Memorial University is ready to implement recommendations in a pedestrian protection study of Westerland Road in St. John’s the university commissioned this past summer.

The completed study was delivered to the university in late September.

The report recommends installing permanent curb extensions to make pedestrians more visible to drivers, adding a pedestrian cross signal at the pedway and adding significant new signage along the length of Westerland Road and on the pedway.

Curb extensions also provide traffic calming, which slows down traffic, prevents vehicles from pulling around left-turning vehicles and shorten the travel distance of the crosswalk.

While Westerland Road is a City of St. John’s roadway, Memorial has agreed to pay for these safety improvements so the work can proceed.

“The safety of our students and employees is paramount,” said Darrell Miles, director of Facilities Management. “With the improvements recommended in the report, we can continue to make the roads around all our campuses as safe as possible for pedestrians and drivers.”

 Meanwhile, Memorial, the City of St. John’s, the provincial government and Eastern Health (which operates the Health Sciences Centre in St. John’s) are partners on an extensive study that will further improve pedestrian safety on city roadways adjacent to Memorial’s St. John’s campus.

This study will examine and make recommendations on the area road network, capacity, pedestrian safety and other traffic-related issues.

The city has issued a call for proposals for the study on its website. The closing date for submissions was Oct. 23.

For more information, please contact Dave Sorensen, manager (communications), Memorial University, at 709-8642143 or sorensen@mun.ca.