TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — At the corner of Second St. and Euclid Ave, a large memorial with flowers and pictures was dedicated to Sophia Troetel, Josiah Santos and Katya Castillo-Mendoza. They tragically passed away last week. Cars rushed by as students and community members stopped to pay their respects.
"She would see you months later and immediately pick up the conversation where you left it off," Noah Fleisher said about Troetel. “Sophia especially was just so friendly and outgoing. She remembered little things about people.”
He was one of the community members who stopped by the memorial, and said more needs to be done to the lighting in the area.
"It could definitely improve people's ability to tell when it's safe to cross the street," Fleisher said.
The City of Tucson's Department of Transportation and Mobility said they checked the lighting and all lights are working.
Meanwhile, a large group of journalism students from the U of A attended the City Council meeting on Wednesday.
"These were friends that I would normally hang out with," Topaz Servellon said about the three who passed away.
Servellon, a University of Arizona student, spoke in front of the City Council about the dangers of that intersection.
"I think we need to completely deviate from being a car-centric city, and I know we have the capacity to do that," Servellon said.
The City of Tucson's Department of Transportation and Mobility said they're prioritizing Second and Euclid. In the meantime they said they are making interim changes soon such as refreshing all signs and striping, inspecting street lighting and considering flashing amber beacons.
Since 2023, future safety improvements to the intersection have been in the planning phase. They include a new traffic signal for north and south traffic on Euclid, separate bicycle and pedestrian crossing paths, turn restrictions, and south to east turns will be allowed for access to the parking garage on Second. The next step is to choose the contractor and construction could take up to a year.
The Department of Transportation and Mobility said they'll also be installing a signalized pedestrian crossing at Second and Euclid. They're expecting to start this year and be done by next spring.
"It shouldn’t have come to this. I shouldn't have lost three friends because of it," Servellon said.
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Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
