Ames council directs staff to pursue short- and long-term pedestrian-safety steps after fatal Lincoln Way crash

After discussing a months-old fatal collision in the Old Riverside neighborhood, Ames Mayor John Haila said the City Council gave staff direction on June 23 to pursue short-term immediate and long-term measures to improve pedestrian safety on Lincoln Way at and near South Russell.

Mayor Haila recapped a staff report that examined multiple options, from continuing to follow the city’s Bike Walk Roll transportation plan to installing site-specific hardware such as a rectangular flashing pedestrian beacon. "Staff prepared a report, which was very thorough giving different options," Haila said, and the council provided direction to implement both immediate steps and longer-term initiatives.

Why it matters: the crash resulted in the death of a community member and prompted concern among nearby residents about crossing safety, signal timing and other near-term mitigations. Council members emphasized the need to balance near-term fixes with planning consistent with the Bike Walk Roll plan and longer-term engineering changes.

Next steps: council directed staff to pursue both near-term and long-term actions; no formal vote to adopt a specific hardware installation was recorded in the transcript. Staff will return with implementation details and schedules as part of ongoing transportation planning work.

The council closed the session by reminding listeners of the June 30 listening session on the data-center proposal and the next regular meeting on July 14.