Every time I cross Beall Ave., I am baffled by the number of drivers who don’t stop for the mass gatherings of students at the crosswalk.† Most of the time when I am involved in one of these situations, I shake my fist angrily muttering curse words under my breath, as if it makes some sort of difference.† Sometimes I take my chances and just cross ó stick it to the man, right? But alas, none of my actions seem to change anything.
What might make more sense is if people actually stopped and if the College did something to indicate that those brick walkways, are in fact, crosswalks and that cars need to stop.† I wish I could† pin this one entirely on the driver, but I can’t.† Having driven down Beall Ave. at night myself, I know first-hand that pedestrians are hard to spot and the crosswalks are even more difficult to locate.† I have never seen an illuminated crosswalk on Beall Ave. nor have I ever seen any reflectors indicating that a crosswalk was present.
The first step in abating this issue should be for the College to step up, take responsibility, and work to ensure the safety of its students.† Maybe by placing reflective strips on the cross walks or the free-standing signs that sit in the middle of the road and read, “Yield to pedestrians” we can help raise the awareness of drivers.
Obviously, I understand that there are always going to be people that blow through the crosswalk because they don’t care and the individuals that try to run you off the road because they think it is funny ñ weird sense of humor, I guess.† But maybe with a little signage the College could make more of a statement, one that says, “We’re not trying to get our soon-to-be young professionals run over by cars. Slow down!”
I do believe at one point it was mentioned by some staff or faculty member that there is or was some sort of pedestrian awareness program.† I have no idea on the status of that program but if it has ended something more needs to be done.† If it hasn’t ended we need to expedite the process to ensure that students feel safe now as opposed to next fall.
As a shout out to any community members reading this, stop at the crosswalk ó it’s a law that pedestrians have the right of way.† Try not to get so angry that students are always around.† Often times, in an effort to make my presence on the crosswalk known, I like to make eye contact with unfriendly drivers. It’s my way of saying, “Hey, I’m walking here.”† These drivers frequently look angry and annoyed that there are students everywhere.† Maybe they’re not from around here but this is a college campus ó what do you expect?
The bottom line is, stop at the crosswalk and stop making an effort to run me off the road. If you don’t want to encounter pedestrians pick another route or be prepared to abide by the law.
One response to “Not as simple as looking both ways”
While I agree with the sentiments of the author, I would like to say that I believe the college went overboard in creating the crosswalks. There are simply too many; it seems there’s one almost every fifty feet. A stretch of road that formerly was a tough cross for pedestrians is now a worrisome gauntlet for drivers, even those of us diligently on the lookout for those on foot.
It’s nerve-wracking to inch along the street, constantly attempting to eyeball not only the vehicle in front of you but potential street-crossers emerging from both directions; especially when it’s dark. Students, please understand that we’re not out to get you, so even though you do have the right of way, it’s not a good idea to just suddenly make a ninety-degree turn off the sidewalk to venture across the road.