Students at Lawrence University near the city of Appleton, WI are happy to be a little safer today after city traffic engineers installed flashing lights to notify drivers of crosswalk pedestrians along College Avenue.
Students from the college say that crossing College Avenue on campus can be scary. Police agree, stating that this particular location has recently seen people hit by distracted drivers.
After several incidences of auto-pedestrian accidents and concern from students and faculty, representatives from the city of Appleton and from Lawrence University set out to correct the problem. More than $90,000 and a year later, the project was complete including two separate systems that activate lights on one side of the street at a time, notifying drivers that pedestrians are present. In an effort to warn drivers earlier, engineers made the lights visible for blocks.
Also, according to reports, lighting was increased around this particular area in an effort to provide safety to pedestrians walking at night.
Engineers and university staff say, with this improvement, it will be hard for drivers not to notice the warning signs, thus reducing the number of auto-pedestrian accidents.
Unfortunately, accidents still may occur. Inattentive drivers or a failure in this new system could lead to a serious, possibly even fatal, accident. In these cases, injured pedestrians may be left with serious injuries leading to months of painful rehabilitation. Medical expenses, or in the event of death, funeral costs could leave victims and their families feeling overwhelmed. In these situations, a personal injury attorney can help obtain compensation.
Source: Fox 11 News Online, "Safety improvements made on College Ave. crosswalk," Chad Doran, Aug. 10, 2012