Speeding in parking lots creates high risks for pedestrians at HCC, so students like Justin Shillman take their safety very seriously.
“I walk very close to the cars that are parked or to the wall if there’s open parking spaces. And I do see people just walking in the middle of the lanes in the parking garages, too,” Shillman said. Shillman stated that speeding in the parking garages causes concern, requiring him to be more cautious while walking. “I wouldn’t say it’s stress or anxiety, but I do be mindful that people do that,” Shillman said. “It’s pretty frequent in the parking garages they’re speeding around those corners”.
At HCC, it is admirable to follow safety measures. Second-year student Liza Pon stated that the school feels safe overall. However, Liza Pon also mentions that people in the parking garages make loud engine noises while speeding off.
“They would drive so fast because they want to have that sound from their car”, Pon said. Pon believes those who don’t stop should be fined or penalized for doing so. Speeding at HCC raises safety concerns for our pedestrians.
Our campus map shows multiple entry points, all with safety measures in place to protect students. Although students have safety concerns, there are safety protocols in place, according to Bill Davis, director of Public Safety.
“There’s a lot of eyes and ears out there,” said Davis.
Davis, who oversees the safety of students and faculty at HCC, said that ‘speed calming measures’ encourage students to drive slower and stay alert, aiming to reduce speeding and fears. So, why hasn’t it worked? The reasons students do not drive slower may be because they do not care about others walking, or they are late. When we speed, not recognizing the speed limits or the risks we are taking, there are people we are putting in danger.
“We do our best to make it safe and secure and make sure people feel safe on campus,” Davis said. The public safety officers are taking action on the dangers of being on campus whether we know about it or not. They are making note of any deformities and hazardous areas on campus, which helps students stay safe.
“The officers run routine patrols, notice some deficiency or something, then our office manager is our contact with facilities to submit work orders”, said Davis. Work orders are what notify the facilities of something that is, let’s say, broken. They then take control of the situation to help or fix the broken door or broken elevator. Facilities are quite quick to put up signs which tell the students to not use that elevator at that time.
“We offer safety escorts”, Davis says. Having escorts take care of the students here at HCC is reassuring to the community because they are actively stepping in to help out. Safety escorts are the officers who are a part of Public Safety. They help the situation by being able to walk students out to their car if need be. If a student needs a safety escort, they can use any of the security phones or stop by the Public Safety office to request one.
“We monitor the lighting, and it is good”, Davis asserts, referring to the lighting across the campus in the evening. Actively having a good environment for the students is incredibly important for the success of students. For students who are going to classes in the evening there are many lights and if not, they close off the area — for instance, the sports fields. Of course, there are some imperfections about the plan layouts for the school.
Noting that our community is not perfect, there are other plans that the school exercises periodically to keep in mind the safety of the students.
“We do drills and evacuation, we exercise that periodically”, said Davis. “We have had very little feedback from either students or staff or faculty in terms of being uneasy walking in the evenings.” By making sure our pedestrians are safe here at campus, students will be able to work harder and succeed.
“We are here to help them succeed”, Davis concluded.
