The Red and Black

By KATE DOUGLAS The Red & Black

In a week devoted to pedestrian safety, the Student Government Association says drivers are the ones who really need to be careful.

SGA members complain that neither University nor Athens-Clarke police are addressing the problem of speeders on Lumpkin Street.

"If students are jeopardized on Lumpkin Street, the campus police has a duty to protect them," Chris Hoofnagle, SGA's external affairs committee chair, said Wednesday - the third day of the University's Pedestrian Safety Week.

Hoofnagle said part of the pedestrian safety problem is too little focus on drivers.

"The pedestrian safety program is targeted at walkers, rather than drivers," Hoofnagle said. "Drivers are the problem."

Cars need to be more willing to stop at crosswalks so that students can cross, said Steve Pitts, SGA vice president. At other schools, such as the University of Virginia, cars always stop for pedestrians, he said.

University Police Chief Chuck Horton said he wants to see drivers be more respectful, but "writing tickets isn't always the answer."

"Lumpkin Street is a highly traveled street, and there are several crosswalks that can be hazardous," Horton said. "It is our concern, and it's a concern of Athens government.

"We do what we can with all the resources possible. We are trying. We are trying desperately."

Hoofnagle wrote a letter to Public Safety asking for more patrolling on Lumpkin Street.

Neither the University nor A-C police will take responsibility for this area, Hoofnagle said at Tuesday night's SGA meeting.

"While this is an issue of mutual concern to the University and Athens-Clarke County, authority and control of Lumpkin Street are in the hands of the local government," Allan Barber, the University senior vice president who oversees Public Safety, wrote in response to Hoofnagle's letter.

A-C Police Chief Jack Lumpkin told Hoofnagle he plans to lobby A-C government for motorcycles to patrol the area, Hoofnagle said at the meeting.

Public Safety already is working to improve crosswalks on the River Road Loop and near Stegeman Coliseum. It also has plans to rebuild the intersection of Cedar Street and East Campus Road. Further construction improving Jackson Street will begin later this year.

"We have a student killed every year," Hoofnagle said. "Let's slow down more often for pedestrians."

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