Pontiac will slow traffic and create a pedestrian crossing and other safety improvements on Baldwin Avenue near Hope Shelters after a man was killed nearby while crossing the street.

Charles Arnold O’Connor, 37, of Flint, died just before 9 p.m. March 7 on Baldwin Avenue after being hit by a truck. The teen driver was not charged with a crime because O’Connor was not using a crosswalk, which was more than 300 feet north of where he was killed.

Pontiac spokeswoman Paula Bridges said the Baldwin improvements will be funded by the “Safe Streets for All” grant program and include a traffic study.

In the meantime, plans are underway to add stop signs near the intersection with Virginia Street close to Hope Shelters, along with pavement striping and trimming trees.

“The materials needed for those activities have been ordered,” Bridges said. “Once they are received and the contractor confirms an installation date, work will proceed.”

She said the first safety improvements should be done by the end of July, weather permitting.

Hope Shelters’ interim CEO Elizabeth Kelly said the nonprofit helps area residents with food and hygiene supplies in addition to giving homeless people food and a safe place to sleep.

After O’Connor’s death, shelter officials increased their efforts to improve pedestrian safety nearby.

Kelly, operations manager Karen Plants, and shelter manager Carolyn Robiadek made phone calls, sent emails and spoke during county commission and city council meetings. Kelly also exchanged several texts with Mayor Tim Greimel, she said.

Kelly also met with Larry Sirls, public works director, and said his visit resulted in plans she hadn’t even envisioned, such as cutting back trees so street lights will be more effective.“He was absolutely awesome,” she said. “Once he saw the amount of pedestrian and car traffic in the area, that made all the difference in the world.

“He saw the two bus stops and people going from Hope Shelters to the Baldwin Center across the street,” she said.

Safety measures after a traffic study is completed, Kelly said, could include lane changes so drivers can’t use the center turn lane to get around stopped buses. Kelly said that tactic jeopardizes people getting off the bus.

Kelly said she’s very glad to know more safety measures will be put into place soon. She’s also happy to learn the city has an overall plan for pedestrian-safety initiatives.

“In my world people take care of one another,” she said. “We’re not looking at anything negative or a reason to hate others.”

The shelter is in Councilman Mikal Goodman’s district. He called O’Connor’s death preventable.

“It’s good to see the city taking more-immediate action on concerns the community has had for a while,” he said, adding that the people who stay at Hope Shelters should be considered Pontiac residents as much as people who pay rent and property taxes.