Student Council put the finishing touches on a safety report last night, outlining both long- and short-term priorities and steps that the University should take to improve safety.
The report, entitled "Assessing the Status of Safety at the University of Virginia," attempts to pinpoint specific areas on and off Grounds that could use safety improvements.
The improvements being suggested "are not just to keep [students] safe from attacks but also safety [in] general," said Christie Amberman, Student Council chief of staff.
Many of the suggestions in the report arose out of a "Safety Walk" project in September that involved Student Council members, other students, University officials, Charlottesville and University police and Housing officials.
Student Council, which adopted the report late Tuesday night, is planning to present its findings to University officials and the Charlottesville community to address the safety concerns.
The short-term goals put forth in the report include contacting neighborhood associations, property owners, fraternity and sorority houses and the City of Charlottesville to address the poor lighting problems that arise from improperly maintained shrubbery.
They also plan to repair railings in the JPA parking lot and make "blue phones" more visible to students.
Long-term goals include improving the emergency telephone system by adding phones to areas that now do not have them, such as the University Hall parking lot and the International Center. Council also plans on working with the Charlottesville officials to increase lighting on public roads.
They also would like to add brighter lighting to areas where trimming shrubbery does not help and possibly build a footbridge over the railroad tracks in the Rugby Road area.
"It is good to present that there are smaller things that can be done that won't cost a lot of money," Amberman said.
"Ultimately we want to get something done about safety ... we want to make use of what is already there and if something is missing then inform officials," said Letty Lau, co-chairwoman of Council's Safety Concerns Committee.
In the "Safety Walk," participants were split up into teams to investigate areas including the McCormick and Alderman Road areas, Rugby Road, Stadium Road, Hereford, Gooch-Dillard, JPA, Brandon Avenue and Lambeth.
The Committee, which compiled the report, plans to continue the "Safety Walks" in the spring to follow up and cover more areas, Lau said.
"We would like to hear from students, either through roundtable discussions or online feedback," in the near future, she said.
The report is available for students on the Student Council Web site, Council Rep. Matt Madden said.
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