Joe Hernon, associate vice president of emergency management, campus safety and environmental health and safety at Colgate University, provided more traffic flow updates in an email to the student body on Monday, Nov. 11.
The email focused on pedestrian safety on campus, especially minimizing the number of drivers on the upper campus, focusing on Academic Drive, colloquially known among the student body as “the gap”.
“To ease the traffic congestion on Academic Drive, especially between classes, Campus Safety officers will begin monitoring this area to keep traffic moving safely,” Hernon wrote. “If the [people] being picked up aren’t ready, Campus Safety officers will kindly ask drivers to loop around to prevent congestion.”
Hernon also warned against certain driving practices popular among students transporting large amounts of people.
“New York State law prohibits riding in the beds of pickup trucks on public roads, which includes Colgate roadways,” Hernon wrote. “New York also requires everyone riding in a vehicle to use a seatbelt, including in the backseats of cars.”
Hernon emphasized that the best way to minimize congestion on campus is for students to walk instead. Hernon recognized the challenges weather poses to walking, though, and discussed changes being implemented to improve pedestrian safety.
“We have recently installed additional sidewalks, lighting and pedestrian-friendly paths across campus and to the Village of Hamilton,” Hernon wrote.
A full story about changes to driving on campus and pedestrian safety is upcoming.
