Crews will install a sidewalk on Williamson Road where a Roanoke man lost his life as the result of a pedestrian fatality. 

The man, Maurice Plummer, was hit and mortally injured while riding against traffic in an electric wheelchair four years ago. He had no choice but to take the road because his route lacked a sidewalk. The driver was not charged.

Hundreds of crashes have occurred on Williamson Road, including another fatality this month.

On April 7, a truck hit and killed 19-year-old pedestrian Phuong-Anh Ha at Williamson and Plantation roads, according to Roanoke County police, who continue to investigate the incident. Students at Hollins University, where she was enrolled, had recently elected her incoming student body president.

Plummer, a 67-year-old retired truck driver, lived in an apartment north of Hershberger Road and traveled to and from Williamson Road businesses in a motorized chair, having lost his lower legs to a health issue. On the evening of Feb. 26, 2021, while going north in the outer southbound lane, he “pulled out in front of” a Chevrolet Silverado, police said. Transportation officials wrote in a report that he had “no other travel way option” but for the street because there was no sidewalk. 

Plummer was possibly going out to eat at a nearby Kentucky Fried Chicken when the incident happened, his sister Michelle Plummer said. Thrown to the pavement, he caught the attention of a passerby who stopped and “kneeled by him as he passed,” according to his sister. She read about the Good Samaritan’s act on Facebook.

His death helped make the case for a state grant to fund a sidewalk on the west side of Williamson between Woodbury Street and Hawthorne Road northwest where he died.

A program by the Virginia Department of Transportation that benefits people who do not drive will pay 80 percent of the sidewalk’s $575,000 cost, while the city agreed to pay the rest. Although the authorities approved the money in 2022, the soonest construction will begin is the summer of 2026, a city official said. 

The sidewalk is one of many fixes needed to address an abundance of risks on Williamson — inadequate visibility, speeding, distracted driving, turning challenges and a lack of pedestrian amenities. 

A third of the pedestrian fatalities that occurred in the city from 2019 to 2023 occurred on Williamson Road. Nearly one-fifth of the traffic fatalities in the city happened on Williamson, reports said.

Authorities have extensively documented the issues and drafted plans but have not implemented major changes.

Here’s a brief history of those efforts.

A 2017 initiative to upgrade the road proved divisive and the effort fizzled. 

Earlier this decade, city authorities took public input on the drafting of a comprehensive plan to address bicycle, pedestrian, transit and motorist safety between Orange Avenue and Hershberger Road. The talks revisited a long-controversial proposal to realign traffic patterns. Specifically, Williamson Road would be cut from two lanes in each direction to one, separated by a two-way center turn lane. The city applied to the state for $66.7 million in 2022 for work on a large section of the road, but it was turned down.

Next came Envision Williamson Road, a study to address what analysts now call a “deadly hotspot.” From that work, authorities have tentatively decided to repaint one section of the road to try out the alternative traffic configuration later this year. By adding a center turn lane, the city has said it would provide a refuge for pedestrians crossing the street at the halfway point. Officials expect fewer backups caused by vehicles waiting to turn and vehicles merging. After six months, officials plan to take stock before deciding whether to make permanent changes.

While the repainting is only a test, the new sidewalk is in process. Environmental studies and advanced design work are scheduled.

“Frustrated and concerned” residents worry about the risks to pedestrians using Williamson Road, according to Valerie Brown, who directs the Greater Williamson Road Area Business Association. “Mobility-impaired individuals in particular and pedestrians in general remain especially vulnerable in areas without basic pedestrian protections. While it’s heartbreaking that it took a loss of life to prompt action, I do want to emphasize that all of this is a step in the right direction. I stand with citizens who believe the sidewalk replacement job needs to be completed sooner [rather] than later as part of ongoing efforts to make Williamson Road a safer place for everyone.”