ANGOLA, Ind. (WANE) — Fort Wayne’s director of Public Works, Shan Gunawardena, and other representatives met with Trine University’s Geometric Highway Design class on Wednesday to discuss the final project for seniors in the class.

As WANE 15 previously reported, a working group including the City of Fort Wayne officials and Fort Wayne Trails conducted a video survey of different trail and mid-block crossings over the summer.

One of the focus areas was the Pufferbelly Trail, where several incidents between cars and pedestrians have occurred.

They partnered with Trine University to have engineering students analyze the video and provide what they found and any recommendations they might have back to the city.

On Wednesday, Gunawardena went over everything they’re looking for out of this project with the students.

“If there is something that we’re doing that is wrong, then we need to know that, too. If we are creating some confusion, I think it’s important to know what it is that is confusing to motorists,” Gunawardena said.

Gunawardena told WANE 15 they realize there a many different types of crossings with different styles around the city, and if there is one style of crossing that’s working better than others with similar variables, they’ll look to make a change to allow for more consistency.

The students will be looking for a many things as they go through the video: how cars and trail users treat different crossings and factoring in variables such as traffic, speed limit, trail usage, visibility, and signage.

“It’s a cool thing to do. I’m from Auburn, so I’ve heard all about the trail crossing stuff, and it’s a good chance to help the community,” Trine senior Jacob Barkuy said.

At the end of the semester, the students will present their findings to the city and then the working group will start looking at potential changes and how to better educate drivers and trail users.

Their professor was happy to partner with the city and make the project available to the class.

“It connects all the dots that we have in the lecture and in the real world,” Hemin Mohammed said.

It’s also a great opportunity for the students to get real-world experience, build their resume, and network all while helping keep the community safer.

“It’s a good chance to be able to help the community and a good opportunity to do a real-world traffic study,” Barkuy said. “I’ve had internships, but this is not something I’ve had the chance to do so it’s exciting.”

Gunawardena said they receive constant feedback from residents about trail crossings. Their hope is to do everything in their power to make sure signage is clear and the crossings are as safe as possible if everyone follows the rules.