Starkville in Motion, a local advocacy group that promotes pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, is expected to renew a call for safety improvements along Blackjack Road after a Mississippi State University student was hit by an alleged drunk driver this weekend.
SIM President David Harned said his organization’s board of directors will again discuss the safety issues on Blackjack and Oktoc roads next week. The organization launched a Change.org petition about two months ago asking for a crosswalk at the intersection of Hardy and Blackjack road, which will link Helix Apartments to the university.
“In the short term, the best thing to do is to turn that entire area into a school zone and add more lighting and striped areas for pedestrians and bicyclists to cross. For the long term, that whole area needs to be redesigned in a way to safely handle the traffic,” he said. “This is an issue that we’re definitely going to push forward and reach out to supervisors and other decision-makers in our government.”
The Hardy-Blackjack intersection and the Blackjack Road roundabout handle a significant amount of vehicular traffic, as Blackjack Road connects Highway 12 to MSU’s southern entrances and the Oktoc community to Starkville.
Pedestrian and bicycle traffic increased after the construction of numerous apartment complexes in the area, including 21 Apartments and Helix Starkville Apartments. Those apartments, which are located closest to the roundabout and campus intersection, offer about 1,600 combined bed spaces, and both businesses are at or above 80 percent occupancy, representatives said.
While traffic increased with new developments, safety improvements did not follow from the county.
The accident
Emily Case, a freshman political science major from Virginia, is recovering at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson after a vehicle stuck her at about 9 p.m. Saturday as she crossed Blackjack Road, near Helix Apartments, on foot.
According to the Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Office, Jaleen Jenkins, 22, of Starkville, was driving east in a Chevrolet S-10 when he allegedly hit Case.
Deputies arrested Jenkins at the scene, charging him with aggravated driving under the influence, with suspended license and no proof of insurance.
Although few pedestrian accidents have been reported in the area — Chief Deputy Chadd Garnett said this was the first instance he could remember offhand — Harned said Saturday’s incident highlights the need for area safety improvements
The community needs to find a solution, Harned said, before a life is lost in an accident.
“We not only need a plan, but we also need one we can execute soon,” he said.
SIM will hold an open house event for the public from 3-6 p.m. Saturday at Lost Pizza. Its board meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday at the Starkville Sportsplex and is also open to the public.
Bad but convenient
As of Monday night, 350 people had signed SIM’s Change.org petition calling for the crosswalk near Helix Apartments.
One Helix resident commenting on the website said she feels “like I’m going to die every time I cross the street,” while another petition signatory said she “almost (gets) hit several times a week trying to run across the street and dodge cars.”
Despite the area’s traffic issues, MSU students Jessica Collins, Aaron Phelps and Ffion Price said they enjoy the convenience of living so close to campus.
On Monday, the trio crossed Oktoc Road to the roundabout’s Sprint Mart gas station, then traversed Blackjack Road as they made their way to campus, a ritual they’ve repeated this semester as traffic snarls on the roundabout.
“It’s pretty bad for a lot of the time,” said Price, a second-year kinesiology graduate student. “You get some drivers who do stop, but you get a lot of people that don’t.”
“Students will usually stop because they know the rules on campus, and it’s the adults that seem to get angry or don’t stop,” added Collins, who is a senior majoring in English.
Both Collins and Price said they’ve had no close encounters with motorists, but Phelps said he’s had issues with drivers while riding his bicycle in the area.
“I really wouldn’t (think of moving somewhere else) because it’s so convenient,” Price said. “But I’ve always wondered why there’s not a crosswalk here.”
Previous improvement plan in limbo
In 2014, county supervisors approved a $4.78-maximum tax increment financing package that would have utilized additional ad valorem receipts from expected Blackjack Road developments to fund infrastructure improvements for the area, but that plan fell to the wayside as supervisors agreed to continue studying issues and costs while awaiting the new construction to materialize.
Helix Apartments and Aspen Heights were constructed, but a third project expected to add value to the tax rolls within the TIF district never came to fruition.
Sidewalks, crosswalks, lighting and other safety enhancements were part of an original proposal to improve the area’s safety, along with funds dedicated to shoring up road failures and patching potholes.
Supervisors previously instituted a 1-mill tax increase for the current fiscal year, which will either add more money to its road and bridge fund or help service a large road bond in the future.
District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer said discussions on possible safety upgrades for the area could be folded into talks on future road projects scheduled for Nov. 21.
“We’ve still got Blackjack Road on our radar, but it all comes down to money,” he said. “Blackjack has multiple issues on multiple levels. It has significant base failures that we can fix, but it’s another cost if you start talking about adding lanes, lighting, sidewalks and crosswalks. We can either continue with a TIF package or look at general obligation bonds. Whatever we do, we need to go for the gold and do something major that will really make an impact for the community across the next 20 years.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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