City of Memphis crews Monday tweaked a controversial concrete median added last week in Overton Square.
Drivers told Local 24 the new pedestrian median on Cooper and Monroe in front of the Hattiloo Theatre led to more than a dozen accidents over the weekend.
Monday, traffic management crews added orange markers, installed dozens of reflectors, and put a neon crosswalk sign back up after a car knocked it down.
Sunday, our camera caught vehicles plowing over the new median, intended to protect pedestrians and alert drivers.
Accident after accident roughed up tires and roughed up chunks of cement. Joya Lacey’s car got stuck Saturday night.
“My alignment on my car, it drives funny, my bumper is scraped,” says Lacey.
Lacey said she was the third person Monday morning to make a claim with the city of Memphis, a process which typically takes six to eight weeks. In the meantime, she’ll either need to pay for repairs herself or pay an insurance deductible.
“I understand the pedestrians, they need a way to walk, but at the same time you need to take care of the drivers,” says Lacey.
“I have noticed that people have slowed down. They are not driving as fast,” says Jeff Hauts, who supports the new median.
Hauts works in the area and said the median is a good thing, once drivers adjust to the new wrinkle. “We are one of the number one pedestrian killing cities, and this is what can keep you alive, is that island.”
An employee at the Hattiloo Theater tells Local 24 a primary reason the city moved the pedestrian crosswalk a few feet on Cooper was to make it easier for disabled visitors to cross and get inside.
