Crosswalk safety still a big concern

University officials and students remained concerned about pedestrian safety on campus crosswalks, and campus police are actively working to increase protection, according to the campus police chief.

Last December, student Andrew White was struck by a vehicle at the crosswalk between east and west campus. White suffered a collapsed lung and a head injury along with other injuries. White declined comment on his current condition.

Upon transferring from James Madison in Harrisburg, VA, mass communications major, Lauren Smith, said she was surprised at how horrible the cross walk situation was. "It's horrible to say, but I knew somebody was going to get hit there."

A random survey of 23 students were asked if they felt safe while crossing the crosswalk. Eleven of the students said yes, but acknowledged that their safety was their own responsibility. "I feel safe because I know I am taking precaution," said biochemistry major, Brittany Shepherd. Junior political science major, Scott Carpenter, believes that while pedestrian's have the right-of-way, it is the pedestrian's responsibility to make sure that it is safe before crossing the road. "I figured [an accident] was going to happen eventually due to the increase in both pedestrians and traffic," he said.

Twenty of the 23 students had personally experienced, or seen students involved in, near accidents while crossing the street. While students acknowledged that many students walk out onto a crosswalk with their heads down and headphones in without looking, some students do witness cases where the driver was irresponsible. Photography major, Ellie Pretsch, said that her and her friends continually look before crossing the road. But one time while crossing the four-way stop on German St., one of her friends was almost blindsided by a SUV. "People don't necessarily look at the speed limit signs. They are too busy looking at where they need to go or make a turn," Pretsch said. Senior Cara Schildtknecht said she has friends who were hit by vehicles while on bicycles crossing the crosswalk.

The majority of student concern for their safety as pedestrians lies during the end of the day. History major, Matthew Beard said walking to night classes has made him overly cautious. "I do feel that a bit more lighting around some of the [crosswalks] would help," he said.

Twenty-one of the students believed they had they inherently have the right-of-way as a pedestrian in crosswalks. However, according to Police Chief Scott Beckner, pedestrians must yield to vehicles. If there is no traffic, then the pedestrian can proceed onto the crosswalk, and then vehicles yield to pedestrians from that point on. Beckner said the department is continually getting reports about students not even looking before walking out onto the crosswalk. "That is something that's not safe and not the correct way the law is written," he said. Many students said that since the crosswalk is on a campus, they should have some right-of-way. "I think this is a phenomenon of the small town. You just believe that someone will stop for you because you are in the cross-walk," said senior Cara Schildtknecht.

Students suggested signs alerting vehicles that they are entering a college campus. "Especially for people who are just driving through and are not aware of Shepherd's [campus]," said biology major, Marvin Johnson. Several students mentioned the crosswalk at the intersection of the High St. and Route 480 being dangerous. Students confessed to treating that intersection like a crosswalk and stepping out in front of cars without hesitating. "I'm pretty irresponsible when it comes to that, but it's a college campus," said Spanish major, Andrew Woodson.

Nine of the 23 students said that they were unaware of a student being hit by a vehicle last December. All 23 students except for one believed that the school should have released an official statement about the accident for safety precautions. Carpenter said that even though a majority of the students already knew about the accident due to word-of-mouth, he was surprised that no email announcement was sent out. "I had to wait for the story to come out in the Picket for me to find out the details," he said. Pretsch believed that the lack of a press release was to protect the privacy of the victim. "[White] might not have wanted everyone to know [about the accident]," she said. However, students such as sophomore nursing student, Nikki Frusco believed the university was trying to cover the accident up from the students. Student Affairs officials said that email announcements are only sent out if they need to warn others about danger. "In this incident, this was an individual who was hit. There was no more danger than there is any other day that you cross the street," said Vice President of Student Affairs, Sharon Kipetz said. Kipetz ensures that students would be notified immediately if there was ever an incident that would put them in danger.

According to Beckner, the university is working with the transportation department of the state and the city for methods of improvement. The university is currently planning to provide more lightening on the crosswalk by replacing the current 400 watt light bulbs with 1000 watt bulbs. They are also considering adding an additional light with 1000 watt bulbs. "There are a lot of layers to getting [more lighting]. You can't just throw up a light because of laws and whose jurisdiction. But we are in the forefront of making that happen," said Beckner.

Some students felt that while the crosswalk was unsafe, that that university was doing everything it could within their power. "I don't know what else they could do, but there should be something done," said biochemistry major, Rebecca Furby.

Smith recommended installing a light and a crosswalk button for students to walk across as a group. "It's a lot easier for a car to see a group of people instead of just one," she said. As a commuter, Smith said she has waited in her vehicle up to twenty minutes for individuals cross the crosswalk.