Campus crosswalks danger
Photo / Corbin Peters
If you walk to campus or walk on campus you will realize that walking on the crosswalks can be a hazard.
It has come to my attention that crosswalks are not as safe as they’re suppose to be. Just last week Wells Fargo executive, Brett Morgan, was hit by a dump truck and killed while legally walking on a crosswalk. Similarly, David Smuda, another Wells Fargo employee was struck Wednesday morning at the intersection of Stonewall Street and College Street.
Sadly this isn’t the first accident to happen involving a crosswalk and certainly not the last.
We even have accidents here on campus. Just outside the Student Union building on Sept. 20, 2011 a pedestrian was struck by a motor vehicle while in a designated crosswalk, the vehicle also fled the scene. It’s such a tragedy that the vehicle couldn’t even slow down enough to wait for the pedestrian to cross.
As a student who doesn’t have a car I walk everywhere. I rely on crosswalks to provide a safe route across busy streets but I haven’t felt safe.
Every morning walking from south village to my classes, I cross Broadrick Boulevard. The vehicles that pass through this street are all but patient. The general rule of traffic is that pedestrians on a crosswalk have the right of way, but UNC Charlotte drivers choose to ignore this rule.
Many times, drivers do not even wait for students to completely cross the street before taking off as some choose to weave through students in the middle of the street.
Yet, the drivers are not all at fault; sometimes pedestrians walk out in the street thinking that cars will automatically stop for them. Pedestrians should be aware of vehicles just as much as drivers should be aware of pedestrians.
For those who walk off-campus and around the city, using crosswalks can be more dangerous; car accidents involving pedestrians are high.
The Charlotte Department of Transportation is currently investigating on ways to make crossing crosswalks safer. A simple suggestion from me would be to install crosswalk bridges, allowing pedestrians to walk over traffic rather than through it. Perhaps something similar can be applied to the campus to insure the safety of students who walk.
Almost 5,000 pedestrians are killed in car accidents a year. All these accidents can be avoided if the driver and the walker both pay attention to their surroundings.
There will always be a risk when crossing the street. We can lower that risk if we remember the simplest rule our parents teach us; look both ways before crossing. I implore pedestrians take extra precaution when crossing the street, you can’t be entirely sure the driver will stop for you.
I hope the city takes extreme measure to insuring the safety of pedestrians and quickly find a solution. Until then though, please be aware and look both ways before crossing.
