By Jason Friedrich
Published November 30, 2006

Over the past few weeks, three students have been hit by moving vehicles in the crosswalks of College Avenue. The problem has grown with the recent time change. The evening College Place rush-hour happens right after dusk when there are still many students crossing the street. Lighting in these crosswalks is poor, and in some ways, even more distracting by shining in the drivers' eyes. These incidents have the administration working towards a safer solution to prevent this from happening in the future. One possible idea is to lower the speed limit to 20 mph on the section of College Avenue that runs through the campus. Another solution would be the increased use of signs that more directly state where the crosswalks are and changing the lighting over the four crosswalks to better light the ground and not distract any motorists. There is also talk of taking away two of the four crosswalks across College Avenue to reduce the number of places where students can be hit or possibly bringing back the traffic light that used to be at the intersection of Whitman and College Avenue to help slow traffic down.

All of the proposed solutions are just suggestions that need to be taken to the College Place city council. College Avenue is a city street and Walla Walla College can not make any changes without the city's approval. This kind of change takes time, and for the safety of the students right now, remember to use some caution when using these crosswalks. Also, make sure that you do use the crosswalks and are not crossing the street outside of these areas. The winter weather is upon us, meaning that the streets can be icy, and even if the driver might see you, his chances of stopping are slim. Change is coming, but it will take time, so to stop any future accidents from happening, use some common sense and look before you cross the street.