Undergraduate struck by vehicle on N. Charles - Plans for covered pedestrian walkway near Charles Village awaiting city permit

A junior was mildly injured after being struck by a car as she was crossing 33rd and N. Charles streets last Thursday.

The accident occurred in front of the construction site on 33rd and N. Charles streets, and might be one of the first repercussions of the major construction that Charles Village is currently undergoing.

Lieutenant Mike George Kibler of Hopkins Security said that "the vehicle struck the student as it was making a right turn onto 33rd. The student walked out into the street and was hit by the vehicle."

Baltimore City Police responded to the scene, and the student was taken by ambulance to Union Memorial Hospital.

Kibler said that the student "did not break any bones and sustained only muscle contusions."

Because the student did not sustain serious injuries, she was released from the hospital within several hours.

In March of this year there was a similar accident in the "death lane," or single lane of N. Charles Street, when a car hit a student as he was crossing the stretch of N. Charles Street in front of the library.

In 1999, there were several pedestrian accidents on this part of N. Charles Street.

In one incident, a local woman was killed while crossing this now infamous part of the street, and in another accident during the same year a student suffered from several broken bones.

Now that Charles Village is set to become a major construction site for the next couple of years, pedestrians are facing even more challenges in an area that has never been considered particularly pedestrian-friendly.

Kibler said that there are "signs posted on the construction site" and that he hopes "an alternative walkway is provided for pedestrians."

David McDonough, senior director of development oversight for Johns Hopkins real estate, said, "Interim and long-term security plans are being worked on right now."

He said this includes "amplifying the signage to let pedestrians know where they shouldn't be walking" and ultimately "creating a covered pedestrian walkway, which requires a city permit."

According to McDonough, there will also ultimately be a "crude sidewalk on the east side of N. Charles from 33rd to the Charles apartments, which will be a more comfortable walkway for students."

In the meantime, McDonough emphasizes that students need to be careful and aware of where they are walking, especially on certain areas of N. Charles and St. Paul streets where the construction is most concentrated.

However, he said that, "in the next week or two some of these changes will begin to be implemented, which is as long as it takes for the city permits to get done."

The contractor Streuver Brothers has taken some of its own precautions to make the construction sites safer by employing several people to stand on the corners of the construction site to direct pedestrian traffic.

Ron Hill, one of the contracted "bounty hunters" in charge of securing the area, said that his job consists of "asking people not to walk in certain areas."

His presence has not always been warmly welcomed.

"When I first started working, the campus police told us that we couldn't tell people where they should walk," Hill said.