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Crosswalk flagged for move |
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Photo
by Jenny Gerow
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| Posted
on the barrels at the crosswalk (above), which spans Jefferson
Park Avenue from the B1 parking lot to New Cabell Hall, is a
notice from the City of Charlottesville. It states: “Before
stepping into the street, grab a flag, wave it while crossing
the street, then deposit it in the orange barrel on the other
side. Thank you. (This strategy is successfully being used in
Maryland and Utah.) Work on a long-term plan to relocate the
crosswalk is currently under way.” |
By Matt Kelly
Harry
Gamble, a tall, lean religious studies professor, paused and looked
both ways for traffic but did not use one of the provided orange
flags to cross Jefferson Park Avenue near the B-1 Parking lot on
a recent morning.
“Not
many people use the flags. Flags are stolen sometimes,” he
said, although he acknowledged, “This crossing is a real hazard,
and there have been any number of injuries.”
The
crosswalk, which connects the B-1 parking lot with central Grounds,
will be moved in the next six to eight weeks. After English professor
Cynthia Wall was struck by a car there last fall, the city put red
flags for pedestrians to carry across the striped intersection to
alert motorists. The flags are to be deposited in barrels on either
side of the crossing for reuse.
The
flag system is intended to give pedestrians more visibility, said
Angela Tucker, the city’s development services manager. Some
people have used the flags, but when they were first put out flags
were stolen and had to be replaced every other day. The system will
be discontinued when the crosswalk is moved. Full
story.
Hiring freeze lifted
By Lee Graves
University
officials have lifted a mandatory hiring freeze that was imposed
in July in response to a state revenue crisis.
A freeze
on discretionary spending also was lifted in a Jan. 21 memo sent
to vice presidents and deans from Leonard W. Sandridge, executive
vice president and chief operating officer. He cautioned that the
economic outlook still is uncertain and that the state might impose
new reductions.
“The
action to lift the freeze is taken with the understanding that you
will comply with the spending plans that have been approved,”
Sandridge wrote. “Schools, departments and other operating
units will find it necessary to continue self-imposed hiring and
spending controls to meet their reduced budgets.”
The
thaw obviously pleased many around Grounds. Some schools began freezing
faculty hiring in the fall of 2001. Full
story.
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