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NEWS
| JAN. 29
Facilities
Officer reports poor lighting near
stadium
Physical Plant employees frequently
survey areas for problems, officials say.
By Caren
M. Penland
The Shorthorn assistant news editor
Rocky Stone jogs the road surrounding Maverick Stadium every evening
— he says five times around add up to about three miles.
He’d like to use the track inside the structure but can’t.
The registered nurse can’t jog in his neighborhood either because
he said people harass him. Mitchell Street, he added, can be dangerous
at night.
“People have thrown things at me — all kinds of things,
even apples once,” he said.
Maverick Stadium is closed from dusk till dawn. Heavy gates bar
access to running tracks that some have said they would like to
use after hours.
Stone jogs around the structure instead. He said the road around
the stadium is usually pretty quiet. Every once in a while a police
car drives by, and he sometimes meets other joggers. Most of the
path is well lit, but the northwest corner is too dark, he said.
A campus police officer reported Friday that lighting around the
stadium needs to be improved. The report states that students who
are jogging in the dark could run into safety problems.
Assistant Police Chief James Ferguson said that if the university
is going to allow people to continue jogging in the area, it should
add lighting.
“Based on prior history, the area is relatively safe,”
he said. “There haven’t been any incidences of major accidents
over there.”
It would be better to take precautions rather than just wait for
something to happen, he added.
Any time an officer observes a perceived safety problem, he or she
files a report. Police then issue a recommendation to either the
Physical Plant or the Environmental Health and Safety department
to correct the problem. In this case, an officer filed with the
safety department.
Unfortunately, processing the suggestion takes some time, Ferguson
said. The officer filed the report Friday and sent it to the department
Monday. It could take a few days before anyone sees it, he said.
Bryan Sims, physical plant assistant director, said he doesn’t
believe too many areas on campus need lighting improvements. His
crew, in charge of maintenance and renovations, frequently surveys
the campus for proper lighting levels.
“If we do have folks jogging around the stadium at night, then
we’ll do everything we can to ensure they have adequate lighting,”
he said. “But I’m pretty confident they already do.”
Sims said setting up extra lights would not be difficult and that
he had not received a report as of Tuesday afternoon.
“I would like to check into the feasibility of that, but we
have to wait for a work order,” he said.
Occupational Safety specialist Sherrell Coleman said several factors
will determine if more lighting is needed. It depends on the number
of joggers who use the area in question, she said, as well as safety
hazards around the stadium.
“I have not seen the report yet,” she said. “But
if I get it, I’ll go check out the area.”
Ultimately, though, she said will come down to the issue of money.
Stone said one light would likely be sufficient in the northwest
corner. He said he’s not worried about himself but that some
other joggers might appreciate the extra lighting.
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