Crosswalks and buses are potential hazard for students
Some students are not making eye contact with bus drivers before entering crosswalks and are crossing the street outside designated areas.
Alden Erickson, Aggie Shuttle supervisor, said, “A bus weighs about 40,000 pounds. If a person walks in front of one, it could cause problems.”
The students need to get to class and the buses need to get to their stops quickly. There needs to be an awareness of other’s needs, he said. If there is a bus coming, students should allow it to pass, and then proceed through the crosswalk.
“A little common courtesy goes a long way,” he said.
Nathan Coats, safety manager for the Logan and Cache Valley transit districts, said he also thinks common courtesy from drivers and pedestrians could help.
“The students are in a hurry to get to their classes,” he said. “But they are not in a hurry to get across the crosswalks. They meander across the street and avoid eye contact with the bus drivers. It’s hard to stop a bus when someone walks out in front of it.”
Students need to stay inside the crosswalk, he said.
“Make eye contact with the drivers,” Coats said. “Don’t ignore them.”
Students should cross in groups, instead of single file, stop and look at traffic, let buses pass first, and then go across, he said.
Coats and Erickson agree students need to get off their bicycles and walk them across the crosswalks.
Bicyclists are a problem for the buses, because they pull in front of buses without any warning, Coats said. The bus drivers are trained to watch out for bikes and pedestrians, but that will not keep an accident from happening, he said.
Pedestrian crosswalk lights would help, but they are expensive, Coats said.
Erickson said crossing guards could be an option.
The LTD buses have timed stops, so being delayed at the crosswalks can make them late to other stops.
Coats said some delays are 10 to 15 minutes. This affects the people riding and trying to make their connections on time, he said.
Erickson said, “The LTD has a greater frustration than we do, because they are on a time schedule.”
Coats said the LTD provides an extra shuttle in the mornings to accommodate the needs of students going to campus.
The LTD would provide even more accommodation if it were wanted, Coats said. If students would ride the bus instead of driving, it would be easier to get through campus, he said.
Erickson said the purpose of having the bus system is to have students park off campus and ride the shuttle up. Between 7,500 and 8,500 students ride the shuttle bus per day. With proper planning, the buses could accommodate 3,000 to 4,000 more, he said.
Erickson said he is “anxious” to hear any suggestions on how to improve the situation. He can be contacted at Alden@cc.usu.edu.
-alih@cc.usu.edu