This new year sees Berkeley Lab’s roadways and walkways busier than ever. There’s always the expected traffic from everyday business. Plus, construction at three major building sites and a temporary closure of McMillan Road between Buildings 17 and 71 due to a potential landslide are causing increased congestion.A lot is happening and it’s a given we all have to be aware while driving and walking here on the hill. So what can we do as a community to make our roads and walkways safer? Drivers of construction vehicles have been given strict instructions to use their lowest gears and to not text or talk on cell phones while driving on the hill. Most of these subcontractor drivers are complying, though I hear occasional accounts of some drivers – including both automobile and construction vehicle drivers – not heeding stop signs or driving through pedestrian-occupied crosswalks. And often I see improperly parked vehicles obstructing marked roadways and walkways.
I’d like to enlist your help to address these issues. It will require both innovation and teamwork, where we are all watching out for each other. I encourage you to post your ideas and comments on this subject to our Safety Culture Forum. Let’s keep the conversation going on how we can all help each other make Berkeley Lab’s thoroughfares safer. The Forum is also a great platform to voice other Safety Culture related topics, ideas, and concerns.
Thanks for your help!
— Glenn Kubiak
