Purdue, city police issue many warnings during blitz
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University and West Lafayette police issued 525 warnings and 22 tickets during an enforcement campaign that began Aug. 23 to educate the campus community on pedestrian safety.
Of the warnings, 395 were issued to pedestrians, 76 to motorists and 54 to bicyclists. Motorists received 20 and cyclists two of the tickets issued, said Purdue police Capt. Eric Chin.
"We've been explaining what they did wrong and how they can correct the behavior," said Purdue Police Chief John Cox. "We know the financial hardships students face, and our intent is more to let them know that they need to increase their awareness and use caution and courtesy. But, if a violation is blatant enough, we will issue tickets."
The enforcement campaign began when fall semester classes opened and also alerted students to additional crosswalks near campus. The campaign also includes hiring 30 pedestrian safety advocates at key intersections and informational programs that promote pedestrian safety.
"The city streets around campus are too busy for people to not be diligent in their safety habits," West Lafayette police Chief Jason Dombkowski said. "We have bicyclists, walkers, drivers and people on skateboards all coming together to basically one area every single day. People need to pay a little less attention to their music and their cell phones and more attention to what is happening around them."
Chin said pedestrian laws include obeying all traffic signals unless otherwise directed by an officer; not walking diagonally through an intersection; using a sidewalk if one is available instead of walking along the road; and traffic yielding right-of-way at a crosswalk when a pedestrian is already in the street.
Writer: Jim Bush, 765-494-2077, jsbush@purdue.edu
Sources: Eric Chin, 765-494-8221, ehchin@purdue.edu
John Cox, 765-494-8221, jkcox@purdue.edu
Jason Dombkowski, 765-775-5200, jldombkowski@westlafayettepd.us
Chris Leroux, 765-775-5211, captain, West Lafayette police, cjleroux@westlafayettepd.us