After a four-week hiatus, the Memorial Bell Tower crosswalk is now open for use following the installation of new, temporary streetlights over Thanksgiving Break. The crosswalk was temporarily closed after a student was hit by a car at the crossing on October 25. This was the third accident at the site in the past year, according to a previous article in The Phillipian. The Memorial Bell Tower crosswalk does not have a stoplight for cars. “[PAPS] wanted to strengthen safety among pedestrians who need better vision of where they are headed, as well as drivers who need to have a better view of students crossing at night,” said Thomas Conlon, Director of Phillips Academy Public Safety (PAPS). Conlon hopes that the temporary street lamps will improve overall safety for community members on campus. “When we were first out there to install the lighting at the crosswalks, we noticed a drastic change in visibility as well as how clearly the roads were highlighted. This was important for us since [having a] clear view is a top priority for all vehicle motorists,” said Conlon. The new lighting is a temporary installation as part of the Pedestrian Lighting Safety Initiative to improve safety for students and faculty after dark. Although the initiative was initially scheduled to begin later this year, the accident on October 25 accelerated its implementation, according to Conlon. The initiative was launched in February following a review of campus lighting and pedestrian safety after a car accident on Main Street in 2011. The plan aims to ensure that all the lights across campus are lit at night and that all students crossing at night are supervised by PAPS officers, according to Conlon in a previous article in The Phillipian. The lighting initiative will include the installation of permanent safety measures at the Bell Tower crosswalk such as stoplights with push buttons, countdown systems rather than the existing motion detectors and more signs, according to Conlon. Conlon said that obtaining permission from the Massachusetts Highway Department to install additional lighting was the most difficult part of the process. “We had to go through a long permitting process to get authorization from the state highway department and were fortunately granted consent because we were constructing [the lighting facility] on our own property,” said Conlon. “No matter what we [install], people still have to take a responsibility to cross safer,” added Conlon. PAPS managed the new lighting project while Jacobs Engineering, a Boston-based company that specializes in traffic engineering services, installed the system.
