TAMARAC, Fla. – A bus stop across the street from a veteran's clinic in Tamarac was deemed dangerous years ago by veterans affairs activists and employees of the clinic. Last month, the issue was brought up once again at a town hall meeting, but nothing was done about it.
Some say the tragic death of 70-year-old Army veteran Willie Span on Thursday may have been prevented if warnings about the dangers of not having a crosswalk in front of the Bill Kling clinic had been heeded by Broward County traffic officials.
Span was hit and killed early Thursday morning while trying to cross six lanes of busy rush-hour traffic on West Commercial Boulevard. There is no crosswalk at the bus stop in and vets can be seen making a dangerous dash to get to the clinic daily.
The VA has been aware of the problem and chief medical officer Dr. Phillip Greenberg said three years ago, "It's not a matter of if someone gets killed, it's a matter of when."
Local 10 News reporter Todd Tongen spoke with him Friday, and he said three weeks ago the matter was brought up again. Unfortunately, he was told 107 pedestrians must cross the street at any hour to justify a crossing and according to Broward county data, only 18 cross in any one hour.
Veterans' affairs activist Andy Rubenstein has been lobbying the county for a crosswalk. He said Span's tragic death is a wake-up call and he fears more vets will be hit and killed.
"We have already had one. Do we have to wait for two more?" said Rubenstein. "I don't know what their protocol is. I would personally like to speak to someone from the county so they can look me in the eye and say, 'Whenever you walk the street you might get killed.' I don't know what else to do. It is ridiculous."
The crossing has been such a concern and issue, Broward County Commissioner Marty Kiar released a statement that said, in part, "I also requested that Broward County construct a crosswalk or traffic control device at that bus stop and the county engineers denied my request and stated that the Federal DOT guidelines do not permit a crosswalk at that stop. Unfortunately, the worst has occurred and I firmly believe that the tragedy should have been prevented."
Local 10 News contacted Commissioner Stacy Ritter, because this is her district, but she never returned the call. Meanwhile, Kiar said he has placed the issue on the Broward County commissioners meeting agenda next Tuesday for discussion.
Hopefully this time talk will turn to action.
Follow Todd Tongen on Twitter @toddtongen
Follow Local 10 News on Twitter @WPLGLocal10