Different construction opportunities to address accessibility and safety concerns are in the planning stage, such as adding in-pavement LED lighting to crosswalks on Fourth Street.

This is a part of a vast construction project led by Facilities, Planning and Management and includes crosswalk additions, sidewalk and handicapped-accessible ramp improvements, along with the addition of three elevators around campus.

Gary Reed, the director of Facilities, Planning and Management, said his big push with the project is providing more pedestrian safety on Fourth Street.

“I am not satisfied that we have done all we can with safety across Fourth Street, and I know there have probably been countless near misses on those crosswalks and it bothers me,” Reed said. “We have been fairly lucky and we haven’t had any serious issues on Fourth (Street) but we need to keep chipping away and do things that will increase safety for the students especially.”

The LED in-pavement lighting will flash and automatically activate when a pedestrian approaches the crosswalks and the light will be visible several blocks away, he said.

The possibility of redesigning crosswalk locations on Fourth Street is also being considered and flashing yellow lights would be installed at these crosswalks.

“In addition, I want to put kind of a grate separation, a hump, to raise the sidewalk crossings a little higher than the pavement so it doesn’t look like a piece of street,” Reed said. “People will see this small elevation and see a visible crosswalk rather than just seeing a person in the street.”

Facilities, Planning and Management is collaborating with the city and the Capital Development Board for the project, and they have hired an architect from Upchurch and Associates in Mattoon.

Reed said they are planning on having a meeting to discuss the main design aspects of the overall project within the next week or two.

“Part of the design effort right now is to strategize along Fourth (Street) as to what are the most important crossings, where we have the most foot traffic and where we can apply the improvements for the biggest bang for our buck with respect to safety,” Reed said.

One area where a crosswalk may be constructed is mid-way between Lincoln Avenue and Marty’s.

In addition to improvements to Fourth Street, Ninth Street is also being looked at for new construction, he said.

“On Ninth Street, the pedestrian crossing traffic is primarily located at Ninth and Roosevelt where there is a four-way stop so it is pretty well controlled at that point, but we are going to review everything from Carman Hall all the way to the north end of campus to see what kind of curb cuts and crossing improvements we can make,” Reed said.

The construction of three elevators is also included in the project. One will be located in the Student Services Building, one in the McAfee Gym and one in the old textbook rental facility connected to Pemberton Hall.

The new Honor’s College is scheduled to replace the old textbook rental facility, and the elevator would be available to both the Honor’s College and Pemberton residents.

Another aspect of the project is to make improvements to handicapped-accessible ramps that have degraded over time. These ramps may also be widened if need be, he said.

Sidewalk improvements are also included in the plan.

“There are a number of sidewalks that have elevation differences that have sunk over time,” Reed said. “Some of these are trip hazards or problems to wheelchair accessibility.”

The budget for the project is about $1.8 million, and the prospective timeline they are looking at is to have the projects completed by December 2013.

“We have a lot of desires but that is a long way from the reality, which is whether we can put all of our objectives into play in our construction budget,” Reed said. “We may not be able to afford everything we want to do in this project, but we hope to identify where those needs are and can come back in a second phase.”

Rachel Rodgers can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].