By Larry B. Dendy
Upset over reports of close calls between pedestrians and vehicles, the Staff Council is asking university and Athens-Clarke County officials to take measures to improve safety on streets that run through campus.
At its meeting Feb. 4, the council instructed council president Clyde Anglin to write a letter requesting safety improvements on Thomas, Lumpkin and Carlton streets.
Several council members said they have seen or heard of incidents in which pedestrians have been hit or almost hit by vehicles on these streets. One council member reported that three people were hit by a vehicle at the Thomas Street crossing behind the visual arts building. None was seriously injured, but one person was taken to the hospital, the council member said.
Among suggestions offered to improve pedestrian safety were bridges, crosswalks and flashing lights.
Anglin noted that the university has no authority over Thomas and Lumpkin streets, which are owned and controlled by Athens-Clarke County.
Anglin will send a letter expressing the council's concern and offering suggested remedies to the heads of the university's physical plant and public safety divisions, the Office of University Architects for Facilities Planning, and the Athens-Clarke County planning department.
In other action, the council voted to send UGA President Michael Adams a letter requesting that an elected staff representative be added to the search committee for the position of senior vice president for academic affairs and provost.
Adams had appointed Patricia Daugherty, director of student activities, to represent staff interests on the committee. Council members emphasized they do not object to Daugherty, but want to have someone of their own choosing on the committee.
The council also voted to request that all future search committees for a position of dean or higher include an elected staff representative. The representative could be chosen either from Staff Council or from a Staff Representative Group in an academic or administrative unit.
