Hopkins Raises Pedestrian Safety Awareness with 6,000 Shoes

students and staff members will be using 3,000 pairs of shoes painted with yellow road striping paint to draw attention to pedestrian safety around the school.

On Friday the shoes will be hung between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. along the fence surrounding the university-owned lot near the intersection of 33rd and St. Paul streets in Charles Village, according to a news release.

According to the university, there were at least two pedestrian-involved accidents at that corner during the past academic year. The planned display is part of the new Road Scholar program, which is intended to make students think twice about tweeting, wearing ear buds and talking while crossing a city street.  

"After four serious accidents in the last two years, we knew we had to think outside the box," President Ronald J. Daniels said in the release. "So, in addition to better safety engineering and stronger enforcement, we’ve also launched a creative and wide-reaching communications campaign designed not just to increase awareness but also to change behavior."

The highest profile incident occurred in early 2011 when student Nathan Krasnopoler was along University Parkway, and died from his injures months later.

The number of 3,000 pairs of shoes represents roughly the number of people who were hit by cars in the state of Maryland last year, according to the release.

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Have you ever narrowly avoided an accident with a Hopkins student crossing a street in Charles Village? Tell us about it in the comments section.