Councillors Demand Timetables After Two Pedestrian Deaths on Pispalan valtatie and Epilänkatu

'Something is wrong if a parent fears their child's walk to school or a pedestrian has to guess whether they can make it across the road,' Aamulehti wrote. Deputy councillor Henri Sipilä and city councillor Lauri Nevanperä are urging immediate street-safety upgrades after two pedestrians were killed in late August and September. The first fatality occurred on Pispalan valtatie at the end of August; the second was on Epilänkatu in September. Pispalan valtatie has also seen recent cyclist injuries and a separate collision there was reported in September, and police are still investigating the crashes. The Epilänkatu death was reported in September when a pedestrian was killed and the driver was suspected of negligence. Sipilä and Nevanperä say planned safety improvements for Epilänkatu were blocked in 2021 by the community committee amid objections to narrowing lanes and lowering speed limits, and a similar overhaul for Messukylänkatu was shelved. They argue traffic simulations show space can be reallocated to walking and cycling without significantly harming car flow. Street safety, they say, should be judged not only by recorded accidents but by the hundreds of near-misses that typically precede each serious injury or fatality. The councillors want political parties to set firm timetables for fixing the most dangerous streets, rather than preserving current traffic conditions at the expense of residents' safety and livability.