Spring Break
Traffic Design A Major Concern At UConn
Pratistha Koirala
Issue date: 9/10/07 Section: Commentary
Last week I stood on the yellow line in the middle of Rte. 195 for a substantial duration of time. Why, you ask, did I choose to do this? Well, it wasn't exactly a choice. Rather, I was forced to stand there as cars zoomed by me on either side, refusing to stop and allow me to pass. The worst part of this somewhat traumatic experience was that I had been attempting to cross the road on a pedestrian crossway - the one by Towers towards the Dairy Bar. Cars there almost never stop to let waiting pedestrians cross, something that seems to have become a trend at UConn. My personal experience took this trend to new heights.
The simple fact of the matter is that UConn has a horribly-designed campus. While some of the buildings are beautiful and easily accessible, many of them are quite difficult to get to. Take into consideration the locations of certain dormitory buildings around campus. To get to any classroom from Shippee or East Campus, students must cross Rte. 195, a busy road where people commonly go 40 or 50 mph despite the 30 mph speed limit. Residents of virtually every dorm have to cross multiple busy roads to get to class. Because of its expanding nature, our campus is crisscrossed with roads. It is about time that UConn stepped up and did something more to help make traveling on this campus easier for both pedestrians and drivers.
Last year, after the unfortunate hit-and-run death of Carlee Wines, the university struggled to implement new safer driving measures. Some of these measures included placing safety cones on the side of North Eagleville Road near its intersection with Hunting Lodge Road as well as placing neon green signs at every single crosswalk along that road. These measures were effective for a short time, but it may well have been the incident itself that caused drivers and pedestrians to be more aware of each other. The university needs to take more substantial measures, and it needs to take them soon.
North Eagleville and Rte. 195 are not the only roads that are highly congested. One of the worst spots to be driving or walking in is the intersection between Gampel Pavilion, the Co-op and the Business. Admittedly it is much worse driving in this area than walking. Pedestrians are extremely careless about crossing the road here - many of them fail to even look before they cross. Though I am not aware of any major incidents happening at this intersection, it is an event waiting to happen. The immense amount of traffic in this area combined with impatient students makes this intersection extremely dangerous.
The simple fact of the matter is that UConn has a horribly-designed campus. While some of the buildings are beautiful and easily accessible, many of them are quite difficult to get to. Take into consideration the locations of certain dormitory buildings around campus. To get to any classroom from Shippee or East Campus, students must cross Rte. 195, a busy road where people commonly go 40 or 50 mph despite the 30 mph speed limit. Residents of virtually every dorm have to cross multiple busy roads to get to class. Because of its expanding nature, our campus is crisscrossed with roads. It is about time that UConn stepped up and did something more to help make traveling on this campus easier for both pedestrians and drivers.
Last year, after the unfortunate hit-and-run death of Carlee Wines, the university struggled to implement new safer driving measures. Some of these measures included placing safety cones on the side of North Eagleville Road near its intersection with Hunting Lodge Road as well as placing neon green signs at every single crosswalk along that road. These measures were effective for a short time, but it may well have been the incident itself that caused drivers and pedestrians to be more aware of each other. The university needs to take more substantial measures, and it needs to take them soon.
North Eagleville and Rte. 195 are not the only roads that are highly congested. One of the worst spots to be driving or walking in is the intersection between Gampel Pavilion, the Co-op and the Business. Admittedly it is much worse driving in this area than walking. Pedestrians are extremely careless about crossing the road here - many of them fail to even look before they cross. Though I am not aware of any major incidents happening at this intersection, it is an event waiting to happen. The immense amount of traffic in this area combined with impatient students makes this intersection extremely dangerous.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
helen
posted 9/13/07 @ 10:36 PM EST
Hello!...stoplights are a wonderful solution..they have been working in NYC for years...
By the bookstore and Gampel...install speedbumps...cheap and effective!
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