The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Julius Hunter is afraid of the crosswalk at Grand Boulevard and West Pine Mall. It's not the thought of crossing the busy street that scares him; rather, it's the students who dart in front of traffic and the drivers who taunt them. "That crossing has frightened me for the three years that I've been here," said Hunter, vice president for community relations at Saint Louis University. The Student Government Association's Committee for Civic Affairs and Facility Concerns recently took steps to remedy the dangers at this crosswalk. With the help of Hunter, they gathered a group of city officials to discuss what mechanical changes could be made to improve safety at campus crosswalks. Their efforts focused on "the dangerous situation at the Grand and West Pine crosswalk specifically, but also the pedestrian-crossing situation on campus as a whole," said Chris Pingel, SGA senator and chairperson of the committee. Captain Robert Oldani, who oversees the ninth district of the St. Louis City Police Department, joined Alderman Michael McMillan of the 19th ward and two representatives from the St. Louis Department of Streets to hear suggestions from the students and Hunter in a meeting on Oct. 26. The committee members saw changes the very next day, when white crosswalk lines were painted at the intersection. Also, tree branches obscuring the traffic signals were trimmed at Hunter's suggestion. City officials spoke about other changes, such as installing video devices to monitor traffic and decreasing the speed limit on Grand where it passes through campus, which would take more time to accomplish. McMillan said at the meeting that the Board of Alderman will see a bill within the next month regarding these video devices, which are in place at the busiest and most hazardous intersections in many other cities to nab drivers who run red lights. The SLU student who was struck at the Grand-West Pine crosswalk in September was hit because a driver ran a red light. The driver told police that a truck driving in the lane next to him blocked his view of the signal. Rick Younger, assistant director of SLU's Department of Public Safety, suggested to SGA committee members that motion sensors could be installed as replacements for the crosswalk buttons. These devices, which detect when pedestrians are waiting and then trip the signal, would cost about $20,000; SLU could apply for a "safety grant" to pay for them, Pingel said. Within the next few weeks, however, students should see speed limit signs posted in advance of the intersection. The current pedestrian-crossing signs will be replaced with fluorescent yellow-green, high-intensity signs, according to Deputy Traffic Commissioner Kenneth Cox, who represented the street department at the October meeting. The "stop bars" at the crosswalk will be placed six feet in advance of the actual crossing, leaving a buffer between students and traffic. Hunter and Pingel both expressed that these mechanical changes won't have an impact on pedestrian safety without a change in student behavior. The committee decided that the best way to get the word out would be to write a resolution describing the events of the meeting, Pingel said. This resolution, which the SGA senate passed last week, detailed the progress made and the forthcoming changes. It also calls students to "press the button" and respect drivers on Grand. The resolution encourages students to cooperate with these efforts in order to "create a less harmful situation at the Grand-West Pine, Grand-Lindell and Grand-Laclede crosswalks." Pingel said that the committee will continue to monitor the developments at the Grand-West Pine crossing. "We are going to follow up [with the city and DPS] and make sure all of the changes are instituted," Pingel said. All SLU students will have to be more vigilant and cautious at campus crosswalks if the committee's efforts are to be successful in the end, Hunter said. "Students are going to have to step up to the plate, with regard to whether or not they are jaywalking."

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