrian is crossing, along with other changes. Gwinnett County leaders are considering adding more crosswalks as well.
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“I know it’s going to prevent a lot of incidents on that road,” said Beasley. “I’m grateful that, you know, a bad situation is able to help people in the future.”
First up will be a county traffic study along the Singleton Road Corridor.
Transportation officials will also examine how many crosswalks are in the area and compare that with information in the traffic study.
“We would have to see where additional crosswalks may be needed,” said Lewis Cooksey, Gwinnett County Transportation Director, “and if they are, then we would be looking to install additional crosswalks.”
Sherrell’s family maintains the memorial that they put out on Singleton Road after her death on August 2, 2022, near Harbins Ridge Drive.
They hope a crosswalk will be constructed right next to it.
“Where my aunt got hit,” said Beasley, “she would have had to walk pretty much another half mile just to get to another crosswalk.”
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