U. tackles security concerns

and Amy Lipman The University spent the summer trying to make the campus a safer place to live. The Community Walks program was implemented in May and was run throughout the summer. And officials have also been working to make the intersection at 33rd and Walnut streets a safer place, in response to the four car accidents involving students at that site over the last year. Outgoing University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich reported in July that as a result of the Community Walks program there has been a 30 percent decrease in the number of on-campus incidents reported. The Community Walks program is part of the University's new master security plan, which was unveiled by University President Judith Rodin in February. According to this plan, Community Walks will run through the center of campus and along other heavily travelled off-campus routes. Five kiosks and 15 new blue-light phones are placed at strategic points along these walks. The kiosks will serve as the primary base of operation for security officers patrolling along the walks. In addition, the Allied Security guards will be responsible for walking around their designated areas. Emergency telephones are installed outside the kiosks to ensure safety at times when the officers are not stationed inside them. Since May, three of the five kiosks have been staffed between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. -- 40th and Locust streets, 37th and Locust streets and 33rd Street and Smith Walk. All five kiosks are staffed from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. The University has also been working in conjunction with the Philadelphia Streets Department to increase the safety of the intersection at 33rd and Walnut streets. The changes to the intersection will include the addition of international signage, warning pedestrians of the dangers of the intersection. In addition, new speed limit signs will be installed and a "no turn on red" sign will be set up in the near future. An educational component is also part of a proactive plan to improve safety at the infamous intersection, Rush said, adding that new employees and new students will be informed of the dangers surrounding crossing certain intersections around the University campus.

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