Columbia officials discuss College Avenue safety concerns

A busy and dangerous street next to the University of Missouri campus is getting attention from city officials.

Hundreds of students cross College Avenue by darting across the street to get to and from class.

The College Avenue Safety Enhancement Project is working to provide safer travel for both pedestrians and vehicles on College Ave. The meeting in City Hall Tuesday evening is for interested parties wanting to bring forth their ideas.

The Columbia Public Works proposed project came from a traffic study that will be presented at the meeting.

ABC 17 News asked students crossing the street if they thought it was dangerous.

“Not really. I’ve been doing it for three or four years now, and a lot of people do it,” said one student.

In between classes, the stretch of College Ave. from Rollins Street to University Ave. is filled with students running across trying to avoid cars.

East Campus is a popular place for MU students to live because of its proximity to campus, and that means there are numerous students crossing the road.

“After a while, you’re kind of playing Frogger,” said a student.

The reference to the arcade game Frogger was used by several students.

“It’s like playing Frogger. If you make it across half, we’ll just stay there until it’s safe to go to the other half,” said another student.

The median is what several students point as their safe halfway point.

Students did have some recommendations. Those included more crosswalks or even a bridge over College Ave., if possible.