Information About the Crash
The City of Ann Arbor Administrator’s report for February, 2025 included details of a pedestrian crash at North University and S. Thayer on January 8, 2025 at 11:25AM. Several FOIA requests for the details of this crash were denied while the incident was under investigation. The UD-10 crash report was released to CIAA on May 21, 2025.
The UD-10 report describes a vehicle headed westbound on North University that struck a pedestrian who was walking south in the crosswalk east of Thayer. According to the report, the driver of the vehicle did not see the pedestrian at any time before the crash. The pedestrian sustained a significant head injury.
Excerpt of UD-10
Google Maps shows how the wide connection between The Diag and Ingalls Mall includes two crosswalks across North University. The crash occurred in the west crosswalk.
Google Maps image of the pedestrian route between The Diag and Ingalls Mall.
The most recent Street View image of the two crosswalks was taken in April, 2024. It shows that there were only two Pedestrian Warning signs in the vicinity of the two crosswalks. Those two signs are almost the only indication of the two crosswalks. The street pavement is different–cement instead of asphalt–at these crosswalks, but the difference in color, as shown in the image below, is very minimal.
Google Maps Street View of the crosswalks across North University. The red arrows show the location of the only two Pedestrian Warning signs.
CIAA visited the site on May 24, 2025 and collected images of the crosswalks and surrounding area. The images show that several new Pedestrian Warning signs were added since April, 2024, bringing the total in the vicinity of the crosswalks to 8 (4 on each side of North University). In-lane signs were also added to the median. Date stickers on the backs of the Pedestrian Warning signs indicate that they were installed on January 28, 2025–less than three weeks after the serious injury crash.
Pictures taken on May 24 show new Pedestrian Warning signs as well as in-lane signs on the median. (Photo: Todd Marsee)
Date stickers on the Pedestrian Warning signs indicate that they were installed on January 28, 2025, 20 days after the crash. (Photos: Todd Marsee)
Recommendations
Evaluation of This Crash By Transportation Experts
The Transportation Engineering staff of the City of Ann Arbor need to evaluate this crash and recommend changes to prevent future incidents like this one. Any serious or fatal crash in the city should get this kind of scrutiny, with a focus on both quick, interim fixes and long term solutions. Their evaluation should include traffic counts of pedestrians and vehicles.
Proactive Improvements and Application of Recommended Actions
After Transportation Engineering staff have evaluated what may have contributed to this crash, they should look for other locations throughout the city with similar characteristics.
Improving the crosswalks at North University and Thayer after the crash was definitely the right thing to do. But we need a process that identifies and corrects hazards, like poorly marked crosswalks, before people are hurt by them.