Information About the Crash
The July 21, 2025 City Administrator’s report included details of a car/pedestrian crash in a mid-block crosswalk near the intersection of S. Maple and Bens St. The pedestrian sustained a serious injury.
AAPD released the UD-10 report to CIAA in July. According to the report, a vehicle southbound on Maple struck a pedestrian in the crosswalk. The pedestrian had activated the RRFB lights. The driver was issued a citation.
Excerpt of UD-10 report.
CIAA visited this location on August 15 and collected images. At that time, all RRFB lights and buttons were working properly. During a return visit on October 8, CIAA collected an additional image, taken from the north side of Bens St. The later image shows how a street tree 90 feet north of the crosswalk obscures the clear view of the crosswalk signage and the RRFB on the southbound side of Maple.
Crosswalk at S. Maple and Bens, shown from the perspective of the approaching driver.
Maple and Bens St., shown from the perspective of the approaching southbound driver. From this location, approximately 140 ft. away, the crosswalk sign for the southbound lane of Maple is completely obscured by the branches of a tree.
Recommendations
Improve Driver Compliance at Crosswalks
Between January 1, 2025 and June 23, 2025 (the day of this crash), pedestrians were seriously injured or killed in 7 other incidents at crosswalks throughout the city:
- University
- Green and Burbank
- Washington and Third
- Huron and Division
- Huron and Fourth
- Maiden Lane and Island Drive
- Huron and Main
And after the Maple and Bens St. crash, pedestrians were injured again at Main and Kinglsey and also at Glazier and Green. As has been written on this blog many times, most recently for a crash on Fuller Rd., Ann Arbor needs to improve driver compliance at crosswalks.
Slow it Down
“Reducing vehicular speeds throughout Ann Arbor is likely the most effective, singular approach to improving safety on Ann Arbor’s streets,” said page 34 of Ann Arbor’s Comprehensive Transportation Plan, way back in 2021. It needs to happen on S. Maple.
Improve Visibility of the Crosswalk Signage
The street tree north of the crosswalk should be trimmed to give drivers a clear view of the signage, the RRFB and any pedestrians in the crosswalk approach. A SeeClickFix ticket was opened on October 8.
Note: this post was updated on October 8th to include details about how the clear view of the crosswalk signs is obscured by foliage. Seth Peterson reached out to share this observation. If you see something that should be added to a CIAA post, please leave a comment or reach out using the email address on the about page.