03/16/2026
By Ron Dickerson

Ensuring the safety of students, faculty and staff is a top priority of our university, as well as the UMass Lowell Police Department. It’s the reason Chancellor Chen created the Campus Pedestrian Safety Task Force and charged us with reviewing and improving conditions.

Task force members represent offices across the university, as well as the city engineer and members of the Lowell Police Department. Over the past two weeks the task force and I have initiated a number of efforts to improve visibility, awareness and education among pedestrians and drivers.

A few highlights include:
  • Working closely with city partners, who are responsible for the maintenance of city roads and bridges, we’re planning improvements to the intersection of Aiken Street with Perkins and Pawtucket streets. Additionally, we’re exploring updates to the timing of traffic signals at Broadway and Wilder.
  • We’re proposing the addition of high-visibility, illuminated signs meant to command the attention of motorists, as well as improved lighting on Wilder Street and speed limit zones in some of the busiest areas on campus. We’re also exploring new crosswalk patterns that incorporate the work of UMass Lowell Art and Design students.
  • In the short term you’ll see new sidewalk signs around campus that alert pedestrians to traffic and encouraging them to “Look Both Ways.”
  • We’re working with engineering professors and students to conduct a pedestrian safety audit, using a template that’s already been successful in other parts of the city. The “walk audits” designed by the group Walk Massachusetts help to identify hazards that most need our attention.


These are just a few examples. You’ll soon see results of our work in other areas, as well, including efforts to remind all of us of important safety practices.

Finally, I encourage anyone with ideas to improve pedestrian safety at UMass Lowell to connect with me and other task force members via email. We’d love to hear your suggestions and ideas. And we will keep you updated as improvements are implemented.