Town officials stress drivers’ role in pedestrian safety

After two recent accidents involving pedestrians, Chapel Hill officials are stressing that the responsibility often falls on drivers when it comes to pedestrian safety.

On Feb. 5, a UNC student was hit by a car at an intersection on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

A man was also struck by a car while crossing Franklin Street on Feb. 11.

According to Chapel Hill police records, there were 49 pedestrian accidents from 2010 to 2012.

Accidents were concentrated near the intersections of Columbia and Franklin streets and Rosemary and Columbia streets.

In 20 of the incidents, the drivers were a contributing factor to the accident. Pedestrians were contributing factors in 23 of the accidents, according to reports.

Chapel Hill’s Engineering Services Manager Kumar Neppalli said accidents like the Feb. 11 incident are rare.

“The accident was not at the crosswalk,” Neppalli said. “The pedestrian was walking outside of the crosswalk.”

Neppalli said drivers need to remain vigilant.

“It’s my understanding that vehicular drivers are not yielding to the pedestrians,” he said.

“Drivers need to follow road regulations.”

Neppalli said there have been many initiatives proposed to make the town safer.

“I think we are making progress and it is a safe city,” he said. “We haven’t had many accidents until recently, and those couple of accidents the driver was not paying attention.”

Neppalli said the town has a comprehensive sidewalk system and police on continuous patrol.
But these initiatives come at a cost to taxpayers.

“(The cost) depends on the location,” Neppalli said.

Neppalli said the town’s size makes ensuring pedestrian safety easier.

“I don’t think any parts of the town are dangerous,” he said. “Downtown is constantly full of pedestrians and bicyclists … Most pedestrians follow the rules, but some of them do not follow.”

Geoff Green, a UNC graduate student and Meadowmont resident, said he thinks some intersections in Meadowmont are dangerous for pedestrians.

“At each intersection the roads are designed with excessively wide radii,” Green said in an email.

“This has the effect of pushing apart the curbs and lengthening the distance that people need to cross the street. Ironically, people are instructed by the crosswalk to cross at the very spot where the road is the widest.”

He said city planners should look at intersection redesign when trying to improve pedestrian safety.

“I do believe that the people who work for Chapel Hill now, and for Carrboro as well, are much more attuned to the impact of design on pedestrians,” he said.

Contact the desk editor at city@dailytarheel.com.