A crash that left a girl injured in Atascadero Monday morning is raising concerns about safety in this part of town.
El Camino Real and East Mall is known to be a busy intersection in Atascadero for cars and pedestrians.
"That gets really bottle necked when the kids are going to and from school and it could be really dangerous and people can get frustrated and sometimes they go too fast through there," said Patricia McCrea-Weiler, Atascadero resident.
Early Monday morning, a 12-year old pedestrian was hit by a pick-up truck while walking in the crosswalk, police say the driver may have been speeding.
"In general throughout the city speed is one of the leading primary collision factors for collisions in our city," said Ron Overacker, motor officer, Atascadero Police.
Currently, the downtown area is being revitalized and one of the focal points is addressing pedestrian and bicyclist safety.
"We're looking at dropping a lane in each direction. Right now, it's a five lane configuration, with the center turn lane being the fifth lane and having that drop down to two lanes will actually mean less lanes of traffic to cross," said Nick DeBar, City of Atascadero director of public works.
DeBar says the city is currently doing traffic studies, which will determine if the 25 mile per hour speed limit on El Camino Real is reduced.
McCrea-Weiler hopes changes are made to make it safer for those walking on the streets sooner rather than later.
"I'm not sure what all the answers are to everything but I know that there's definitely an issue and I would really like it if whoever knows about those things that they fix it," said McCrea-Weiler.
Detectives say the driver remained on scene after the crash this morning and the pedestrian was treated for moderate injuries.
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Girl injured after being hit by pickup truck in Atascadero
