“I almost got hit by a car today!” should not be a common experience for students to share, and yet, my friends and I often regale each other with stories of our near-death experiences.

The other day I was barely a yard away from a car speeding across the crosswalk. I easily could have been hit if I were running late and had decided to run instead of walk

ULM’s website labels itself a walkable campus. While that is technically true, the campus priority is clearly not those who walk. From unsafe crosswalks to unenforced speed limits, pedestrians are clearly not at the forefront of ULM’s design philosophy or budget.

While I have heard many complains about being fined for parking in the wrong spot, I have never heard a singular complaint about being fined for going “just a little” over the speed limit like I hear about every other road, even though I have seen dozens of people going wildly over the limit.

At the four-way street beside the Hub, one of the crosswalk lights has been broken for multiple weeks. That portion of campus is one of the busiest parts for pedestrians and drivers, yet ULM has neglected to fix it. ULM puts resources into fining students for parking in places where the paint meant to guide them has not been repainted in a decade but does not seem to put much into making sure their students are safe while getting across campus.

The Stubbs parking lot is a great example of the inconvenient parking infrastructure. I have heard many complaints about the parking lot, either from friends venting or overhearing people before class starts say that it is like people appear from behind cars out of nowhere. Even if drivers are going at an appropriate speed, the layout makes it difficult to see when pedestrians are coming. This is in large part because parking spaces are crammed as close to the crosswalks as they can be. If there was just a little more space between the crosswalks and the parking spaces, it would be much safer.

While a lot of pedestrian problems come from campus infrastructure, it cannot be denied that a good portion comes from students.

Drivers are supposed to yield to pedestrians, and often, drivers will keep cruising because they figure that you will not go if they do not slow down. While most students will wait to go until a car stops because they do not want to get run over, others think that just because someone should yield, that means that they will.

Drivers often will not drive the speed limit if they think that no one will be crossing. On weekends or late at night, drivers often will not adhere to the speed limit because they think no one is around. While campus is not as crowded at these times as it is during the week, it is not empty, and someone’s life could still be ended by this carelessness. Just because a driver cannot see anyone does not mean the streets are clear of people. It is understandable that drivers want to get home quickly, but they might prevent others from getting home at all if they are not careful.

Drivers are not just careless when campus is less crowded, though. Most of the time when I see cars speeding, it is during the middle of the day. Families come to ULM to enjoy outings, walks, or the many community events that the university puts on. Often, these families have young children with them- multiple of whom I have seen riding on scooters or crossing the street. While parents should be watching their children, accidents can happen. A driver speeding or not paying attention to kids around could end in tragedy.

Putting aside the obvious danger, drivers frequently block the sidewalk so that they can get an easy parking spot. At least once a week, I will see a car parked where pedestrians transition from the sidewalk to the road—which is to say: not a parking spot. While it causes a minor inconvenience for abled people like me who can just step past the car, it causes more of an issue for people with mobility disabilities who rely on sidewalks.

While the safety of students is important, the problem is bigger than just ULM. Monroe itself is not exactly easy to traverse for anyone without access to a car. For people who do not own cars themselves, like me and many of my friends, the only way to get around town is to rely on family members or friends.

I would have no good way to get to campus if I were not someone with access to a car. While Monroe is fortunate enough to have a transit system, the nearest bus stop would take over an hour of walking to get to for me. That is not even to mention the fact that a lot of people with physical disabilities could not walk even half that far.

The problem of non-walkable cities extends to a large part of society, not just this community. Monroe is just one of the many examples of the world being catered to drivers.

The average driver cannot do much about cars being the focal point of the world, but they can be considerate of those who are not driving. While everyone must get to class or work on time, hitting someone with your car will make you much later than considering the pedestrians in your way.