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Students anxiously wait for the light to change at the crosswalk on top of the Burlington hill, worried they might be late for class. The walk sign turns on and suddenly two cars speed up, blowing through a red light and plowing across the crosswalk. Several startled students jump back to the curb, double checking for more cars before they start walking.
On Monday, April 29, a group of student leaders, safety advocates and concerned citizens called on the City Of Burlington to immediately make changes to the U-Heights/Main Street Intersection. They met a group of reporters outside to discuss their concerns.
“This intersection is clearly unsafe. In my time here at the University of Vermont I have seen dozens of people almost hit. The city and UVM cannot wait to take action until something tragic happens. They must act now,” said Jillian Scannell, the President of the Student Government Association.
Student leaders from the UVM’s Sustainable Transportation class cited data that shows more than 7,000 pedestrians and 15,000 cars pass through the intersection each day – yet a significant amount of drivers are using their cell phones, running through red lights and turning right into pedestrian traffic. The data was collected during a 9-hour period by 30 students in a research study.
One student from this class, Zach Flaherty, counted over 60 distracted drivers going through the intersection in one hour. One girl noted that she saw a lady plucking her eyebrows while driving through a red light.
To address these issues, Jillian Scannell as well as other student leaders recommend that the University bump out the curb, provide an all-way stop for cars, or put brighter paint on the crosswalk to ensure student safety. The Student Government Association is ready to see steps taken, and they are currently reaching out to city counselors for the district to help push these initiatives forward in the next year.
As for the distracted driving portion of the study, this appears to be a larger problem. Distracted driving accounts for approximately 25 percent of all motor vehicle crash fatalities, and it takes only 3 seconds after a driver’s attention has been diverted from the road for a crash to occur (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). The socially accepted use of the cell phone for GPS navigation, Spotify, text messaging, and other forms of car entertainment makes distracted driving more dangerous than ever. Perhaps there should be stricter laws and fines around distracted driving to prevent some of these issues.
University of Vermont students are pushing to move forward with their concerns and will hopefully creating lasting change at the intersection in the coming year.
Isabel Lisle, our spring 2019 Vermont Independent journalism intern, is a 3rd year University of Vermont student pursuing an undergraduate environmental studies degree. This is her final article in a four part series focusing on TRANSPORTATION in Vermont.
