Street redesign and improved crosswalk on Anthony Wayne Drive ease walk to classes

Students returning to campus last fall found navigating to class a bit easier thanks to the Anthony Wayne Drive (AWD) Enhancement Project.

Vehicular traffic flow and speed through this main north-south corridor on campus has been controlled, making it more pedestrian-friendly and reducing the chance for pedestrian-auto crashes.

To accomplish this, planners first eliminated traffic load from cars entering Parking Structure 2 from southbound Anthony Wayne Drive and routed it through the northbound Lodge Freeway Service Drive. Next, they reduced the AWD corridor from four lanes to two by widening the median and adding parking spaces on each side of the street, increasing the number of spots from 34 to 144.

The most significant change is the special pedestrian-activated HAWK (High-intensity Activated crossWalK) signal between the College of Engineering main entrance and the General Lectures building. The new technology means pedestrians do not wait long for the walk cycle and are less prone to jump the curb against the red hand or hurry up to make the seconds countdown. Drivers on AWD are required to take more time and be patient.

At first, pedestrians were not using the crosswalk properly. In response, the university embarked on a public information campaign as well as an enforcement campaign for motor vehicle violators in front of the engineering building. Today, both pedestrians and motorists continue to adjust to the new system.

"Since the campaign, pedestrian compliance has increased significantly, motorist violations have decreased and the system is working reasonably well," says Tapan Datta, professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the WSU Transportation Research Group, the team of engineers leading the AWD Enhancement Project. "We hear now about how well it is working from many daily users."

While the bulk of the project is finished, cosmetic improvements - such as the installation of new streetlights, benches and flowerboxes - are scheduled for the spring.