Safety is a two-way street

_{A UTRGV student uses the crosswalk April 11 in front of the Interdisciplinary Academic Building on the Brownsville campus. Estefania Ramirez/THE RIDER PHOTOS}

With the campus community’s safety in mind, a university official asks drivers to yield to pedestrians and students, faculty and staff to use caution even when walking through crosswalks.

Richard Costello, director of Environmental Health and Safety at UTRGV, said students “feel protected” when using crosswalks because Texas statutes offer protection to those who use crosswalks properly, but they should still look both ways to make sure that vehicles are yielding to pedestrians.

“There’s also some sort of arrogance associated with some of the kids and, [in] a lot of cases, unfortunately, they’re not even looking,” Costello said. “They’ll just kind of say, ‘Hey, look at me. Now you can’t drive because I’m in this crosswalk,’ and unfortunately, that’s not the case.”

He said wearing headphones and using a phone is “the worst combination.” Costello recommended that pedestrians not only look both ways, but establish eye contact with drivers and make sure the vehicle has stopped.

Computer science freshman Ashley Perez said both pedestrians and drivers sometimes do not respect the crosswalks.

“Students don’t respect the crosswalks, so it’s not as safe,” Perez said. “Sometimes the cars don’t respect the leg traffic, so it might cause an accident.” 

Section 552.003 of the Texas Transportation Code states that the “operator of a vehicle shall stop and yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing a roadway in a crosswalk.”

The code also states “a pedestrian may not suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and proceed into a crosswalk in the path of a vehicle so close that it is impossible for the vehicle operator to stop and yield.”

_{A sign instructs drivers to stop for pedestrians on Ringgold Road in Brownsville. Estefania Ramirez/THE RIDER PHOTOS}

Costello also said personal transportation vehicles, including bikes and skateboards, are not permitted within crosswalks.

“The Texas statutes do not afford protection in a crosswalk to bicycle riders,” he said. “Those individuals that dismount [their personal transportation vehicles] prior to going into a crosswalk, they’re treated as pedestrians. But a bicycle that drives into a crosswalk–it’s treated as a vehicle.”

Costello said the majority of incidents concerning crosswalk safety on campus have involved bike riders because cyclists move faster than a typical pedestrian and “vehicles just don’t have enough time” to stop.

After a vehicle allegedly struck a cyclist on campus March 6, as previously reported by The Rider, UTRGV Assistant Chief of Police Van Slusser advised students to dismount bikes to cross streets.

John Gonzalez, a Brownsville Early College High School student who regularly attends classes on the UTRGV Brownsville campus, said using caution when crossing is important because jay-walking is “very unsafe and very nerve-wracking.”

“We need more [crosswalks,] way more,” John said. “We really need a crosswalk by, especially, the paid parking and the Sabal Hall.”

Costello said the Brownsville campus in particular “probably needs more” crosswalks because there is a “fair amount of traffic” on University Boulevard.

“There was also some plans to look at reconstructing the entrance to the Brownsville campus … so that’s kind of in limbo right now,” he said. “But there are future plans to add crosswalks on University [Boulevard].”

Costello said he wants to remind students that they are not “invincible.” 

_{UTRGV students use the crosswalk April 15 in front of the Interdisciplinary Academic Building on the Brownsville campus. Estefania Ramirez/THE RIDER PHOTOS}