The Weber State University Police Department has put in temporary speed limit signs near Wildcat Village. It has also placed signs reducing the speed to 15 mph on 4100 S. from the Stromberg Gym to the Hurst Center.
Police Chief Dane LeBlanc said the permanent signs will be taller and bigger than the current temporary ones. The permanent signs will also flash the driver’s speed at them.
“They get your attention,” LeBlanc said.
LeBlanc said the police department should get the new signs in the next couple of weeks, and it will put the signs up immediately after it gets them. The temporary signs have been up since Thursday of last week, and since then, the campus police have been monitoring the speeds of the cars.
“It has slowed traffic down immensely,” LeBlanc said. “It seems to be working quite well.”
The police department is also working on reducing the speed limit around campus to 25 mph and below.
The idea to reduce the speed was first brought up in a student senate meeting last Monday, when LeBlanc came in to present about safety issues.
“It’s important for the safety of the students, first and foremost,” said Joshua Mullins, the Davis campus senator, “just to control traffic more so students can actually get across from the Wildcat Village to their classes safely without having to worry about a car coming zipping down that mountain at 35 miles an hour.”
The senators have also been looking at other safety issues on campus. They have been talking about safety at the intersection of 4100 S. and Taylor Avenue, which will soon have a crosswalk.
LeBlanc said most of the accidents at WSU happen in parking lots when one car backs into another. There are also occasionally accidents in the roundabouts, because people do not know when they have to yield.
“Most of it is minor,” LeBlanc said. “There are a lot of near-miss calls.”
LeBlanc said the reason for the reduction in speed is because of the near misses.
“We know it’s a busy crosswalk,” LeBlanc said. “We’re just being proactive. We are trying to make that area safer.”
Lauren Muzio, an interior design major, said she doesn’t think the new addition to the crosswalk will help with the speeds.
“I don’t think a sign will help,” she said. “If people don’t see a cop, they won’t slow down.”
Muzio lives in Wildcat Village by the temporary speed limit sign. She said she slows down at the crosswalk and sometimes sees others slow down, too. Muzio said her friend was almost hit by a car that was going 40 mph, and her friend had to stop in the middle of the crosswalk to avoid getting hit.
“A lot of people don’t pay attention,” she said.
