Stephens College looks to make Walnut Street safer for students

Two crosswalks on Walnut Street connect Stephens College’s residence halls to its academic quad.

The school is hoping to make the crossing safer for the students taking it.

“I’ll stop and wait just to make sure I’m going to be able to cross safely, because you never know sometimes,” freshman Sofia Garcia said on Wednesday. “If someone’s actually going to stop or if someone’s paying attention is always something I’m looking for, because the goal is not to get hit.”

The college and Columbia Public Works both tell ABC 17 News that they are talking about possible traffic calming projects on Walnut Street, between College Avenue and Old 63. Public Works spokesman Barry Dalton said no specific plans have been developed, but both sides hope to hold an interested parties meeting this spring.

Missouri State Highway Patrol crash records show six pedestrian crashes on Walnut Street in the last five years. Four of those crashes happened within the two crosswalks on Walnut Street, all happening since 2016.

“Sometimes you cross hoping [drivers] don’t hit you and other times you just kind of stop and watch them speed through the signs and the crosswalks,” Morgan Lange, a freshman student, told ABC 17 News.

The city has one crosswalk equipped with flashing lights near the campus on East Broadway. Many students said a similar system may help get a driver’s attention to the crosswalks on Walnut Street.