AU, nonprofit working with Selma to improve pedestrian safety on Highland Avenue

Auburn University and a nonprofit safety organization will be working with the city of Selma to make the city safer for pedestrians. 

Kathy Gregory, executive director of the Fifty Fund, told the Selma City Council at their March 20 work session that her organization and AU found that the Selma had more than double the state average of pedestrian accidents over the last two years. Over the last five years, 500 car crashes were reported each year. Forty pedestrians were involved in accidents over those five years, resulting in nine deaths, Gregory said. 

The Fifty Fund, AU and ALDOT paid special attention to Highland Avenue. A pedestrian died while crossing the busy street in October 2024. The team also looked at traffic around schools and housing projects, Gregory said. 

The team is working on a safety action plan that will lay out what needs to be done to improve safety. The plan might include strategies for improving crosswalks, implementing traffic-calming measures and installing new pedestrian signals at key intersections on Highland Avenue, she said. 

The plan can be the basis for grants, according to Gregory. ALDOT may pay for improvements on Highland Avenue because it is a state highway, she said. 

In a news release, Selma Mayor James Perkins Jr. called the study a “key milestone in the city’s ongoing efforts to improve infrastructure and ensure safer streets for all residents.”

Gregory said, “The seriousness in which the city of Selma spearheaded by Mayor Perkins has approached transportation safety and pedestrian safety is a model for others. We will continue to support their efforts to make tangible improvements.”

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The Fifty Fund is a nonprofit organization dedicated to traffic safety, especially in counties with persistent poverty. 

In other business, the city council may ask Gov. Kay Ivey to break a deadlock between the Selma City Council and the Dallas County Commission over a seat on the Craig Field Airport and Industrial Park Board. The city council unanimously voted to appoint State Sen. Robert Stewart to the board, while the county commission voted to appoint former State Sen. Hank Sanders to the seat. 

City Council President Billy Young said it was his understanding that the governor has the power to decide who takes the seat if there is disagreement between the appointing authorities. The council will discuss it at their March 24 meeting. 

The council discussed the possibility of having the YMCA provide lifeguards for the city swimming pool that will open in east Selma this summer. 

The renaming of King’s Alley near Dallas Avenue in Ward 3 may have to go back to the drawing board. King’s Alley was renamed Langdon Lane at the last council meeting. However, City Attorney Major Madison Jr. said it appears that additional signatures may be required before the name can be changed. 

Councilperson Christie Thomas discussed how the city could provide more ways for traffic to enter and exit the growing number of homes in the Lincoln Drive area.