Dog dead, woman in her 70s injured in Waterloo crash

EDITOR’S NOTE: CityNews Kitchener has replaced the photo on this article due to concerns it resembled an animal. We can confirm it was not an animal shown and was a piece of clothing. The image has been replaced to prevent further confusion.

People living in a Waterloo neighbourhood are raising safety concerns after a crash that saw a pedestrian and their dog struck.

The crash occurred Friday morning just before 8 a.m. at University Avenue and Woolwich Street. Waterloo regional police said the pedestrian is a 71-year-old woman from Waterloo, who was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Her dog died as a result of the collision.

The driver in the involved vehicle, a 44-year-old Waterloo woman, was not hurt.

While the police investigation is ongoing, charges are anticipated.

Braeden Newman lives in the area and said he’s seen many drivers speeding down University Avenue, leading to safety concerns and crashes.

“It’s a 50 km/h zone and people go anywhere from 80 to 90 km/h at times,” he told CityNews. “There’s also an issue with visibility for turning left from University onto Woolwich, cars tend to pull out behind cars turning left — which the cars can’t see, which causes high rate of speed accidents.”

Newman said his neighbours agree the intersection is dangerous.

“We talk about it all the time. I think people have stopped turning left from University onto Woolwich because it is so dangerous. Our community neighbours have actually stopped their grandchildren from playing in their backyards because they’ve had cars end up in their backyard.”

Newman said they’ve brought their concerns to the City of Waterloo repeatedly.

“The most action that we’ve gotten was ladder crosswalks, which clearly did not help today,” Newman said.

He added residents want to see more action to try to slow drivers down and suggested speed cameras or a roundabout might help.

Bob Henderson is the City of Waterloo’s Director of Transportation Services. In a statement, he said the city is awaiting further details on Friday’s collision and the contributing factors.

“Last year, the City received requests from residents to improve safety at the intersection,” wrote Henderson. “In response, the City installed high-visibility ladder crosswalks at this intersection, which are proven to enhance motorist and pedestrian safety.”

While the University-Woolwich intersection was not included on a recent list of prioritized locations most in-need of road safety improvements, Henderson noted the City of Waterloo will continue to investigate options to further enhance safety in the neighbourhood.