This past summer, the city of Ames removed the medians on Lincoln Way between Stanton Avenue and Hayward Avenue: presumably to discourage pedestrians from crossing halfway while traffic has a green light.

Left turn lanes were installed in place of the medians and traffic light patterns were adjusted to improve traffic flow. A crosswalk was also painted at Stanton Avenue. The goal of these changes was to improve safety and efficiency for both pedestrians and vehicles. The changes came at the recommendation of the Lincoln Way MultiModal Safety and Operations Study.

And what these actions show is the city of Ames recognizes the safety issues regarding crossing Lincoln Way near campus. While only a handful of vehicle-pedestrian accidents have occurred on Lincoln Way near campus, any steps to improve safety are warranted and welcomed.

For this reason, the study’s recommendation to make no physical changes at Lynn, Ash or Beach Avenue is disappointing. While the city of Ames will certainly tell you safety is their number one priority and the main reason for initiating this study, action is clearly lacking.

The reason for inaction at these intersections? Data suggests only one culprit for the safety concerns: pedestrian compliance. The only real danger posed to pedestrians at these intersections occur when people choose to jaywalk. The expected pedestrian compliance for intersections like those on Lincoln Way is approximately 75 percent according to the firm that did the study.

However, their data found that pedestrian compliance is actually 35 percent. Sixty-five percent of pedestrians crossing Lincoln Way choose to jaywalk.

If the city of Ames isn’t going to take action to improve the safety at other intersections on Lincoln Way, students must develop a greater respect for traffic as well as a greater appreciation for their own lives.

Quit jaywalking.

While it may seem like childish advice to be preaching to college students, it is an issue that needs to be addressed. Is getting to campus one-minute sooner really worth risking getting hit by a vehicle?

Alternatively, pedestrians should adopt a vehicle’s perspective. Imagine driving down Lincoln Way as hundreds of pedestrians attempt to cross in front of you despite not having the right of way or even a crosswalk. It’s a stressful situation.

The next time you go to cross Lincoln Way, take a couple of things into consideration. First, is this how you were intended to cross at that location? 

Second, is crossing properly safe? Is the intersection designed in such a way to facilitate good traffic flow while allowing pedestrians to cross efficiently.

As pedestrians, it’s our responsibility to ensure our own safety but if the need arises, we must also demand continued safety improvements to these intersections.