New four-way stops are now up along the Raleigh road where Natalia Duque-Wilckens, a professor at North Carolina State University, was hit and killed last year.

Raleigh City Council approved three four-way stops along Clark Avenue and Pogue Street, Clark Avenue and Horne Street, and Clark Avenue and Chamberlain Street near the university campus.

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In November 2025, Duque-Wilckens was crossing Clark Avenue near Pogue Street when she was hit by a car and died from her injuries.  

Her fiancé, Trevor Huffman, remembers Duque-Wilckens through her love and commitment to her students.

"I just know Natalia would love to help scientists and students and animals, and I think that gives me a ton of meaning," he said.

Huffman continues to honor his late partner by efforts to raise money through and give funds to science students.

"She would be so happy to know she made an impact, a lasting impact," he said.

The incident sparked a petition from the community, one that 1,200 people signed.

Residents who live along Clark Avenue said Duque-Wilckens' death was just one of many scary issues while driving or walking the same road.

"I've been here almost 20 years. I can remember at least 7 or 8 accidents on Clark," said Stuart Guthrie. "One car ended up upside-down in the church across the street."

The driver who hit Duque-Wilckens stayed at the scene and was cited with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle.

According to Raleigh police crash data sourced from Crosstown, Duque-Wilckens' death was the first traffic-related death in the city in almost a decade since 2015. The same data shows a steady increase in crashes in that area since 2020.

Staff from Raleigh’s Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP) received a request for a four-way stop evaluation for intersections along Clark Avenue that included Clark Avenue at Pogue Street. After analyzing the locations, the Clark Avenue and Pogue Street intersection met the criteria for a four-way stop.

The new stop signs will not restrict any on-street parking that already exists in this area.

WRAL reached out to the City of Raleigh about other concerns raised by the petition, including a lack of street lights, downhill areas increasing speeding and visibility issues caused by trees.

A city spokesperson said light upgrades, in conjunction with Duke Energy, were made at the end of last year on the existing street lights to "increase visibility in low-light conditions".

Staff are also planning on conducting "field visits" in the coming months to check on leaves and determine whether trees need to be trimmed.

WRAL reached out to the City of Raleigh on how the new stop signs along Clark Avenue have helped with the flow of traffic, and are still waiting to hear back. 

If you’re interested in looking into traffic calming measures for your neighborhood, you can find more information on the City of Raleigh website.