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Dan Shugars nearly rolled his eyes when he heard William O. McCoy announce on
the steps of the South Building seven months ago that a committee would be
formed to study pedestrian safety.
"My initial response was that this was the typical administrative response to a
problem, that being `I'll form a committee and hope the problem goes away.'"He
was pleasantly surprised that didn't happen, Shugars said.
"As the committee's work unfolded, and we set forth interim recommendations, he
acted on them promptly and assertively," Shugars said of McCoy, Carolina's
interim chancellor. "In addition, I gained a new level of respect for him. He
handled himself as a gentleman throughout all of our dealings."
Shugars, a dentistry professor, was one of a handful of organizers for a
protest march held in December to draw attention to the dangers of walking
around campus. The march was inspired by the death, a month earlier, of a
postdoctoral dentistry student who was struck by a car on Manning Drive. It
ended with McCoy's speech to the marchers outside South Building.
The committee, with members drawn from the Town of Chapel Hill, campus and
state Department of Transportation, was formed to create an environment to make
good things happen.
Moves already made as a result include a four-way crosswalk at the intersection
of Mason Farm Road and West Drive, the DOT posting "Citywide Watch For
Pedestrians" signs at major roads leading into Chapel Hill and a ban on parking
vehicles on sidewalks.
"I took it as a very serious matter," McCoy said. "Surely it was and still is.
I knew that everybody was basically focusing on the same objectives and one of
my beliefs is that people want to do what's right if there is the right
opportunity and the right environment for them to do it."
Last month, McCoy received the final report and recommendations of the
Pedestrian Safety Committee, which was headed by campus Public Safety Director
Derek Poarch.
McCoy referred the report to Susan Ehringhaus, senior counsel; Jack Evans,
interim vice chancellor for business and administration; and Carolyn Elfland,
associate vice chancellor for auxiliary services. They will evaluate the
report's long-term recommendations and guiding principles and then advise McCoy
on how to proceed. (See box.)
"I want to thank the committee members for their excellent work," McCoy said.
"They accomplished a great deal in a short time. Pedestrian safety is an issue
of utmost concern on our campus, and the report attests to how thoughtfully and
thoroughly the committee approached its task. We will do all we can to maintain this as a top priority item as we proceed with the action plans."
The committee may have turned in its report, but the work to improve pedestrian
safety on campus is far from through, Poarch said.
"It was certainly a mammoth undertaking and it continues to be that," Poarch
said. "I've said from the beginning that we could not change in six months what
it took decades to create. We've got to change the mind set of an entire
culture on this campus to one that says pedestrian safety is important."
Poarch said committee members did not always agree on what methods should be
used to make the campus safer, but the disagreements were evidence of the
intensity of commitment that committee members shared.
"We truly believe everybody has the same concerns from the chancellor to the
students," Poarch said. "We want a pedestrian-safe campus, but I'm also
realistic to know that it takes time to get there."
One point of disagreement is on the continued use of temporary "Stop for
Pedestrians" signs that were set up at busy crosswalks on Manning Drive and
South Road.
Shugars wants them to stay because he thinks drivers are paying attention to
them.
Poarch wants them to go because he fears the signs are giving walkers a false
sense of security that every car will stop, and walkers are entering the street
without making eye contact with drivers.
The signs went down at the end of the June. Meanwhile, the University's
Highway Safety Research Center will be studying how well the temporary signs
worked based on observations of how drivers and walkers have responded since
they were installed.
Said Shugars: "It was important that we had the state, the University and the
town all sitting around the table together. That was the first time that had
occurred. While I didn't think the committee went as far as we could have on
some issues, I think we made a lot of good progress and we need to build on
that."
Charles Zeeger, a professor with the Highway Safety Center, said the center
also plans to launch a major public awareness campaign for fall of 2001, if the
center can find money to pay for it.
For instance, drunken walking can be as big a danger as drunken driving, Zeeger
said. Nationwide, about 40 percent of people hit by cars have been drinking,
Zeeger said.
Changing attitudes and behaviors will have multiple benefits -- from fewer
crashes to healthier lifestyles fostered by more people walking or riding bikes
on campus. The U.S. Department of Transportation selected the center to serve
as the national clearinghouse of information for walking and biking safety and
health.
Zeeger credited Shugars and the other people involved with the protest march
with igniting interest in an issue that badly needed it.
"It's those kind of voices that really help to lead to constructive action,"
Zeeger said. "It's their kind of passion and interest in the well-being of our
citizens that really helps change the political will toward achieving positive
action."
Zeeger said an excellent example of action was the median strip that the state
Department of Transportation has agreed to put on Manning Drive by the end of
the year. The strip was one of a number of steps, including some experimental
ones never tried, that the state has agreed to try on campus.
Guiding principles
* Recognize that pedestrian safety is a joint responsibility shared equally by
pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.
* Call for data-driven planning that uses existing research evidence from the
HIghway Safety Center and newly collected data..
* Recognize that function follows form. Facilities should be built that
optimize opportunties for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists to behave
safely.
* Stress what the committee dubbed the "4 E's" of engineering, education,
enforcement and evaluation.
* Emphasize that all designs follow the University's long-term master plan and
rules outlined in the American Disabilities Act.
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