Every day, many students run across Patterson Street, a road without any protection. The lack of signage, lights, and painted crosswalks poses a threat to students.
Patterson Street is the road on the west side of campus, with buildings like the Living Learning Center, the Baptist Collegiate Ministry building, Smith Hall, and student apartments nearby.
Many roads on or near the University have signs telling drivers to yield to pedestrians, are well-lit, have flashing lights, and have white stripes on the ground. The Federal Highway Administration recommends designs like this.
These crosswalks ensure pedestrian safety. Patterson has four, but there is a large gap from Wilder to Centennial Place without a safe crosswalk.
“I just cross the street, I don’t have time to go to the crosswalk,” said Emily Owens, who lives in a student apartment.
“I have walked across [Patterson] a lot, I’ve even seen the [university] president walk across the street before,” said Jayden Johnson, a student who lives in Centennial Place. “I feel like there should be a crosswalk [near the Baptist Collegiate Ministry and the Living Learning Center].”
“The fastest point to get to [the BCM] is straight, so I just cross straight, I don’t have time to walk all the way to a crosswalk,” said Derin Gibbs.
Some students have run across the street to avoid traffic, and some have even testified about almost being hit.
“I have almost been hit before, and my friend almost got hit while skateboarding. He had to jump off and his board got run over,” said Owens.
“I wouldn’t say I have almost gotten hit, but this street is very busy and fast, which is definitely a hazard,” said Gibbs.
The speed limit on Patterson Street is 25mph, while generally safe speed for pedestrians, many vehicles have been observed going over that speed.
While Campus Police have not responded to how many speeding tickets have been given to people driving on Patterson before, there have been people pulled over because of speeding on Patterson.
A representative from the Campus police has said there has not been an incident reported of a pedestrian being struck since late 2023.
