Cross at your own risk

Sorry campus drivers, your opportunity to scare the pants off a helpless freshman pedestrian could be coming to an end. Residential Programs and Services is proposing a crosswalk on Fee Lane to aid University newbies in their daily commute. Future residents of McNutt, Briscoe and Foster may now be able to walk safely from the food court to the bus stop, and back again. The only remaining obstacle is city approval, which could come by this summer.\nFreshmen have been vocal advocates on the need for a crosswalk. Vanessa Lustig voiced her rationale in the March 2 edition of the Indiana Daily Student. "Sometimes you can miss a bus waiting to cross the street, and it can take forever for another one to come," she said. "It's just annoying. I would definitely support a crosswalk." \nLeslie Compton, a Briscoe resident, added her thoughts. "It's dangerous crossing Fee Lane because cars drive too fast and many times don't yield to pedestrians," she said. \nWe couldn't agree with these freshmen more. The daily intersection of freshmen and fast cars on Fee Lane will eventually lead to some serious injuries -- thankfully, it has not happened yet. Unlike other areas of campus congestion, the steep hills on Fee Lane make it difficult for pedestrians to see oncoming traffic. While traffic is more congested in other parts of campus, Fee Lane is the only road with dorms on each side of it -- necessitating excessive pedestrian traffic. There are a multitude of services on each side of the road, the McNutt convenience store, Hoosier Café and an A-route bus stop are on one side and the Gresham Food Court and Foster Quad are on the other. Most importantly, the dorms on Fee Lane are almost entirely occupied by freshmen. True, most upperclassmen give first year students too little credit for their ability to take care of themselves, but any help the University and city can give freshmen is going to have a positive impact. \nIf approved, the city could create the crosswalk by summer. We are a little curious as to why approving and creating a crosswalk will take so long. After all, a cross walk consists of two painted lines across the street. Any over-ambitious freshman with a can of paint and a roller could do the job between their W131 and X100 classes.\nThe only problem we see with the plan is the lack of respect most drivers have for already-existing campus crosswalks. Few drivers are aware of -- and fewer still stop at -- the Jordan Avenue crosswalk in front of the Musical Arts Center. Jordan Avenue remains a "cross at your own risk" street. Hopefully, a new crosswalk on Fee Lane will be respected by drivers and allow safer travel for residents.