A Resolution Calling On Tufts University Board Of Trustees to Invest in the Safety, Accessibility, and Quality of Outdoor Pedestrian Infrastructure

S. 23-4 A Resolution Calling On Tufts University Board Of Trustees to Invest in the 

Safety, Accessibility, and Quality of Outdoor Pedestrian Infrastructure

1 WHEREAS sidewalks and pedestrian infrastructure are essential and vital to the safe travel 

2 of students around the Tufts University campus, and the current state of campus 

3 infrastructure is in general disrepair and suffers from countless issues related to safety, 

4 accessibility, and general quality;

5 WHEREAS as an institution that strives for bettering its community and the world, Tufts 

6 University administration should be emboldened to step up as leaders and engage with the 

7 surrounding communities of Medford and Somerville to find solutions to persistent campus 

8 infrastructure shortcomings;

9 WHEREAS Tufts University has dedicated a great deal of financial resources to renovations 

10 and new buildings recently such as the Joyce Cummings Center, Science & Engineering 

11 Complex (SEC), and Eaton Hall, and is planning to dedicate resources to future projects;

12 WHEREAS Tufts University could spend a fraction of the amount allocated for capital 

13 projects to fix a significant portion of the safety, accessibility, and quality concerns brought 

14 up in this resolution;

15 WHEREAS Tufts has pedestrian infrastructure that is generally below the quality and 

16 standard of most other universities like Brandeis University , Duke University , 

17 Northeastern University, University of Cincinnati , and many other peer institutions;

18 WHEREAS a team of students documented hundreds of moderate to serious accessibility, 

19 safety, and quality concerns on The Green, Professors Row, Latin Way, Talbot Avenue, 

20 and College Avenue, with these issues including, but not limited to, missing tactile strips, 

21 poorly designed or missing curb cuts, no change in material from the sidewalk to the road at 

22 intersections, and inadequate crosswalk safety;

23 WHEREAS these documented issues create an inaccessible design that is hard to navigate 

24 for visually- and mobility-impaired people;

25 WHEREAS the pathways on The Green are asphalt instead of concrete which has led to a 

26 rapid dilapidation of The Green, including but not limited to pathways with numerous 

27 cracks, bumps, holes, poor edges, and an unattractive mix of new and old asphalt;

28 WHEREAS numerous crosswalks around campus allow parking directly on either side of the 

29 road, which significantly reduces the visibility of cars and pedestrians, and is an extremely 

30 unsafe crosswalk design; 

31 WHEREAS the crosswalk on College Avenue in front of the SEC creates serious safety 

32 concerns due to poor design choices by allowing parking too close to the crosswalk, and by 

33 having the crosswalk placed at a curve in the road, decreasing visibility; in addition, 

34 never-used parking on one side of the street leads to overly-wide roads and longer crossing 

35 distances, where drivers feel comfortable traveling at higher-than-appropriate speeds, 

36 decreasing yield rate and pedestrian safety;

37 WHEREAS long wait times and popular use of the crosswalk between College Avenue and 

38 the Joyce Cummings Center bridge creates situations where students cross when they are not 

39 supposed to, which is even more dangerous than normal jaywalking because the intersection 

40 utilizes a complicated signal phasing pattern that creates situations where students believe it 

41 is safe to cross on “Don’t Walk” when it is not, jeopardizing pedestrian safety;

42 BE IT RESOLVED Tufts University urgently begins work with the City of Medford to fix 

43 the crosswalk on College Avenue outside the SEC by shifting the crosswalk to the front 

44 steps of the SEC, removing 1-2 parking spaces on either side, adding temporary bollards to 

45 narrow the travel lanes from 17 feet to 10 feet, and creating a longer term plan to add a 

46 permanent curb bump-out to narrow the travel lanes more effectively, raise the crosswalk, 

47 and install Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacons;

48 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED Tufts University works to install tactile strips and proper 

49 curb cuts on unsafe crosswalks and intersections around the Medford-Somerville campus;

50 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED Tufts University removes 1-2 parking spaces on either side 

51 of the crosswalks on Professors Row and Talbot Avenue, and considers a long-term plan to 

52 improve the crosswalks even more by installing proper crosswalk signs and curb bump-outs 

53 in the old parking lane;

54 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED Tufts University works with the City of Medford to 

55 improve wait times at the intersection of College Avenue and Boston Avenue by adding a 

56 second pedestrian scramble or by allowing the crosswalk from the Joyce Cummings Center 

57 bridge to College Avenue a second walk phase via a lagging/leading right-turn arrow on 

58 College Avenue;

59 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that long-term, Tufts University conducts a more complete 

60 survey of campus accessibility, safety, and quality by looking for missing tactile strips, bad 

61 curb cuts, poor crosswalk and intersection safety, and subpar sidewalk quality and from this 

62 develops a standardized plan to re-evaluate the entire campus every 5 years with a checklist 

63 of common safety, accessibility, and quality concerns;

64 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED Tufts University replaces the pathways on The Green with 

65 standard concrete that is normally used for pedestrian pathways & sidewalks, or repaves the 

66 asphalt frequently so it is more consistent, smooth, and accessible .

Respectfully submitted by Anand Patil (A’26), Itamar Oelsner (A’25), Jose Armando (E’26),

and Max Morningstar (A’23).

The authors of this resolution request a meeting with the Chair of the Board of Trustees Committee on Buildings & Grounds Theodore R. Tye, Chair of the Trustee Committee on Administration and Finance Jeffrey M. Moslow, Chair of the Trustee Committee on University Advancement Lori Roth, Executive Director of Campus Planning and Development Minakshi Amundsen, and Executive Director of Government & Community Relations Rocco Dirico before May 12th, 2023.