HOLLAND, MI (WHTC) – A new safety feature is being built into the latest road project in Holland.
They are called “refuge islands,” with two of them installed in the middle lane of 9th Street between College and Columbia avenues. According to Holland Public Safety Captain Bob Buursma, they are designed to help Hope College students and other pedestrians safely cross that roadway, especially during busy commute times. Appearing on “WHTC Talk of the Town” today, he told host Ed Ver Schure that, “If traffic stops, now you have that safe area for the pedestrian to be in to see other traffic, to have other traffic see them, and if they need to, they can stand there, wait for traffic to clear and be in a safe location.”
The concept was spurred by a bicyclist being struck trying to cross a 7th Street crosswalk earlier this year.
