City representatives, campus officials and student leaders met Thursday evening to discuss growing concerns about student safety in the neighborhoods south of campus. Attendees proposed a number of short-term solutions, including increasing the prevalence of well-lit areas and organizing pedestrian safety campaigns in Berkeley.
The discussion was part of an event organized by the office of ASUC External Affairs Vice President Safeena Mecklai and included a walking tour of low-light and high-crime areas on Southside. The purpose of the event was to identify safety concerns and provide a forum for discussing viable solutions for the future. The roughly two-mile tour commenced at 9:30 p.m. and included low-lit areas such as the intersection of Dwight Way and Regent Street, Etna Street and part of Piedmont Avenue.
Data released by Berkeley Police Department earlier this month show that many Berkeley neighborhoods have seen an uptick in serious crimes in the past year. Roughly 800 crimes were reported within a one-mile radius of Telegraph Avenue and Bancroft Way from February to June, according to a PowerPoint presented by the external affairs vice president’s office at the event. The most common crimes reported were theft and larceny, followed by automobile break-ins.
Berkeley City Councilmember Gordon Wozniak proposed combining or replacing existing lights with more environmentally friendly LED bulbs, a solution he said could be implemented within the next couple of years. Councilmember Kriss Worthington also recommended immediate changes, such as trimming foliage and fixing broken lamps, but emphasized the necessity of a long-term plan of action.
“Fundamentally, if we want to see significant improvement, we have to be more visionary and have a bolder, more comprehensive approach,” Worthington said at the discussion. “I think we need the short-term fixes, but we also need to have a pedestrian improvement plan.”
UCPD chief Margo Bennett and BPD chief Michael Meehan both raised the issue of educating students about basic pedestrian safety beyond citywide public works.
“So far, there’s no piece about pedestrian safety,” Meehan said. “How do we get the word out to students about paying attention to their surroundings and being more aware?”
Mecklai said that the ASUC could help spearhead a pedestrian awareness campaign for students and institute safety projects. As the meeting concluded, Mecklai said she hoped the event reinvigorated the city and campus’s commitment to solving these problems. Her office’s next step will be to set up meetings with participants and follow up with those who were unable to attend.
“What I hope this will spur outside the ASUC is the mingling and conversations about how to solve these issues,” Mecklai said after the event. “We want to spur people to work together and create solutions.”
Sophie Ho is the lead campus life reporter. Contact her at [email protected].
Correction(s):
A previous version of this article misidentified the name of Berkeley police chief Michael Meehan.