 "Photo: Ayelet Daniel")
The Student Government Association is working with Public Safety and the Delaware Department of Transportation to help relieve some of the pedestrian congestion along Cleveland Avenue.
Vice President of SGA Corrie Bonham said they became involved with the issue last spring when students voiced their concerns about how busy and chaotic the intersection becomes as people go to and from classes.
“In peak hours of classes, there’s huge congestion,” Bonham said. “It’s inconvenient and unsafe when people try to weave in and out of the cars. It’s not just the volume of students, but the safety due to the volume.”
Bonham brought up the issue to SGA after students expressed their concerns to her regarding the traffic.
Albert “Skip” Homiak Jr., executive director of campus and public safety, has helped connect SGA with DelDOT to discuss how to make the changes. A deal has yet to be made with DelDOT, Bonham said.
She said the city of Newark is looking into reworking the roads in the area and the city at large, forcing SGA and DelDOT to come up with a temporary fix until those changes are in effect. Bonham said DelDOT agreed to find a solution, but has limitations in doing so.
“They’re receptive — they know it’s an issue, but it’s a lack of funding,” she said. “Even a temporary solution would be acceptable until the city knows long term what they’ll do with traffic.”
On Cleveland Avenue, there are crosswalks at the lights at the intersections of North College Avenue and Paper Mill Road, and another crosswalk at the intersection of Wilbur Street.
Junior Ben Szmidt lives on Cleveland Avenue near Wilbur Street. While cars are required to stop for pedestrians, he said he has rarely seen that occur. He said drivers use Cleveland Avenue to avoid the numerous crosswalks on Main Street and Delaware Avenue.
“Traffic on Cleveland is a lot different than on Main Street,” Szmidt said. “When you live on Cleveland, you learn when you can cross.”
Szmidt said he is unsure that changes to the pedestrian and vehicle traffic on Cleveland Avenue would be beneficial, as adding more pedestrian crossings could cause more car accidents.
“I’ve seen numerous accidents on Cleveland and a lot of people getting rear-ended trying to turn into their driveway,” he said.
Szmidt said crossing Cleveland Avenue is most dangerous around rush hour, and it gets a little more congested around lunch time as well. He said he has adapted to the situation.
“People don’t stop for you,” Szmidt said. “You just have to dart.”
SGA’s attempt to improve Cleveland Avenue is not the first time changes have been considered. Richard Lapointe, director of public works, said the city had considered moving the Wilbur Street crosswalk to the top of the hill approaching the Paper Mill Road intersection.
Lapointe said the move was proposed by the traffic committee, and the state would have had to remove the existing crosswalk at Wilbur Street. The change never materialized, and Lapointe said such a move would be expensive. He said adding handicap ramps and painting white lines could cost anywhere from $2,000 to $3,000. He said he can understand the desire to improve the situation, and that the current crosswalk is not the most effective.
“The existing crosswalk kind of goes into a driveway, which is not good,” Lapointe said.
SGA and DelDOT are still searching for solutions to the problem. Homiak stated in an e-mail message to SGA that DelDOT does not have the money to add a pedestrian light, but efforts are still being made.
“We are looking at options that include Newark city officials, local legislators and possibly some language that will apply a little pressure to DelDOT,” he said.
Despite the setbacks, Bonham said SGAis still trying to figure out different ways to solve the problem in a way that will be feasible for DelDOT.
“It’s on their radar, and we’re going to keep pressing for some solution,” Bonham said. “Just because the issue hasn’t been resolved doesn’t mean the problem is going to go away.”
She said students concerned with the issue or any other campus issues are welcome at the organization’s University Affairs meeting at 5 p.m. on Tuesdays at the locations found on their Web site. Bonham said SGA will continue to make proposals until DelDOT agrees to a change.
“We may have to get more creative,” she said. “We’re coming in different angles to make sure it’s at the forefront of their agenda.”
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