The one-mile stretch of road, starting at the corner of
South Samish Way going west toward Western Washington University on Bill
McDonald Parkway has increased in safety concerns for campus pedestrians.
The stretch of Sehome Hill consists of five different bus
stops, four cross walks and six different apartment complexes including WWU's
off campus living, Birnam Wood. Everyday Hundreds of students walk and ride the
buses to school. Due to the increase of transportation in this area there has
been an increase of concern for pedestrians.
According to the Bellingham Police Crime Statistics, traffic
accidents in this neighborhood in the last five years were at its highest point
in 2012, recording an average of four accidents a month and In January of 2013
their was a reported hit-and-run of a WWU student crossing the street on Bill
McDonald Parkway.
Western Washington University is a pedestrian oriented
campus, with pedestrians taking the highest priority over all other modes of
travel, according to Associated Students of Western Washington University. To
make campus pedestrian improvements, the Associated Students Transportation
Advisory Committee Master Plan stated in 2013 that flashing crosswalks would be
installed at bus stops on Ferry Avenue and 32nd Street. The flashing crosswalk
signs stretch over the two lanes of Bill McDonald and flash yellow when someone
is crossing the street. "Cross walks are the worst because people just
walk through them without looking, they just expect cars to stop. I do think
the flashing lights catch the drivers eyes better and make them more aware that
there could be a pedestrian," 23-year old, Anthony Flatt said.
Flashing crosswalk signs were not installed at the Buchannan
towers cross walk where WWU student, Bryce McKay walks to school from his
apartment on Knox Avenue. "I always walk to and from school at the
crosswalk by Buchannan Towers," McKay said. "One morning as I was
walking to class a car came speeding past me because there were no crosswalk
lights. I had to jog to the other side since the car was coming at me fast and
I had to dodge it. I looked at them in frustration but they just kept on
driving," McKay said. "They probably weren’t paying attention, I see
a lot of drivers who aren’t paying attention."
There are also
a number of things that could be distracting to the driver while on the road
including texting, using your cell phone, adjusting the radio and talking to
passengers. 20 percent of teens and 10 percent of adults admit that they have
extended, multi-message text conversations while driving according to the
CAA distracted drivers website. This
calls for pedestrians at WWU's campus to pay attention to drivers that are not
focused on the road. "College students are distracted while driving, they
are always in a hurry, running late to class and never 100 percent focused on
the road," Flatt said. Approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones
or manipulating electronic devices while driving at any given daylight moment
across America, a number that has held steady since 2010 and drivers in
their 20's make up 27% of distracted drivers in fatal crashes, according to the Official US
Government Website for Distracted driving.
The weather also plays a factor into the danger for pedestrians
on the WWU campus. During the Fall and Winter quarters on campus it is
typically foggy, cloudy or raining. Bellingham was named the Silver-level
Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists magazine in
2014. Bellingham is known for its vast amount of bikers, "There are so
many bikers and walkers on campus, and a lot of them are wearing dark clothes
not proper reflective gear," Flatt said.
"It makes it hard to see them (pedestrians)
especially when it starts getting darker outside because the weather has an
affect on the vision of the road. I have come close to hitting four to five
people already this year," Flatt said.
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