Students running late to class may need to heed warnings from OU
police or face penalties at pedestrian crossings and parking
lots.

Writing tickets for students who jaywalk or fail to keep their
cars under 10 mph in the Lloyd Noble Center parking lot is a last
resort for the OU Department of Public Safety, said Sgt. Michael
Scanlon. However, police may need to take that route if accidents
and citizens’ complaints continue.

This semester, police say they have been faced with two areas
that have been particularly troublesome: pedestrian crosswalks at
Lindsey Street and traffic in Lloyd Noble’s parking lot.

“Lots of individuals are just walking out in the street,
and it is creating a very unsafe condition,” said Sgt. Gary
Robinson of the OUDPS.

Scanlon, the OUDPS day-shift supervisor, said complaints from
drivers on Lindsey Street near campus have been frequent.

“One [caller] was scared,” Scanlon said. “She
said the kid looked right at her like he was daring her to hit
him.”

Luke Hasenberg, University College freshman, crosses Lindsey
Street several times per day on his way to Adams Center. He said he
sees several near-accidents between cars and pedestrians every
week. Hasenberg said he even stopped a friend as he almost walked
in front of a moving vehicle when he was not paying attention to
traffic signals.

Scanlon said there have not been any serious pedestrian
accidents this semester, but some pedestrians have been seriously
injured in the past. Police are now concerned with preventing such
accidents based on the number of complaints and near-collisions,
but are unsure how to do it.

“We would like to resolve this without writing a bunch of
tickets and raising the ire of the students,” Scanlon
said.

Christopher Turner, University College freshman, said he sees
other students disobey crossing signals, but is willing to wait in
order to cross safely.

“I would rather wait for the signal than get run
over,” Turner said.

At Lloyd Noble, police are dealing with another increasing
traffic problem that has resulted in several accidents.

Since August, OUDPS has responded to at least nine collisions in
the center’s parking lot.

“There was one week in October where it seemed like we had
at least one accident per day,” Scanlon said.

More students seem to be opting to park at Lloyd Noble's lot
this semester, Scanlon said. This may not be surprising, given
increasing costs for parking permits and the free Lloyd Noble
parking with shuttle service that is now available for a growing
student population. However, an increase in parked cars makes it
even harder to see oncoming traffic, especially with no stop signs
or other traffic controls at intersections of most aisles, Scanlon
said.

Speed limit signs are posted at each entrance to the parking
lot, but many motorists find it hard to stay under 10 mph,
especially when they are running late.

“When we talk to someone who gets in an accident [at Lloyd
Noble], the first thing they say is, ‘I was in a
hurry,’” Scanlon said.

Scanlon said OUDPS may increase its presence at the parking lot.
However, writing tickets for speeding could be both unlikely and
dangerous, Scanlon said. Police pursuits through the parking lot
are seldom risked by OUDPS because of dangers involved with a
high-speed chase through a crowded lot.
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