A step forward for SafeWalk

Wednesday night marked the premiere of the expanded SafeWalk program.

Previously limited to on-campus locations, Granville and Greek housing, students will soon be able to have escorts ensure they reach home safely in Chapel Hill and Carrboro too.

This board has been skeptical of the SafeWalk program in the past.

But SafeWalk’s leaders seem to have been responsible in their decision-making.

SafeWalk first expanded its reach to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, which might seem a little unnecessary at first glance — the street is very well lit and relatively busy at night.

But Christina Lynch, director of SafeWalk, said the first phase of expansion in SafeWalk would allow the group to perfect its protocols and ensure the safety of its employees. This is a fair point.

A cautious approach should allow the group to ensure proper procedures are in place while informing students of increased service.

Further expansions include Hillsborough Street, Henderson Street and North Street.

The extended timeline also permits off-campus communities time to get accustomed to the SafeWalk program.

We hope the leaders of SafeWalk will reach out to neighborhood organizations to inform them of the program and ask for their assistance in keeping students and student employees safe.

Lynch said the group had an average of 19 SafeWalk clients per night last semester, with Tuesday and Wednesday pulling an average of 40 a night. The figures seem to suggest that demand is strong.

The areas included in the expansion cover the majority of the places students live off campus, and were chosen based on student surveys.

Data tracking has led to more accurate predictions about the number of SafeWalk teams to have on call for any given night.

The budget is reasonable — $22,000 per semester — and leaders have saved student money by shifting some of the financial burden to the federal work-study program.

The program might also consider investing in more bikes. SafeWalkers can walk students home and ride back to campus for faster turn-around times.