Many people on campus seem to have a near-miss story with harrowing details of the time they practically were run down by a car while crossing Highland Road or South Stadium Drive.
Alicia Gholar is one such student.
“I don’t think people when they’re riding in their cars even have respect for or acknowledge those who are walking,” said Gholar, a mass communication senior.
Capt. Mark Shaw of the LSU Police Department expressed concern for the safety of Gholar and others on campus.
“With the congestion we have, it’s surprising that there aren’t more accidents,” Shaw said. Of the more than 800 traffic accidents on campus each year, Shaw said, less than 25 involve bicycles or pedestrians and cars.
Shaw added bicyclists and pedestrians involved in accidents were often just as responsible as drivers.
“We see pedestrians who will step out when a car is less than 30 feet away,” Shaw said. “Even if the pedestrian does have the right of way, you still have to allow the driver time to yield.”
      One student, who occasionally rides his bike, said students should be better informed about campus traffic regulations.
“I feel, at times, like I don’t always know the correct rules,” said electrical engineering graduate student Gigi Philip. “We should be made aware of the rules and if there’s any special path we need to follow.”
Highway regulations require bicyclists to ride in traffic lanes if no bike lanes are provided, and campus rules officially prohibit riding bicycles on sidewalks and in the Quad. However, Shaw said these rules can be difficult to enforce.
“One issue we face is what is actually safer — riding your bike on the sidewalk or in the traffic lane,” he said.
This is just one issue the campus Master Plan hopes to address, said Director of Facility Development Bill Eskew.
“What we have established is a system of pedestrian walkways that will connect north to south and east to west through the center of the historic core [of campus],” Eskew said.
Eskew said the plan aims to increase campus accessibility and pedestrian safety by limiting the number of streets people have to cross.
Both Eskew and Shaw agreed limiting car traffic through campus during the day will alleviate some problems.
Shaw said 80 percent of traffic on campus at the time of class changes is student vehicles.
“If we could restrict student vehicles, it would free up the streets more for bikes,” Shaw said.
Recent incidents on campus have increased concerns for pedestrian and bicyclist safety.
Last week, a police officer on a bicycle was struck by a car turning at the intersection of Highland and Dalrymple drives, Shaw said.
Shaw said some kind of crosswalk safety education program to reduce accidents most likely would be more effective than an actual enforcement program.
“It’s still a problem, but it’s a relatively small problem,” Shaw said. “What we see with the congestion we have is a peaceful coexistence.”