PHOTO CAPTION: Campus officers have added cones to help prevent vehicles from taking to dangerous an angle on u-turns when trying to leave campus during lunch. The cones direct vehicles to begin the u-turn from the right lane so that it can be completed without reversing.
By Stormy Rice and Madeline Sierra
Changes have been made to traffic safety on campus due to accidents and safety hazards resulting from u-turns leaving campus during lunches and after school.
The divided roadway leading from the Ingram front entrance to the circle is the area that is effected. Cones have been placed in the left lane that forces drivers to drive on the outer lane when facing campus, in order to make a safe u-turn when heading to leave campus from the main entrance. Additionally, after school the cones will be placed in the area where students would u-turn in order to block drivers from turning, and forcing them to drive through the circle.
“Before, when there was a car turning in the inner lane they had to reverse, and when they were reversing they sometimes would hit the car behind them,” campus police officer Chris Casias said.
Since students cannot drive through the circle during lunch, they are forced to make the u-turn. Without the cones students tend to make either too wide of a turn or too sharp of a turn, endangering others around them, especially during 5th and 6th lunch when the most students go off campus.
“Cutting down to one lane instead of two slows down drivers, and makes it safer for kids walking around campus,” Casias said.