Simply crossing the street can be a struggle.

College Avenue separates MU’s campus from East Campus, and every day students must cross the busy road. Instead of walking to inconvenient crosswalks, many choose to run across the lanes of College Avenue in the face of oncoming traffic.

Columbia has been trying to solve unsafe street crossings, especially on College Avenue. After a public hearing on May 19, City Council authorized a two-foot barrier topped by a two-foot fence, two mid-block crosswalks and the removal of left turns from College Avenue onto Rosemary Lane and Wilson and Bouchelle avenues, according to the College Avenue Safety Enhancement (CASE) report. The project is in the final design phase and construction is expected to begin in the fall of 2015.

“I do think it will make it safer for both pedestrians and vehicles,” said Cliff Jarvis, a Columbia transportation engineer. “Cars will be able to predict the behavior of pedestrians better. When pedestrians can step off of the sidewalk at any time, you’re driving white-knuckled all the time.”

Jarvis said two crosswalks are planned on College near the Physics and Schlundt buildings. The crosswalks will have two HAWK signals, the first of their kind in Columbia. HAWK signals, when activated by a pedestrian, force motorists to stop and tell pedestrians when to cross.

The entire CASE project is expected to cost $750,000.

Jarvis said the planned changes will have “significant safety impacts.”

Navigating intersections can be especially frightening and perilous for citizens of Columbia with disabilities. The Tiger Council for the Blind, the MU chapter of the Missouri Council for the Blind, has been advocating for audible crosswalks for several years.

“You get to the corner and you listen,” said Gretchen Maune, former president of the Tiger Council for the Blind. “You tune out everything except for the traffic and tune everything out except for the change. It’s still hard sometimes and it can be very difficult to judge when it’s safe.”

Maune and Janelle Moore, current president of the council, both described fear they have felt at close calls with cars.

“Crossing the street can be very scary,” Maune said. “It can be terrifying.”

On May 19, City Council authorized installing audible crosswalk signals at the intersection of Broadway and College as well.

“I’m very excited to have the audible crosswalks installed, and I’m excited to try them out,” Moore said. “They’re helpful for more than just blind people. They can be a helpful reinforcement and reassurance for everyone on the street corner.”

The audible crosswalks are expected to cost $70,000. Maune said she hopes that the city will follow up with more improvements to aid Columbians with disabilities, such as tactile paving on sidewalks.

“In general, (disability accessibility) is pretty darn good,” Maune said. “But there are lots of improvements still to be made.”

Maune and Moore both said that though audible crosswalks are important to increase the safety of disabled pedestrians, it’s equally important for Columbia drivers and pedestrians to be more careful and more educated.

“Don’t text while driving,” Moore said. “Don’t be in a hurry. It won’t take any more time if you slow down.”