The phrase “look both ways before you cross the street” triggers a familiar singsong rhyme inside our heads, left over from the social norming period of kindergarten through second grade. Although it’s been over a decade since we’ve diligently looked left, right, left, and placed our hand inside our teacher’s to navigate oncoming traffic, crosswalk safety is still just as salient in our time at Colorado College.
Junior Eliza Mott was recently biking back to campus from Garden of the Gods when she was side-swiped by a car that failed to yield at an intersection and was sent to the hospital with a brain hemorrhage and other bodily injuries.
“There are a lot of good bike paths in Colorado Springs, but many times I’ve felt unsafe using them,” said Mott.
Mott lived in Denver this summer and biked all over the city and—despite the enormous size and speed of traffic—felt far more secure. Mott’s safety concerns don’t disappear once she locks up her bike, however.
“There’s more of an expectation for bikers to be [in Denver],” said Mott. “Colorado Springs is so spread out that there’s less use of bike as transport. It’s far less common for cars to stop [for students] on Nevada. I’ve experienced cars intentionally speeding up, and I’ve felt in danger of being hit there multiple times.”
“A handful of students do get hit every year,” said Zak Kroger, Residential Life and Activities Program Coordinator.
This year, however, both the frequency and gravity of the incidents have increased, leading both the administration and students to reexamine crosswalk safety at the college.
Campus Safety is currently partnering with both the Wellness Resource Center and Residential Life to introduce a new college-wide crosswalk safety campaign.
“A divisional response is key in this situation,” said Nick Calkins, Associate Director of Campus Safety.
The administration is exploring a range of ideas, from informative posters to repainting the crosswalks. The Colorado Springs Police Department and Tiger Watch, the student-run community watch program, may also become involved.
Whichever form the response may take, the key message will be to “detach from your bubble and pay attention to your surroundings,” according to Calkins. It is a normal process in college development that students begin to think of their entire campus as home, as a 360-degree safe space with different rules and expectations than the outside world.
“People want to live in a place where they don’t need to do things like lock their doors,” said Calkins, “And that’s idyllic but not realistic.”
The same principle extends to the streets of Cascade and Nevada; these streets are not property of the college, and students can’t treat crossing them like crossing the quad.
The college and the real world very literally intersect at several points on campus.
Cell phones and other modern conveniences have only further reinforced that bubble.
For many students, the walk from Worner to class or from residence halls to the library is the perfect opportunity to catch up on the news, e-mails, or various social media outlets.
“We’re all very connected to these sorts of things,” said Calkins. “But that needs to stop when we’re out of an area that’s entirely safe.”
Rather than diverting attention to a cell phone, students should, in the words of one of Kroger’s past RAs, “hustle and wave” across the crosswalks. Crosswalks add other people into the equation, people moving far faster with larger, more dangerous hunks of metal than a student with an iPhone.
“The law of the land is on your side,” joked Kroger. “But the laws of physics are not.”
Bypassing the crosswalks altogether is another big issue. Kroger points out that students darting between Loomis and the library with black CC sweatshirts on are almost impossible for motorists to see, especially if they are only paying attention to designated crosswalk areas.
The diligence and awareness of students can only go so far, however; the college can’t control how careful and considerate motorists passing through campus will be.
“There will be times I don’t think a car is going to stop, and sure enough it vrooms on by,” said Kroger. “Either [motorists] aren’t watching or they’re impatient or they’re like ‘Blah, college kids.’”
In his nine years working in Campus Safety, Calkins has only fielded two or three irate people agitated over students in the crosswalk.
“Motorists stop [at the crosswalk] because they have a legal responsibility to do so,” said Calkins. “There must be a reciprocation from students crossing—a mutual respect of people moving from one place to another.”
Occasional tension aside, the community response to the several accidents involving students this year was very supportive, according to Calkins.
“There’s a desire to find the perfect solution to crosswalk safety,” said Calkins. “And I’m not sure if there is one. The best we can have is for everyone to pay attention, to live in the now, to be aware of what they’re doing, and to get it done.”