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special
investigation: safety
Campus unaware
of road dangers
By Chan Tran
On-line Forty-Niner
Rows of orange
cones line East Campus Drive at Cal State Long Beach as pedestrians
and vehicles maneuver around each other throughout the day
and night.
Construction work
on Hardfact Hill has turned East Campus Drive into a vehical-only
road with no sidewalk and the most hazardous location on campus.
Although University Police and safety officials have posted
signs, students are still unaware of the danger.
"I almost
got run over on the way down," said Mike Nelson, a music
major who was rushing to get to class on time. "It needs
a sidewalk."
East Campus Drive
is a quarter-mile stretch of road that connects the turnaround
circle at State University Drive to upper campus, ending at
Seventh Street. The road is owned and operated by the CSU
system under the jurisdiction of CSULB. Unlike other campus
roads, including West Campus Drive and State University Drive,
East Campus Drive has no sidewalk.
"East Campus
Drive was built and lighted for vehicular transportation only,"
said Robert Quirk, director of facilities management.
Despite being designed
for vehicular usage, East Campus Drive is a threat to the
pedestrians who use it daily as a walkway.
Bicyclists, skateboarders
and scooter riders use the road as a quick route to upper
campus, surpassing the 25-mph speed limit set for automobile
use, according to University Police officials. In some instances,
people jaywalk in front of moving cars.
Jaywalking is in
violation of California Vehicle Codes. According to California
Vehicle Code 21956, Section A, no pedestrian may walk upon
any roadway outside of a business or residence district otherwise
than close to his or her left-hand edge of the roadway.
"University
Police started ticketing people for jaywalking on the road
about four years ago," said Tim Ball, associate director
of facilities management. "But it's been sparse."
Between 8 a.m.
and 6 p.m., the road cannot be accessed without key cards,
which regulate the vehicular activities of faculty members,
employees and maintenance crews, who are authorized to use
the roadway. Automobiles, electric carts and campus shuttle
buses make up the steady stream of traffic during the day.
But after 6 p.m., the road is open to all cars.
From January 1999
through January 2001, there have been 47 traffic citations
issued on East Campus Drive, according to a University Police
report. Among the citations are reports of failing to yield
the right of way, exceeding a safe speed and jaywalking.
The report also
includes one non-injury traffic accident involving a skateboarder
who dove headfirst into a tree, according to University Police
Chief Jack Pearson.
Construction work
on Hardfact Hill, which closed the sidewalk that goes through
the Microbiology building, has forced pedestrians to use East
Campus Drive as a walkway.
"I use it
two to three times a week," said Denise Jones, a fine
arts major.
Since January,
eight-foot green fences have blocked the area surrounding
the construction work on Hardfact Hill. The fences will be
up for the next two years and the sidewalk will be inaccessible
for the duration of the construction, said Dale Hartmann,
university construction manager. Signs have been posted to
steer pedestrian traffic to the University Student Union,
Friendship Walk and the escalator by the Food Court.
But the signs have
been ineffective.
"There's definitely
more pedestrians using East Campus Drive than before,"
Hartmann said.
The caution signs
are located at upper campus and lower campus close to the
area of the green fences. The problem is not from foot traffic
in the middle of campus but from people who exit buildings
through the east side of campus to get to the Foundation building
parking lot or Lot 11 on Palo Verde. But pedestrians do not
see signs at the foot of the turnaround by the library drop
box.
"This is my
first time using this road," said Andy Ha, a graphics
major. "I didn't see any of the signs."
Other students
are undeterred by the signs and, and in some cases, they are
bothered by them.
"I use [East
Campus Drive] every day to walk up and down the hill,"
said Chuck Zamfir, College of Natural Sciences technician.
"The fences and signs are an eyesore."
The signs are visible
during the day but, in some instances, pedestrians are using
the road when it is dark. There are 13 lamplights from the
east turnaround to University Theater Center, Ball said, which
is not enough for safe pedestrian access at night.
East Campus Drive
is specifically lighted for vehicular usage. The worst areas
are located beside the Microbiology building, where the majority
of the construction is being done, Ball said.
"It's definitely
a hazard to walk there at night," Ball said. "It's
like walking down the middle of Seventh Street."
However, there
have been no pedestrian or vehicular accidents reported on
East Campus Drive during the night, according to University
Police officials.
Some campus officials
said that cautionary signs might not be the most effective
means to deter pedestrian offenders.
"Signs have
a tendency to blend into the landscape after a while."
Quirk said. "I don't know if having a lot of signs will
help the matter."
University Police
officials said that ticketing pedestrian offenders is not
the answer.
"Some people
will still use [East Campus Drive] incorrectly," Pearson
said.
But the best way
to solve the problem of illegal pedestrian activities would
be to put in a sidewalk, said Tom Bass, senior director of
parking and transportation. But he contends that it is unlikely
a sidewalk will be built because East Campus Road has an above
average level of steepness. Although the steepness has not
been measured, having a regular sidewalk would not help if
skateboarders and scooter riders are still abusing the slope.
"It's possible
to build one," Bass said. "But it would be very
costly to hire traffic engineers to do studies."
Officials at physical
planning and facilities management agree.
"It was certainly
never designed to have a sidewalk," said Sue Brown, director
of physical planning. "Basically it's just an access
road."
Campus officials
do not have a definite answer for the origin of the road,
but most agree that it was likely designed for maintenance
access only. The gates were put up in the '70s in response
to the housing and campus community's desire to have access
to the road during the day, Bass said. Noise from the traffic
was a major factor.
If CSULB were to
construct a sidewalk and remove the gates, there would be
an increased level of traffic that they are not prepared to
manage, Bass said. Currently, the low level of traffic is
needed to accommodate the construction work. In the past,
service cars have used this road the most.
There are several
options for people looking for a quick way to travel from
upper to lower campus and vice versa, Quirk said.
"We have escorts
for the nighttime students and we have the school ride service,"
Quirk said. "The best thing we can do is to provide signs
and warning. We really can't force people to not walk in the
road."
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