Sidewalk safety concerns mount in the wake of deadly Upper Valley hit-and-run

The death of 13-year-old Giselle Martinez in a hit-and-run Friday afternoon sparked concerns regarding the lack of walk-able space in an Upper Valley neighborhood.

Searching the perimeter between Country Club and Redd roads and Montoya and Doniphan drives, ABC-7 found two streets with a limited stretch of sidewalk: Mulberry Avenue and Redd Road.

“They haul butt,” said Adrian Kin, who lives right off of Redd Road near Montoya Avenue. “They go fast up and down the street 24/7.”

Signs in the area are posted cautioning drivers of the 30 mph speed limit. People walking or biking can use the dirt path on the canal right beside the road, but the problem, neighbors say, is the narrow streets.

In certain areas, the width of the road, including unpaved areas off to the side, is roughly 20 feet, even less with shrubbery.

Miguel Benavides has two children attending Lincoln Middle School, where 13-year-old Giselle was a student. “Kids hardly have room to wait for the bus,” Benavides said.

“We sent a letter about two or three years ago to the City and we don’t have any response,” said Benavides. “We asked the city and they told us that’s the way that we bought the property, when you buy the property that way it will stay that way.”

The Upper Valley area falls into District 1, which El Paso City Rep. Peter Svarzbien oversees. He said about 50 years ago it was all farmland, and that with the immense growth comes more traffic.

“The first thing up is to engage in dialogue with the community,” said Svarzbien. “I’m putting in an item on the agenda to begin the conversation to talk with our traffic engineers and designers in our CID Department to look at what solutions are necessary.”

Svarzbien said he wants safety precautions to go beyond sidewalks, and advocates for speed humps, and better methods of handling water flowing through the levees. He said Friday’s fatal crash hits home.

“I grew up around the neighborhood,” said Svarzbien. “I used to walk home almost every day from Lincoln middle school down Mulberry of it onto Montoya through the levees, so I know the area personally.”

Police said Monday they had identified the alleged hit-and-run driver and an arrest warrant had been issued. The suspect, 17-year-old Samuel Thomas Garcia of Sunland Park, New Mexico, turned himself in shortly after police released his name and photo.