Pedestrian safety concerns became magnified for residents at the Hall on Virginia Avenue when a student was clipped by a car’s side mirror while crossing Rock Creek Parkway last week. The Community Living and Learning Center responded quickly and effectively with an information campaign led by HOVA community facilitators and directors.

Virginia Avenue and the Rock Creek Parkway, which runs just north of HOVA, are treacherous roads for both vehicles and pedestrians. In 1993, a GW student was hit and killed while crossing the Parkway. HOVA officials must continue confronting the dangers of crossing the busy thoroughfares surrounding the University’s newest residence hall.

Walking is a necessity on GW’s Foggy Bottom campus. Many freshmen come from areas where walking is not the primary form of transportation. Thurston Hall has proven to be a good testing ground for new students who might not be acquainted with the hazards of city streets. Freshmen living in HOVA do not have the luxury of learning the subtleties of crossing busy streets and, though ill-advised, jaywalking. HOVA residents must deal with the worst of city traffic.

By informing students of these dangers, CLLC is taking a step in the right direction. The next phase in improving safety measures for pedestrians on Virginia Avenue and Rock Creek Parkway would be to work with the Advisory Neighborhood Committee and the city government to add more crosswalks and traffic lights, so that future tragedies can be averted.

Last week’s accident should be a wake-up call to Foggy Bottom residents and University officials. At HOVA in particular, CLLC needs to make pedestrian safety concerns a top priority and not a one-time effort.