Unfortunately, there are few means in place at the crosswalk to protect pedestrians from the often fast-moving cars and to alert drivers when someone is about to cross. Sometimes, drivers appear to entirely disregard the crosswalk until they are right upon a student; this is not entirely their fault, however, since it is often difficult to see when someone is crossing. Poor lighting on the crosswalk gives pedestrians a false sense of how well they can be seen by cars. Furthermore, parked cars along the sidewalks leading up to the crosswalk can obscure pedestrians.

Trimming back the parking spaces at the crosswalk would improve the visibility of both cars to pedestrians and vice versa. This would make it easier for students to know when and when not to walk as well as give cars a better opportunity to see if someone is about to cross. Improving the lighting in the crosswalk and along 15th Street will also make it easier for drivers to see if someone is already in the road.

Along similar lines, Rensselaer’s own Lighting Research Center has implemented a system in New Jersey where pedestrians can signal to traffic that they are crossing by lighting up the crosswalk with small in-pavement flashing lights. The system was part of a successful study, which observed drivers’ attentiveness to the crosswalk before and after the installation. A similar system exists at Princeton University, which makes it safer for students with evening classes to cross streets and could be installed at Rensselaer.

A second crosswalk further south on 15th Street, which stretches from Academy Hall toward the firehouse, is used less often by students. While it is illegal to do so, many students choose to cross under the footbridge where there is no crosswalk. They can avoid endangering themselves and everyone else around them, however, by using the footbridge in the first place; that is, after all, what it was built for. In fact, everyone in that area should be encouraged to use the bridge whenever possible.