On Friday, a young woman was almost kidnapped. The next day, an arrest was made. This Tuesday, an email via Alert Carolina listed the future initiatives to be taken in order to ensure students’ safety.
Quick and prompt responses by the Chapel Hill Police Department and the University are laudable. In addressing the concern of safety, it is imperative to ensure real changes are carried out.
There are approximately 200 blue-light emergency towers located on campus. However, there are nooks and crevices where more emergency phones or lights for pedestrians could be installed on and near campus. This issue should be solved by the combined efforts of the town of Chapel Hill and UNC’s Nighttime Travel Safety Working Group.
The pathway behind Alderman residence hall is dark and shrouded by trees; yet the nearest blue tower is at the end of the path by the entrance to the Arboretum. From the intersection of Country Club Road and South Road towards the intersection at Aycock residence hall, there are only two emergency phones.
According to the University’s Department of Public Safety, there are biannual campus lighting tours to identify lighting issues. On top of this tour, a giant map laid out by a populated place like the Pit or in front of Davis could be a simplified and centralized means of pinpointing problem areas.
Chapel Hill and UNC could also partner with Duke Energy, which installs and maintains street lights to address lighting for both on- and off-campus areas.
While efforts are being made to make walking safer, it is important to monitor the situation to ensure the right steps are being taken.
