The city of Ames plans to improve pedestrian safety on Mortensen Road, the street where ISU student Kelly Laughery was killed in a hit-and-run accident on Dec. 3.

John Joiner, director of public works, said the city had been planning to build a shared-use walkway along Mortensen Road to provide pedestrians with a safer alternative to walking along the street before the accident that claimed Laughery’s life.

“We were already considering the improvements before the accident occurred, but that adds weight to the decision,” Joiner said. “We’d been considering this for a couple of years.”

He said the path, which would be accessible to both pedestrians and bicyclists, should be completed by fall 2006 and would run from Welch Avenue to the Ames Middle School, 3915 Mortensen Road.

He said the city also plans to build a similar path along State Avenue, with the cost of the two projects totaling $230,000.

Joiner said he wouldn’t rule out additional projects to improve Mortensen Road, including additional streetlights or sidewalks.

“That’s definitely a concern of ours,” he said. “We’re going to have that conversation with the city of Ames Electric Department within the next week or so, and we’ll also include Iowa State University. It’ll help determine the need for lighting out there and take into consideration the new path and see if improvements are warranted.”

ISU Police Capt. Gene Deisinger said Laughery was struck while in the street.

“She was in the roadway, and there was no sidewalk on either side of the street where she was walking,” he said.

The section of Mortensen Road where she was hit was sufficiently lit, he said.

“There are several streetlights along that section of roadway,” he said.

“My observation is that it’s pretty well-lit. There are other areas to the west that aren’t as well-lit.”

He said he supports the idea of the shared-use path along Mortensen Road.

“I think it would be a positive for the community for there to be space off the road for pedestrians or bicycles,” he said. “The multiuse path seems to make a great deal of sense. Certainly anything that creates separation between pedestrians and traffic is a good thing.”

Jacky Sklenar, assistant manager for Sterling University Plains, 4912 Mortensen Road, voiced her concern over the lack of sidewalks along sections of Mortensen Road.

“I’ve seen kids walking in the street because there are no sidewalks,” Sklenar said.

She said a nearby CyRide route and a private shuttle for Sterling residents provides ISU students with an alternative to walking, but she said other Ames residents don’t have those options.

“I’ve seen middle school kids riding their bikes in the middle of the street,” she said.

On Dec. 15, the ISU Police Department identified the driver that struck Laughery as Shanda Munn, junior in pre-journalism and mass communication. No charges have been filed in connection to the incident.

Deisinger said ISU Police would continue to investigate the accident.