Getting to class can sometimes be a deadly gamble; the lack of appropriate safety measures and sufficient parking availability has lead to a dangerous jaywalking epidemic at the University of Memphis.
Dangerous by Design: Solving the Epidemic of Preventable Pedestrian Deaths (and Making Great Neighborhoods) ranked Memphis as the fifth most dangerous city in the country for pedestrians in November of 2009.
“All day long you see people darting across Central like they're playing frogger,” said senior, Lena Wallace.
Unknown Student Jaywalking on Central Avenue
“A car turning left onto Central leaving the parking lot between the crosswalk and Zach Curlin struck a pedestrian in the median who was waiting to cross the street; most of the deadly accidents occur in that same way,” according to Bruce Harber, director of campus safety.
By the new millennium, the University of Memphis faced a new breed of parking problems; overcrowding. In 2001, the university had a mere 8,000 spaces available for it’s 19,000 students. Crossing Central became more difficult as the student population grew larger with each passing year.
Tennessee law defines jaywalking as “a pedestrian crossing the street between two controlled intersections.” Until the lights at Innovation, Deloach, Central and Zach Curlin streets were built; students crossing to campus weren’t guilty of jaywalking. Now it’s as deadly as it is illegal.
Today, out of 21,424 students enrolled, 19,500 attend class in a given week and vie for one of only 9,041 spaces. Currently, a large majority of general permit parking spaces require crossing Central or Southern and the railroad tracks.
In 2002, the state of Tennessee issued a $775,000 grant to the University of Memphis. Those funds were combined with city funds to create a solution to the consistent danger faced by pedestrians. The plan called for a lowering of Central and the construction of two overhead pedestrian crosswalks.
“One crosswalk will lead to the Herff College of Engineering, at the northeast corner of the campus near the intersection of Central and Zach Curlin. The other, which will be several hundred yards to the west, will lead to the plaza area near the College of Communications and Fine Arts,” According to a University of Memphis press release.
In 2003, the Fed-Ex Institute of Technology and the Kemmons Wilson Holiday Inn and School for hospitality and resort management opened their doors. Those construction projects interfered with the original Central improvement blueprints. The construction of the hotel took away a significant amount of parking spaces from the Central parking lot. As adjustments were being made to account for the University’s newest additions, the city of Memphis denied the application to lower Central. Those blows proved fatal for the first plan to protect pedestrians.
In 2005, the University was chosen to receive a $10 million grant from the federal government to finance a new transportation program and pedestrian bridge on campus. New funds brought a revitalized attention to the growing problems created by the Fed-Ex Institute and the Holiday Inn.
“Congestion problems at the intersection of Patterson and Walker, and the railroad crossing on Southern Avenue will… be studied in hopes of relieving problems there," said Kevin Roper, former U of M executive assistant to the president.
After intensive research, the plan for those funds was revealed. It called for the addition of a pedestrian walkway covering the distance from The Fogelman Executive Center on the south of Central and the Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality and Resort Management on the north side. The walkway would use $3 million of the $10 million earmarked to the U of M, and will join two other walkways already planned to be constructed by the city of Memphis and the U of M.
Similarly to the plans of the past, this renovation was scrapped before it started. Improvements were made to the area in question, but no overhead pedestrian walkway was ever constructed.
Similarly to the plans of the past, this renovation was scrapped before it started. Improvements were made to the area in question, but no overhead pedestrian walkway was ever constructed.
The University added the Conlee parking lot and a parking garage next to the Fogelman executive center to alleviate overcrowded parking lots and side streets.
“With the opening of Conlee Lot, I have seen a much improved situation of parking space availability,” former parking services manager Sandra Barksdale said.
Though more spaces are currently available, those who remember the aftermath of the pedestrian who was killed by a car in 1995 while trying to cross Central, complain the University has not done anything to make Central safer for students to cross. The Conlee lot sits north of the Central lot, meaning that any student utilizing that lot must still cross Central.
“I don’t [jaywalk across Central] because I fall too often,” said Whitney Schlafer, nursing student.
Once again, in 2008, The University of Memphis was awarded one million dollars in enhancement grants from the state of Tennessee to make northern side of the campus safer for students crossing. The city of Memphis agreed to support the plan with an additional $1.3 million for the project, and another $1 million in state capital maintenance funds.
“I’m extremely glad to hear they are finally fixing the problem, but unfortunately, I will never see the benefits of it,” said senior Catie Amsden.
Artist's rendering of Central Improvement Plan, courtesy of University of Memphis
The new plans call for Central to be reduced to four lanes, and a median will be added in the current turning lane from Patterson Street to Zach Curlin Street. Fences will be installed to direct pedestrian traffic to crosswalks and a new entrance will be added to the Central parking lot at Zach Curlin. There will also be an elevated walking bridge connecting the Kemmons Wilson Hotel to the Fogelman Executive center. According to the vice president of Campus Planning and Design, construction will begin in the summer of 2010.
To get the project started, a new four-way red light at Central and Innovation Drive was installed.
“The light has helped to increase the safety for pedestrians needing to get to the Holiday Inn and the west side of the Central parking lot,” said Bruce Harber.
Until construction is completed and those elusive pedestrian bridges are built, it is important students stay vigilant while crossing the street to campus.
The new stoplight at Innovation and Central Avenue
No comments:
Post a Comment