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New Albany neighbors seeking street changes after fatal accident

Matt Brewer, 32, was skateboarding Monday night around 9:30 when he was hit by a car near 9th and Spring Street.

NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WHAS11) -- Residents in New Albany said they've been complaining for a while now about dangerous conditions on a roadway, and Monday night a man on a skateboard was killed.

Tuesday morning, those same residents took their concerns to officials. The New Albany Board of Public Works meeting lasted about an hour, and a good portion of that time focused on this accident and what neighbors think is behind it. They said they're heartbroken over what's happened but hopeful it will lead to changes they feel are long overdue.

Matt Brewer, 32, was skateboarding Monday night around 9:30 when he was hit by a car near 9th and Spring Street. He died just hours later. Neighbors said he was a familiar and welcome face for all of them.

“He used to skate all up and down Spring Street all of the time. He was always a friendly guy, always said hi to us when we would walk by and see him, just a really nice guy,” neighbor Jessica Smith said. “He was just always friendly to the kids when we would walk by and was just out there skateboarding doing what he loved all the time.”

Smith and several others spoke at Tuesday’s Board of Public Works. They think switching Spring Street from a one to a two way has helped, but they want stop signs or stop lights added, too. They don't think the current crosswalks are cutting it.

"The problem with those is it gives the pedestrians a false sense of security. So, when you press the button to go across the crosswalk, you would think traffic is going to stop, but that's not the case. People around here have not been educated around how those work,” Smith said.

Their concerns came across loud and clear, but the board said any change will take time.

"It's a major concern, and people should be more careful – pedestrians and drivers- and be more attentive to the conditions on the streets,” New Albany Board of Public Works & Safety President Warren Nash said. "That area has been under discussion since the time that we converted the streets from one-way to two-way, and we'll continue to monitor that situation."

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