Residents in Wilmington are testing a traffic safety measure they hope will make a dangerous intersection safer and eventually lead to permanent changes.

With permission from the city, neighbors spent a whole day cleaning, taping off and painting part of the area around Lancaster Avenue and Connell Street as part of a temporary project known as daylighting.

Daylighting improves visibility at intersections by preventing vehicles from parking closest to corners, making it easier for drivers, pedestrians and others using the roadway to see one another.

Organizers say the temporary project is only supposed to last for a few days. Afterward, they plan to survey neighbors to determine whether residents believe it improved safety.

Neighbors say this intersection has long been a concern because vehicles often travel fast down Lancaster Avenue, making it difficult for drivers on Connell Street to safely see oncoming traffic when turning onto the avenue.

“This is local. It’s a local solution from a local set of neighbors who are taking matters into their own hands,” Jamila Davey of Green for the Greater Good said.

For Tracy Jenkins, who lives nearby, the project is personal.

“There used to be a building that sat on this block here, it got hit and knocked off the foundation,” Jenkins said. “My mom every time she gets in the car she cringes because of being afraid of us being hit. It’s just horrible.”

If neighbors believe the temporary project made the intersection safer, organizers plan to push the city and DelDOT to make the daylighting measures permanent.

For now, residents say the effort is about trying to solve a problem they see every day in their neighborhood.

“You gotta try so we’ve gotta try this first,” Jenkins said.

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.

Sixteen-year-old Quin Duncan is a varsity lacrosse player in Wilmington is relieved to be back on the field after a bout with arteriovenous malformation (AVM).

“When I first started bleeding, I had passed out and had to go to the hospital,” Quin Duncan said. “And it was terrifying because I mean no one knew what it was.”

His mom, Kristin Duncan, says there were several scary episodes of bleeding coming from an abscess in his mouth.

“You don’t know it’s there. And then all of a sudden it was just, I was catching Quin’s blood in a bucket,” Kristin Duncan said. “In the moment, honestly, we just didn’t understand the magnitude of what it was.”

He was finally diagnosed with arteriovenous malformation, something that’s very rare and potentially fatal.

“An arteriovenous malformation is an abnormal connection between the arteries, which are vessels that pulsate, and the veins, which drain,” Dr. Anne Marie Cahill, an interventional radiologist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said. “They can create a lot of local problems with the tissues and integrity of bones and teeth, et cetera, so it’s complex problem.”

Cahill says AVMs are often misdiagnosed as a dental problem. 

“When teeth are loose, it is really important to stop and figure out what lies beneath and then give us a chance,” Cahill said.

Quin Duncan underwent four surgeries over the past 8 months and takes daily chemotherapy to control the condition.

“It’s just completely flipped my world upside down,” he said.

Recovering now, he’s relieved to be back for the playoffs and able to practice with his dad in the backyard.

“From where I was, sitting in a hospital bed, not too long ago, never thought I’d be playing lacrosse again,” he said.

Quin Duncan and his family credit the team at CHOP for getting him back to playing, along with his friends who made sure he had plenty of support and milkshakes during his recovery.