PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield Community Design Center will host a "West Street Walk-Out" event this Saturday, Feb. 25, from 1 to  2 p.m.

 

Participants will gather at Dorothy Amos Park at 310 West St. and walk a loop crossing through the streets and over crosswalks to show presence in a section of the city's streets that many fear crossing.

 

This event comes in response to the death of Pittsfield resident Shaloon Milord, who was hit, along with her 3-year-old daughter, while leaving the park on Jan. 30. Milord  succumbed to her injuries on Feb. 5.

 

The design center, a community-driven group, believes this intersection is a danger, with car traffic taking priority over pedestrians in a densely populated residential neighborhood where many people get around on foot. 

 

For too long, says the group, this corridor has prioritized moving drivers into and out of downtown as quickly as possible over the people who call this neighborhood home. It is time for this relic of urban renewal to be modernized for the 21st century as a complete, safe, multimodal, neighborhood asset — not simply a cut-through, they say.

 

The group has also created an online petition through Change.org that calls on city officials to take action to slow vehicles, reduce crossing distances, and prioritize a corridor study of West Street.

 

The grass-roots organization aims to help residents take pride in their city, create safer streets, grow organic public spaces and events, and help Pittsfield be a 21st-century small city that exemplifies a high quality of life for all residents, new and old. 

 

This event is open to all, and the group hopes that West Side residents, in particular, take part. More information about the event can be found here. More information on the Pittsfield Community Design Center can be found on the website or by contacting Nicholas Russo at nrusso93@gmail.com.