The City of Regina will be installing a new pedestrian corridor at the intersection of Albert Street and the South Service roads.

The corridor will include illuminated crosswalk signs, pedestrian poles and push buttons, and lighting to improve pedestrian visibility to drivers. The city says a similar corridor was recently installed on Wascana Parkway near 23rd Ave.

“Upgrade locations are primarily determined based on analysis that considers the number of pedestrians and vehicles at the intersection, as well as other factors such as intersection geometry, vehicular speeds and age of pedestrians using the intersection,” the city said in a press release.

“First and foremost, we want to improve safety for motorists and for pedestrians,” said Kim Onrait, executive director of citizen services with the City of Regina.

In November, a 21-year-old woman was struck and killed while crossing the street on the 4500 block of Albert St. The city confirmed the new corridor will be at the same location, and said the November collision triggered its investigation into the safety of the crosswalk.

“As accidents occur at intersections, we look at them on a case-by-case basis. We review the information that we have come forward, work with Regina city police and consider many different options to improve safety,” Onrait said.

Many in the community have been calling on the city to make changes to the spot, including Natasha Fritzke, who has been friends with Sitter and her family for more than a decade.

“She was just a really warm, wonderful person to be around,” said Fritzke. “It’s unfortunate what had to happen, and I’m just happy that this will not happen again. Because nobody deserves to go through this.”

Fritzke created one of the online petitions proposing safety improvements for pedestrians. She said she is glad to hear the city is doing more than just adding lights to the crosswalk.

“I’m happy that they are going the extra mile, because Gracie was a wonderful person and I believe that it can potentially create closure too for the family, in a certain sense,” Fritzke said.

Construction will begin later this month, and is expected to be complete in early spring. The city said the investigation into the collision is still ongoing.