Andy Keating uses the South Street crosswalk 4 to 5 times a week.
"Sometimes it feels like cars do not see the blinking lights," Keating said.
Keating and other residents shared experiences with KSBY, of feeling in danger using the current crosswalk.
"I push the button and just hope no one hits me," said Sean Denich, who uses the crosswalk multiple times a day.
We looked into city of San Luis Obispo data and found that between 2015 and 2023 there were 214 pedestrian collisions and 323 cyclist collisions.
"Understanding that most of our really bad crashes involve a person on foot or on bicycle, they're also typically happening on our higher speed traffic roadways like south street, where we have speeds that exceed 40 miles per hour or more," said Luke Schwartz, the City of San Luis Obispo Transportation Manager.
Schwartz says improvements are being proposed for the crosswalk.
"This project is going to include upgrading the crossing equipment at this intersection, which is a key gateway to meadow park to nearby Hawthorne Elementary School," said Schwartz.
He says if the city council approves the plan at Tuesday night's meeting, "pedestrian hybrid beacons" will be installed.
"It's something in between the kind of flashing lights and a full traffic signal," said Schwartz.
Some of these types of crosswalks are already up around town, including on Madonna Rd., near Laguna Lake
"We use it almost everyday, I think it's definitely safe," said Piper Merriam, who crosses the street to get to the bus stop.
The "pedestrian hybrid beacon" have a crossing sequence, where lights above the roadway start flashing yellow, turn to solid yellow, turn to solid red when someone is crossing, and finally to flashing red, alerting drivers they need to proceed with caution.
Residents near the South Street crosswalk say they are looking forward to the upgrade.
"We love those, because they really get the traffic's attention," said Keating.
"It's good because it really does stop the traffic and let people cross," said Denich.
Schwartz says that if they get the go ahead at the Tuesday night city council meeting, they hope to have the improved crosswalk up and running by fall 2026.
