After an increase in car accidents involving pedestrians during the past year, Charlottesville Police and University Police are working together to increase pedestrian safety. The effort is specifically aimed at decreasing the occurrence of these types of incidents on Emmet Street from Ruffner Hall to University Avenue, according to University Police Capt. Michael Coleman.
"There have been a number of problems ... over the last several years," Coleman said. "That area has been a specific concern ... and we have worked long and hard trying to reduce any kind of accidents."
He added that through increasing supervision of traffic, the two departments "found 292 traffic violations and 101 pedestrian violations for the period between [Oct.] 15 through [Oct.] 19 on Emmet Street."
According to Coleman, increasing safety on Emmet Street has been a long-term effort which has included working with the University's Security and General Safety Committee and Charlottesville's Department of Public Works to install rumble strips, pop-up signs and different colored crosswalks.
He noted that most of the drivers recently stopped for not yielding at crosswalks said they did not notice pedestrians attempting to cross.
Students living in the International Residential College, located on Emmet Street, frequently use crosswalks in the main location of police concern. Unlike students coming from first-year residence halls or Ruffner Hall, students living in the IRC do not have the convenience of using a bridge to avoid Emmet Street's traffic.
Students expressed varying opinions about safety in the specified area.
"I don't feel 100-percent safe when crossing Emmet," said fourth-year Commerce student Kathy Ooi, an IRC resident.
Ooi added that she felt student drivers were more likely to yield to pedestrians.
IRC resident Cassandra Pagels, a first-year Engineering student, also said she does not feel safe crossing Emmet Street because cars often do not stop and it is difficult for them to see pedestrians when it is dark or raining.
Some students, however, said they are not concerned about their safety when crossing Emmet Street.
"I come from France, and in my country the cars don't stop as often as your drivers," said Eric Attanasio, third-year College student and IRC resident. "I was a bit surprised; drivers are nice here, much nicer than the drivers in Paris,"
Another IRC resident from France, Nina Grundmann, a third-year College student, echoed Attanasio's belief that drivers are more considerate in the United States.
Attanasio added the IRC staff recently sent an e-mail to residents, encouraging them to be cautious when crossing Emmet Street.
Read More
U.Va. announces search committee for permanent president
By Ford McCracken | YesterdayThe committee includes most sitting members of the Board of Visitors, other faculty representatives and alumni and just one current undergraduate student, who is also a sitting member of the Board.
A look at Ryan’s presidential employment contract
By Bertie Azqueta | 2 days agoThis contract, originally established in 2018 when Ryan was hired, was renewed in 2022 and outlines the terms of his employment, including salary and benefits.
Was Ryan ‘anti-Jeffersonian?’ Historians weigh in after his resignation
By Brendon Bordwine | 5 days agoWhile the Jefferson Council argues that Ryan violated the University's founding mission, historians suggest that even Jefferson’s own views were far from consistent.
