Concern grows after 24th pedestrian struck, killed by vehicle this year in San Jose

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Concerns are growing after another pedestrian was struck and killed Wednesday in the Bay Area's largest city.

Just before 4:30 a.m., police found a man lying face down near a curb at Rubino Drive and Foxworthy Avenue. The victim was the 24th pedestrian to die in San Jose this year after being hit by a vehicle.

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"Had they stopped that person could probably still be alive," said San Jose resident Paul Macias, who lives nearby. "We generally take for granted every day what we have because not everyone thinks they're going to get hit by a car."

So far, there have been 53 traffic-related fatalities year-to-date across the city.

"We know we need to do better to keep our residents safe and that's both with police officers and getting more officers out in the traffic enforcement unit, and changing the configurations of roads, and road designs that will slow traffic," said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo.

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Improvements are gradually being made to streets in San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, including the installation of bike lanes and upgraded crosswalks. But as cities continue to grow, experts say more pressure is being placed on our infrastructure.

"We've talked about it in terms of freeway capacity, and public transit and trains, and now we're finally starting to pay attention to what it does to the pedestrian realm," said San Jose State University urban studies instructor Kelly Snider.

Whenever there's an accident, the San Jose Department of Transportation sends someone out to analyze the area to see what can be done to make it better.

RELATED: Police say search continues for suspect in fatal San Jose hit-and-run

"We're putting pedestrian improvements all over the city that are actually designed to alert motorists... you might be seeing more of the beacons that flash for a pedestrian to cross," said John Ristow, director of San Jose's transportation department. "There's a lot more people on the road, potentially more impaired these days, more distracted with phones."

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