BY TANYA SMITH
As the traffic picks up on 900 East in Provo, so has the pressure on jaywalkers hurrying to make it to class on time.
New, bold-lettered signs warn pedestrians not to cut across the 5-lane thoroughfare when walking from the J. Reuben Clarke Law Building parking lot to the east side of the road, but many students find it more convenient to take their chances instead of waiting for the traffic light at Birch Lane or 900 North.
“I’m a big boy,” said Andrew Atwood, a junior from Spanish Fork who crosses 900 East to get to school. “I can look both ways. Most of the time I do take the light. I guess (jaywalking) is against the law. But there are better things they (the cops) should be doing than citing jaywalkers.”
The bigger signs were put up in February, replacing smaller ones that told pedestrians to cross at the lights. “We were having so many problems with people crossing there (at 900 East),” said Russ Fuller, a traffic sergeant with the University Police.
“A month ago they changed the sign,” said Jodee Despain, 21, a sophomore from Springville majoring in Chinese. “It used to be a teeny, small sign. They had two cops there, one on both sides of the road.” Despain remembers crossing at the light that morning, but argues, “It’s an obvious intersection. They should put a crosswalk there with lights like they have at the Harmon building.”
Lt. Steve Baker, manager over BYU traffic and parking services, said that the BYU police have made a special agreement with Provo Police to enforce jaywalking ordinances on 900 East. Baker said that in a traffic survey done by the University Police, an officer counted 62 people in one hour that crossed 900 East in the length of road between the signal at 900 North and the new signs by the law building parking lot.
“Some look at it and say that we are being ornery,” Baker said. “We are looking at safety. When someone is hit by a car, they are never the same for their whole life … Even though the pedestrian may have the right of way, I have never seen a pedestrian-vehicle situation where the pedestrian won. When you tangle with a car, you can really get hurt.”
With jaywalking citations $25 a pop, these bigger issues — injury and accidents — are what University Police hope will keep students crossing at lights. The police say they also hope that the stepping up of patrols for pedestrian and vehicle violations, which began in January, will help decrease accidents.
In 1994, Provo City took out the crosswalk where the signs stand, because of increased traffic and accidents. At the time, Provo Traffic Engineer Casey Serr told The Daily Universe that the thoroughfare serviced approximately 2,000 trips a day, and that traffic would increase five percent a year. Serr was not available to provide figures for 1998 as of press time.
Part of the problem seems to be that students who park in the lots by the John Taylor Counseling Center find it much shorter to cut across 900 East to the law building parking lot than at the stoplight, about 150 feet north. Serr noted in 1994 that having adjacent parking lots along an arterial road were not good designs.
“It’s stupid to walk that far,” said Sam Luque, a junior from Boise, Idaho. “I think there should be a crosswalk there. It’s a natural place to have one.”
When asked if the city or BYU plan to put in an underground crossing patterned after the underground passages on 500 West, Baker said that the funds were not there, from either the city or the campus. “I know Provo City wouldn’t do it,” he said. “It’s more of a BYU problem.”
Until further plans are made, the police are holding their ground: Don’t cross in between blocks; walk the 150 feet to the street lights.
Matt Lawrence, a junior from Salt Lake City, couldn’t argue with that logic. “I haven’t seen anyone cited for jaywalking,” he said. “I do it a lot. (But) the problem would be probably misjudging the speed of cars. It’s not a problem to walk to the lights … I don’t think it’s unreasonable.”
