State Gives U of M $775,000 for Central Ave. Safety Work
For release: Dec. 20, 2002
For press information, contact Curt Guenther

The State of Tennessee has awarded a grant of $775,000 to The University of Memphis to use for re-working Central Avenue adjacent to the campus and for construction of two overhead crosswalks for pedestrians.

The announcement was made earlier this week by Todd Cruise, representing Tenn. Gov. Don Sundquist.

The state funds will be supplemented by $1.3 million from the city of Memphis, and the University will be required to put up a significant amount, too.

The project will involve two major changes. Two pedestrian crosswalks will be built over Central Avenue between the campus and the large parking lot just north of Central. Fencing and landscaping will be installed to funnel pedestrians to the crosswalks and discourage them from jaywalking.

One crosswalk will lead to the Herff College of Engineering, at the northeast corner of the campus near the intersection of Central and Zach Curlin. The other, which will be several hundred yards to the west, will lead to the plaza area near the College of Communications and Fine Arts.

Central Avenue itself will be lowered along its path near the University, so the crosswalks won't have to be built at an uncomfortable height.

Personal safety is the prime reason for the project. Over the past several years, a number of pedestrians have been injured as they were hit by vehicles while crossing Central. In 1995 a student was killed when he was hit by a car as he was crossing that section of the street.

The work on the street should also allow engineers to remedy serious water drainage problems that have plagued the campus.

University of Memphis officials have been concerned for some time about the safety of people crossing Central Avenue to get to the campus. Discussions about the proposed project have involved representatives of neighborhoods around the campus, where residents have expressed concern that changes to the traffic flow on Central might disrupt traffic patterns on their streets. U of M administrators express confidence that the proposed project will not adversely affect the residential neighborhoods.

Planners do not yet know when the project will begin, but they estimate it will take two to three years to complete.

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