Poorly lit crossings could lead to trouble for pedestrians.

It's a dark winter evening on Bruin Boulevard at Taylorsville Redwood Campus, you've just stepped off a UTA coach, or are perhaps on your way to board one from a night class. You approach the cross walk just west of the UTA bus transfer area, and everything appears in order - yellow lights flashing, white cross hatching in good condition - you begin to cross feeling secure in your safety. But traffic still may not know you are present, setting you up for quite a scare or perhaps worse.

The Globe visited the crosswalk last Tuesday and found that, during daylight hours on traffic was courteous and most often stopped. The following evening after dark, however, was a different story. Although 12-foot lamp poles exist on either end of the crosswalk the road is poorly illuminated by them. Overhead street lighting is present but distant at well over one hundred feet away on either side of the crossing. When approaching the pedestrian right-of-way by vehicle it could be noted that indeed pedestrians blended in with a background of evergreens along the north end of the campus.

A UTA bus driver, who introduced himself as Matt, told the Globe that the busses run as late as 11:20 p.m. and until recently the area, some 120 odd feet east of the crosswalk, had been largely unlit. He pointed to lights above benches it the sheltered area. "These lights had all been out until the past little while." An un-named driver also seemed to hint at other transit patron worries in the area. "A lot of people come [and] wait on my bus because it's so dark out here, and you know they're students. They have book bags and stuff, and you know you don't see a lot of cops. I'm sure they're around though."

The Globe also checked out conditions at the crosswalk accessing the new Facilities and Maintenance buildings one-third of a mile West near the 90-degree turn on Bruin Blvd. Noted immediately was the lack of yellow warning flashers that are present at the eastern crossing. A UTA patron and Facilities employee, Ron, was waiting at an adjacent bus stop. When asked about the lighting, he felt that the nearby overhead streetlight was adequate and volunteered that a flashing signal was in the works. "We're going to have a flashing light [at the facilities crosswalk]; they just came in. When people cross they push a button and then it flashes for a certain amount of time and then it goes off." When asked about the eastern crosswalk, Ron didn't believe that any additional lighting was planned.

At the Facilities offices, when asked about the illumination situation on Bruin Blvd., Gordon Storrs, Coordinator VII, Master Plan Facilities Office, was unaware of the poor lighting conditions. "If we could just hear what the need is…we could maybe respond [to] it." Mr. Storrs did however confirm the plans for flashing lights for the west crosswalk. Interested in the situation, Director of Facilities, Bob Askerlund responded, "That's the first we've heard of it."

Consulting The National Center for Safe Routes Web site, a safety advocacy group concerned with school crossings, the organization stated, "In many cases, crosswalk enhancements including raised median islands, traffic and pedestrian signals, or street lighting may also be needed. More substantial improvements are typically needed on high-volume multilane roads." By this standard, although some street lighting is present at the eastern Bruin Boulevard crossing, more may be needed to make it safer for pedestrians.