"The Walk of Death"

“She was on cloud nine, happy and making plans for her wedding…she really was adored by everyone.” A mourning aunt would never have had to say these words if it were not for the deadly un-protected crosswalk that spans University Avenue at the south-end of the Wyview Park complex.
The aunt was mourning the loss of her niece Rebecca Blazzard, a visual arts major at Brigham Young University. On January 8, 2008 while returning home from her first day of her final semester at BYU she was hit and killed by a car while crossing the infamous “walk-of-death” crosswalk near Wyview Park.
Who is to blame for her death? Some would say it is her own fault and that she died from her own inattention to the speeding car coming down the street. Others would blame the driver for being too careless and blatantly disregarding the most basic principle of driver’s education: “Don’t hit pedestrians.” However, I say the fault lies with BYU’s complete disregard for proper safety precautions to protect its own students. I would like BYU to put up a stop light for pedestrians at the crosswalk located on University Avenue at the south-end of Wyview Park.
Yes I know, the city of Provo is actually in charge of University Avenue and BYU doesn’t have the right to change the street in any way. However, without BYU Provo would be nothing more than a mid-size rundown town. If BYU put even a moderate amount of pressure on the city of Provo, I guarantee there would be changes at the crosswalk within a month.
Unfortunately, Rebecca Blazzard is not the only casualty from the misplaced crosswalk, not by a long shot. And, seeing as how BYU doesn’t care enough about its students to do anything about it, it probably won’t be the last. Being a Wyview resident myself I have heard of many hits and near misses involving this very crosswalk. Fortunately, I have a car so I can drive to school everyday without having to walk through the gauntlet BYU calls a “crosswalk.”