DARTMOUTH — Administrators at UMass Dartmouth are looking into safety recommendations for the campus' Ring Road, following the death of a student in a crash last week.

University Chancellor Mark Fuller wrote in a message to students and staff on Monday that he convened his cabinet over the weekend to discuss safety after first-year student Frank Petillo, Jr. was killed by a car on Thursday evening.

As a stopgap, some measures — including the installation of portable speed bumps and speed-detecting signs as well as adding more patrol cars to monitor speed — will be put in place immediately, Fuller said.

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Other improvements, such as permanent speed-detecting signs and speed tables,  raised crosswalks with flashing lights, and a secure pedestrian walkway between Oak Glen and the Woodland apartments, will take longer.

The university is also holding two forums on campus safety on Tuesday: the first via Zoom for faculty and staff from 12:30-1:30 p.m., and the second for students in person at the Marketplace from 6-7 p.m.

Fuller said he made the move after hearing from people and groups asking for safety enhancements on Ring Road.

"I hear you," he wrote. "All of us want a campus where our living and learning communities feel safe."

University officials are also developing a priority list of medium- and long-term projects, including an extensive project to build raised sidewalks around Ring Road — although Fuller said that one would likely require public approval and financial support.

"We will continue our vigorous advocacy efforts for that assistance," Fuller wrote.

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