Our beautiful spacious campus is well suited to leisurely walking and cycling, but that sense of quiet space can be dangerously misleading.

From the start of last December to the end of August, our WHS Officer Jodi McAlary reports that the Work Health Safety team recorded “22 near misses (and a hit) in encounters between pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles”.

“That represents nearly 10 per cent of all reports to WHS, on a campus where there is be ample room for all,” Jodi said.

This has prompted the appearance of the safety messages — signs, email posts, the radio segments (New England ABC and Tune FM), and campus posters — that have appeared this month.

It has also led to some activity in one of the key conflict zones, the intersection of Elm Avenue, Trevenna Road and Booloominbah Drive.

Armidale Regional Council (ARC), which is responsible for this area, have refreshed the line markings at this intersection and others, and painted a “Stop & Look” alert on the pedestrian crossings.

Council has also changed the right-hand turn from Trevenna Road into Elm Avenue. The turn lane has been removed, because turning traffic obscured pedestrians to through-traffic, with some nearly disastrous results.

“UNE is in discussion with ARC about putting a roundabout at this intersection, along with moving the pedestrian crossing, which would resolve most of the problems that are reported in this high-traffic zone”, Jodi said.

Humans don’t come off well in encounters with vehicles, Jodi notes. “Half the workplace deaths recorded in Australia from our sector involve an encounter with a vehicle”.

Drivers, pedestrians and cyclists have a shared responsibility to keep each other safe on campus.

“These roles are interchangeable,” Jodi observes. “At various stages most of us will be a driver or a pedestrian user on campus. Cooperation and respect for each other is key.”

“In particular, assessment of our smartphone use is required by all. Crossing a road is a simple matter of looking before crossing — and most definitely not crossing while being absorbed in a smartphone.”

The UNE motto for National Safe Work Month in October applies to the Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Campaign: No matter what you do, safety starts with you.