An issue that's been buzzing around campus is safety for students.  There have been two students hit by vehicles in the last month and a half. 

One accident happened on the corner of 33rd Street and Grange Avenue. 

The other accident took place in front of the Summit Avenue apartments and was  the result of a driver not paying attention to their blind spot.

With limited parking and packed streets around Augustana's campus, paying close attention to pedestrians becomes a vital necessity for drivers.

Augustana senior Zach Ludens has sought help from the city of Sioux Falls to add another crosswalk on 31st Street and Summit Avenue that will make it safer for our students to cross the street. 

"After seeing a car accident in which a car was trying to leave the Madsen parking lot and another car was trying to get in, I contacted the city to have a crosswalk installed," Ludens explained.

Ludens believes that the crosswalk is ideal because the amount of students that cross Summit to get to the Madsen Center combined with traffic on Summit makes it difficult to cross.

Cars line the streets of Summit Avenue, 31st Street, Norton Avenue and Duluth Avenue at many high-traffic times. Limited parking on the east side of campus makes it a challenge to find a spot in a parking lot or at curbside. 

The crosswalk can serve multiple buildings in its position including the Madsen Center, Gilbert Science Center, Center for Western Studies and the library. 

The addition of a crosswalk allows more safety for students to cross the street and prepares oncoming traffic for pedestrians.

Action was prompt to set up this new crosswalk, happening within a week after it was brought to the city's attention. 

"I am impressed with how quickly the city and school responded," says Ludens.  Soon after the school and city met to discuss the issue, it was agreed that a new crosswalk is necessary.  Ludens confirmed, "They pledged to get it done quickly, and the crosswalk itself was painted within a week and a half, and the signage was added late that week." 

Credit can be given to the cooperation of the city of Sioux Falls and Augustana College for fixing this problem.

Although we are encouraged to look both ways, some street corners have low visibility, making it difficult to determine traffic situations. 

This new crosswalk provides a safer way to cross the street and will allow students a little more assurance that they won't get hit by oncoming traffic.