A Look into Road Safety at Santa Clara University

A recent string of vehicle collisions around Santa Clara University, including a November crash that resulted in the death of a student crossing the street, has sparked questions about the safety of the roads bordering Santa Clara University.

There were 37 vehicle-related accidents throughout 2024 around Santa Clara University and surrounding areas, according to a report by Santa Clara University Campus Safety Services. Six accidents led to injuries, and 31 had no injured parties. Campus Safety Services did not include accidents they were not notified of in the data. 

Photo by Dylan Ryu.

A car crash occurred within the first week of Winter Quarter classes near Nobili Hall on Jan. 12. At least one person was placed into an ambulance

Most students who live off-campus in University Villas and neighboring housing or apartments have to cross busy streets as a pedestrian to go to class or other on-campus activities, and many feel unsafe doing so. 

“I’ve had bad experiences where cars are not really paying attention to go past the crosswalk,” said Nina Glick ’26. “You just have to be really aware.”

Students feel that some of the campus’ boundary streets leave pedestrians particularly vulnerable. 

“I live on ‘dark side,’ and there is no crosswalk between Benton and Alviso. All students who live on dark side have to jaywalk across Benton Street, which is really busy, to get to class,” said Annika Kruger ’25. 

The “dark side” of campus refers to the areas immediately north and east of the University around Lafayette Street and Benton Street, which is less significant to the campus’ social scene and less densely populated with students than the area south and west of campus. The southside of campus is near El Camino Real around University Villas and Guadalupe Hall, and the west side is around Bellomy Street.

Despite concerns over the safety of some off-campus areas, students have praised the implementation of crosswalks along busy routes, especially regarding the crosswalk spanning The Alameda between Safeway and Finn Residence Hall. 

“They have a button that you could press that lights up, so it forces cars to kind of reckon with that and stop,” said Glick.

Leo Patterson ’28 agreed with this analysis.

“It lights up when you cross, and it makes a sound, so I think it really alerts drivers better,” Patterson said. 

Kruger suggested that a similar feature could make for a safer commute for students living on the “dark side” of campus. 

"I definitely think SCU should work on getting a crosswalk put in for the safety of their off-campus students,” Kruger said of the intersection of Alviso Street and Benton Street.

To cut down on the number of traffic-related incidents, Campus Safety advises students to exercise extreme caution while crossing these roads.

“The main thing to be kind of mindful of is just awareness. Whether you’re on-campus or off-campus, just an awareness,” said Tyler Masamori, the emergency planning manager for Campus Safety. “Don’t always assume that vehicles can see you, even though you might be able to see them.”