By STAFF COUNCIL

The safety of Pitt’s campus is not just the responsibility of facilities, Pitt Police, or Environmental Health and Safety. It is a responsibility shared by everyone in Oakland, including our students, staff and faculty.  It is a shared responsibility that we all must take an active effort in assessing and addressing.

The University of Pittsburgh Staff Council has taken on that obligation by spearheading an annual Campus Safety Crawl. The Safety Crawl has been an opportunity for Staff Council members to collectively walk through Oakland as a group and identify concerns, questions or safety hazards that they feel should be addressed.

The crawls had been an annual event, but, as with many things during the pandemic, they fell off and have not happened since 2019. This year, on May 5, Staff Council, in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh Police, is bringing back the tradition with a different perspective than in the past. 

Past crawls have divided groups of interested Staff Council members to take various routes through Oakland and note concerns they see. Be it a crosswalk with deteriorated markings, an accessibility issue, lighting needs, a missing or damaged sign or other safety concern, the goal is to see the issues, make a list and work with other departments to have them addressed.

That seems like a straightforward effort, but Oakland has many competing groups that make changes difficult. The University does not have the ability to unilaterally make changes in all cases. Some changes are the responsibility of the city of Pittsburgh, others are the responsibility of the utility companies. Still other changes, especially in Oakland, are the responsibility of construction companies and Pittsburgh Regional Transit.

This year, the Safety Crawl will directly involve participants and various stakeholders from key University departments. These groups include Environmental Health Safety; Planning, Development and Construction; Mobility; and Community Affairs, as well as Student Government Board and Graduate Student Government Board representatives.

The goal is that by having these differing groups participate and look at Oakland with their unique perspective, it will allow for direct, immediate feedback regarding concerns, and provide an opportunity to identify problems that Staff Council members alone may not see.  We all interact with Oakland in different ways, so we should look at safety in a more holistic way and have a shared investment in improving the safety of our community.

It is Staff Council’s intention that this new way, a multi-stakeholder engaged way of conducting the Campus Safety Crawl, will identify concerns and that we can get the support to address necessary changes. We are confident, with the group of people involved, that we can achieve that goal and make Oakland a safer place for us all.

While sign-ups for the crawl on May 5 are now closed, there are already plans in the works to have another crawl in the fall and to return to holding them regularly throughout the year.  

In the meantime, if you happen to see something on your way through Oakland, you can do your own “virtual” crawl and submit a concern to the Staff Council Virtual Safety Crawl website.

 

Staff Council serves as a center for input and dissemination of information, provides a means of communication between staff and other members of the Pitt community, and provides opportunities for professional development. 

Staff Council has historically represented the interests of Pitt staff not covered under a collective bargaining agreement and continues to participate in shared governance on campus to advocate for the interests of staff members on issues not addressed by collective bargaining. Additionally, the Council continues its mission to advocate for unrepresented staff members.  

Stay informed with the Staff Council Newsletter: View past issues and subscribe 

Stay connected:   

Instagram: @upstaffcouncil  

Facebook: @upstaffcouncil  

LinkedIn: Pitt Staff Council  

For more information about Staff Council, visit the Staff Council website. 

Contributors to this article include: The Staff Life Committee of Staff Council; Terry Miller, communications manager, Office of Public Safety and Emergency Management; and Sarah McMullen, vice president for public relations, Staff Council