Safety first

Safety has always been - and remains - the foremost commitment of the University of Delaware Police Department (UDPD). This commitment takes on new meaning for the new academic year.

Delaware's Office of Highway Safety recently awarded a $15,000 grant to be divided equally between UDPD and the Newark Police Department. The funds will help both agencies increase their physical presence in key areas on and near UD's campus. Aiming to bring enhanced safety to some of Newark's most-traversed thoroughfares, UDPD and NPD seek to better engage with and educate pedestrians, cyclists and motorists on best practices and acceptable behaviors.

Receipt of the grant is one element of a comprehensive initiative being developed by the University, to foster a safer Main Street and UD community through education and outreach about safety norms, and greater awareness of and compliance with vehicle and pedestrian regulations.

"It's important to recognize that the obligation and responsibility for maintaining safety on campus and on the roadways around campus doesn't fall squarely on just one of us; it belongs to all of us, including motorists and pedestrians," said UDPD Lieutenant Anthony Battle, who has been with the department for nearly 18 years.

UD Police officers already are strategically placed throughout campus during class changes and at other high-volume times of the day. The grant from Delaware's Office of Highway Safety allows UDPD to "expand this important initiative," Battle said, by maintaining an even more visible presence along the parts of Newark's Main Street that are contiguous to UD property - near its intersections with Academy Street and South College Avenue, for example, and around Trabant Student Center. UDPD also will target Delaware Avenue, near South College Avenue and around the North Green, where foot traffic is aplenty.