I play video games constantly. Actually, I only play one video game, but I play it every day. Well, I don't so much play this game as live it, and I'm sure everyone on campus has lived it, too.
Every day, I play Frogger at 38th and Walnut.
As we all remember from our blissful days of childhood before Grand Theft Auto became our main concern, Frogger was the game starring a frog that had to cross a highway full of oncoming Mack trucks without becoming roadkill. Trying to cross 38th Street without becoming roadkill might also be hours of fun if it wasn't for, well, the prospect of becoming roadkill. Obviously, crossing the busy streets of Philadelphia is no game.
In truth, there are innumerable problems with the traffic flow around the University of Pennsylvania, and most of them stem from vehicle-student interaction.
Tell me if this doesn't sound familiar: You're at the corner of 38th and Walnut. The streetlight turns green, and as you step out into the street, a car begins to turn across your path. Suddenly, Frogger turns into a potentially deadly game of chicken because neither party is sure which one will go first. Pedestrians often narrowly miss getting a hood-ornament transplant in their lower intestines.
In most other cities, there are two sets of streetlights: lights suspended over the lanes for cars, and lights on corners telling pedestrians it's safe to walk. In West Philadelphia, however, there is only one set of signals for cars and pedestrians.
The University and Undergraduate Assembly have been putting pressure on the city to do something about the situation. Nothing, of course, has been done so far. However, there is some promise that we might have proper traffic signals by the end of this year.
Since the city purports to have plans for improving our streets, let me make another suggestion to get the job done right.
First, the problem. You've just come out of the President's mansion from an evening of wild partying, and you start walking toward 38th. Up ahead, you can see that the light to cross is already green, so you put on some speed. It's still green when you step into the street, but then it suddenly turns yellow. You realize you're not going to make it, but you also can't go back. So as the light turns red, you find yourself perched on a cement median in the middle of one of West Philadelphia's busiest roads, worrying if oncoming drivers will notice the lampshade on your head.
Many times it's difficult to judge whether you have enough time to cross the street. This situation is especially dangerous if the street you're crossing has no median to stand on. Even if cars let you pass as they're stopped at a green light, it's nevertheless an annoyance for everyone involved.
Washington has come up with an excellent solution to this problem. Their city streetlights are equipped with timers that let pedestrians know how much time they have to cross by displaying the remaining seconds until the light will change. It's such a simple solution that campuses like Yale already have these timers.
Finally, there is one more problem that won't be solved by urban improvement, but by law enforcement.
My roommate rides a bike to soccer practice every day. He uses the bike lane along Spruce Street, or at least he's supposed to. But oftentimes, the bike lane is clogged with delivery trucks and cars that aren't supposed to be there. Bikers aren't supposed to ride in the street or on the sidewalk; they're supposed to ride in (surprise!) the bike lane.
It's obviously both a breach of law and safety to force bikers out of the bike lanes, and it appears the only way to solve this problem is for the police to start rigorously enforcing the rules.
Traffic safety for the thousands of pedestrians and bikers that traverse our campus should be one of the top priorities for city officials. Penn, as the foremost entity in West Philadelphia, needs to continue to pressure Mayor Street (for the love of God, his name is Street) to get these problems straightened out.
We need pedestrian signals, crosswalk timers and clear bike lanes sooner rather than later, and we shouldn't have to wait for accidents to happen before the problem is dealt with. For at that point, it's already GAME OVER.
Justin Tackett is a sophomore in the College from Pittsburgh. Word! appears on Tuesdays.
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