The Ball State Public Safety Committee toured campus in the twilight hours Monday in search of potential problem areas with night-time security.
The four-member committee conducts the tour each year and recommends improvements to Tom Smith, the director of Facilities Planning and Management.
Tom Smith is in charge of implementing the suggestions, Judith Lowe, a committee member and professor of dietetics, said.
The tour began at 7 p.m. as the committee packed into a white university mini-van Corporal David Bell acted as tour guide, pointing out areas with frequent criminal activity and safety problems.
The first stop was the football stadium parking lot.
"Most vehicle theft comes from this lot," Bell said. "And most of it is usually right in the middle of the lot."
Bell said the lot averages one vehicle break-in per week. Bell said he suggested putting a light at the end of each row. Currently a light is planted in the middle of every other row.
Jeremy Kalvaitis, Student Safety chair of the Student Government Association and committee member, said he was concerned with not only the quantity of lighting in the stadium, but also the quality of lighting. He said the lights were not bright enough.
"When I think of light, I think of brightness, not a glowing bulb," he said.
Bell also suggested putting a stop sign where the lot meets Bethel Avenue at the Alumni Center. He said the intersection causes a lot of accidents.
"Common sense would tell you, 'It's a major intersection, you should stop,'" Bell said. "But common sense escapes people a lot of the time."
From Bethel the tour passed through Anthony Apartments to lot H2, the lot with the second-highest number of vehicle break-ins, Bell said.
"It is so secluded," Bell said. "It is well-lit, but it's surrounded by trees. Pine trees are the biggest problem in every lot."
Bell then drove through the commuter lot north of Worthen Arena. Committee member and economics professor Jeff Green said the lot was a good example of how a parking lot should be lighted.
"They've got the four lights on the posts instead of the two out at the stadium," Green said.
The tour then wound its way around to Petty Road between Robert Bell Building and the LaFollette parking lot.
Green said he suggested putting a curb or sidewalk between the road and the entrance area on the north side of the RB. He said that area often floods, forcing students to walk in the road.
The committee then drove down Riverside Avenue east of the Scramble Light where Lowe said she was concerned about pedestrian safety.
Lowe said many drivers park their cars on the sidewalks as they drop friends off at class. This makes it difficult for drivers, who must dodge both parked cars and pedestrians.
Bell also suggested putting a shuttle stop or lighted walkway between the overflow lot and the stadium's shuttle stop.
Lowe said the committee plans on sending their suggestion to Facilities Planning and Management by the end of the year. She said she expects Facilities Planning to implement the suggestion by fall.
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