A recent petition started on change.org by a Mississippi State University student wants the university to address the need for awareness and safety for students living in nearby, off-campus housing.
The petition on change.org titled: “Put in a crosswalk at the Hardy/Blackjack intersection by HELiX Apartments” seeks to address improvements to make the intersection more pedestrian friendly.
Luke Allen, a senior in kinesiology, who thought of the idea for the petition, said the idea came from him witnessing a young woman attempting to cross the intersection and imagining how she might feel.
As a kinesiology major, Allen said he and other students are taught “exercise is medicine.” Benefits to walking to class are immense, ranging from decreasing stress, blood pressure and encouraging healthy behaviors. 
Students need to have the option of walking to class, Allen said, because many do not have time to go to the gym. Walking gives students the opportunity to get their daily-recommended 30 minutes of exercise. Safety often gets in the way.
“When there’s not a crosswalk,” Allen said, “it scares people and discourages them from walking or biking to class. If you have the pleasure of living so close to campus, you should want to walk to class.”
Allen notes the many apartment complexes near campus and students’ decisions to drive because of the road’s safety issues.
Presently, the only option for students crossing the road remains walking across the middle of the roadway. This puts students at risk and also drivers who cannot always see students coming over a hill. 
Besides safety, Allen said he would like to see more educational awareness on campus about the rules of the road for students.
One of the things that Allen said bothers him, is the need and emphasis by the university for students to walk or bicycle to class yet the lack of bicycling and walking paths for them.
With the increase in the student population, Allen said, the university should give students alternative ways of getting to campus.  
Janelle Gagle, the HELiX community manager, said they have worked tirelessly on change.org and want students to feel safe crossing the road.
One of the petitioners, Sonja Byars, said on the change.org petition page that she has two sons who live at HELiX one of whom must use a wheelchair.
“There is no way way he could cross Blackjack Road,” Byars said.
Allen said the university should take into consideration the moral and ethical responsibilities it has to make the university accessible to all students. 
The reason why Allen sought help from Starkville in Motion he said is their advocacy for safety as well as their dedication to helping people live healthier lifestyles.
Kelcy Gooch, a senior in computer software and vice president of Starkville in Motion, said he wants to get more students involved on campus.
Gooch said Allen coming to them was what alerted him and the Starkville in Motion president about the need and interest among students.
At the moment, Gooch said he and Allen are the only two students on campus involved with Starkville in Motion. However, Gooch wants to change that because the more students they can get involved on campus, the more they can achieve in helping improve safety in and around campus.
Crossing the Hardy and Blackjack Road intersection near the HELiX apartment complex where many MSU students live, Gooch said, comes with many dangers for students who cross at busy times of the day or night.
A lot of talk has gone on about a crosswalk Gooch said but nothing has come from all that talk. 
“The fact that there is fear of walking campus or walking across crosswalks,” Gooch said, “that is something that needs to be resolved or at least mended.” 
If the university will not put in a crosswalk, Gooch recommends they put up signs as a good alternative. Many signs on campus do not have information on them about crosswalks. Signs at crosswalks saying state law with arrows pointing to motorist to yield to pedestrians here or  “share the road” for motorists and bicyclists would be beneficial.
Gooch said his ultimate goal would be getting an organization on campus like Starkville in Motion to promote awareness for bicycling and walking on campus. Because Gooch does not have an organization to represent those goals at present, it limits his reach.
Jaycee Yott, a junior in electrical engineering who lives at HELiX apartments, said the reason she has not gotten hit yet is because she waits until the light turns green for the turning lane. She said other students do not watch the lights as closely and run right across forcing oncoming drivers to slam on their brakes. 
It came as a surprise, Yott said, for her to learn that  HELiX had proposed a crosswalk, and the university did nothing about the problem even though they knew that many of the students who would live at HELiX would attend the university.
“You know everybody that lives at HELiX is going to Mississippi State,” Yott said.
Yott said she walks to class and does not mind it. The part she does not like about walking though is trying not to get hit while walking across the street.
Some drivers will stop and let students cross even when the drivers have the right of way. Other drivers will not stop for students and zoom through.
“I would not stop pushing for a crosswalk.” Yott said. “A majority of people at HELiX walk to class.”
David Harned, president of Starkville in Motion, said Allen told him HELiX sent a proposal for a crosswalk to the university along with data and research they had gathered but the university denied them. 
Another reason the university likely rejected HELiX’s crosswalk proposal, a source told Harned, is because the university plans on repaving Blackjack Road in the future. How far in the future Harned does not know.
Harned said the issue he has with the problem simply is waiting. 
Recently Harned brought the issue of Blackjack Road up at a town hall meeting he attended that had State Representative Rob Roberson in attendance Roberson represents District 43 which includes a portion of Oktibbeha County. 
At the meeting, Harned said, one of the county supervisors acknowledged the gratitude they have for people wanting to build; however, they did not forecast the growth and development of the area, which has exploded, as well as they would have liked.
Harned said the county does not have the money and would need to raise taxes for them to get anything accomplished with Blackjack Road.
One of the things Harned has advocated for is a partnership among the city of Starkville, Oktibbeha County and the university. He said all three should look at the partnership as an investment for the future. Students go to the university, and those same students in turn benefit the city financially.
Before the university made the decision to install a roundabout in 2002 at the intersection of Blackjack Road and Oktoc Road, Harned said traffic equated to a “nightmare.” 
What the Blackjack Road and areas surrounding it need, Harned said, is to have someone basically draw up new plans for making the area more pedestrian friendly.
“There needs to be a complete redesign of the area to handle all the traffic,” Harned said.
However, Harned admits nothing will change overnight and to think so would be plainly irrational.
In the meantime, Harned is focusing his sights primarily on Starkville in Motion and its upcoming plans for 2017. Among those plans he said include adding an outreach officer and advocacy officer. Harned said his organization originally began from people living in the city who wanted to bring about changes to improve and make Starkville more pedestrian friendly. Now, many of the issues for the university have surpassed that of the city.
Another alternative for the university, Harned agrees, would be creating a school zone from the roundabout on Oktoc and Blackjack Roads to the intersection of Hardy and Blackjack Roads. 
“It’s practical and should be relatively low cost to implement,” Harned said.
Until any change happens, Harned urges students to go sign the petition to help bring the issue to the forefront, so university officials will take notice.