Cars on campus on Sept. 5, 2024 |Gauraangi Gupta/The Cougar
As the Fall semester begins, campus drivers and parking issues come to the forefront.
Every year, students encounter or hear about cars getting broken into, damaged or ticketed on campus grounds.
These occurrences, in addition to the risk pedestrians face when walking to class, often leave students feeling uneasy and frustrated throughout the school day.
“People drive way too fast and they are not careful around pedestrians,” said communication sciences and disorders junior Alondra Saucedo.
Saucedo expressed her discomfort and emphasized the importance of driver etiquette while driving on campus.
Drivers do not wait for pedestrians to cross when the pedestrian crossing sign is on and oftentimes speed past the pedestrian crosswalk without checking if students are crossing, said Saucedo.
“Drivers reach ridiculously high speeds and make turns even if they don’t have the right of way,” said psychology senior Fatimah Ghouse.
Not paying attention to traffic lights and turning when it is not their right of way is especially dangerous when pedestrians have the right to cross.
“No signals are used ever and they’re so impatient they honk out of frustration,” Saucedo said.
A simple solution to speeding is practicing good time management and leaving on time, rather than relying on speeding—which endangers lives—to ensure timely arrival to class.
Saucedo advises commuter students to not only manage their time but to also be more aware and respectful when driving.
“Not paying attention when driving after a long day at school can be dangerous,” Suacedo said. “If you’re running late do not let it out on other students and drivers. If you’re not good at managing your time and you’re always running late please learn how to get to school earlier.”
Furthermore, Saucedo would like drivers to remember that everyone is a pedestrian at some point therefore respect and etiquette should always be kept in mind when driving in high traffic areas.
When asked what solution students believed could be implemented to fix driving issues on campus many students agreed adding more stop signs in the garages would be the best solution ,while others believed that UH should add more security to the garages in order for a change to happen.
“Drivers ignore markings on the ground and speed past students in the garages,” said supply chain and logistics senior Julian Garcia. “Stronger police presence should be implemented in order to ensure that drivers slow down.”
Students crossing road on campus on Sept. 5, 2024. |Gauraangi Gupta/The Cougar
According to Saucedo, driving after a long day of school can be dangerous and commonly students prefer to take the elevator up to their garage level rather than going up various flights of stairs.
In recent years, garage elevators have frequently malfunctioned or remained out of service for extended periods, forcing commuters to climb the stairs with their school essentials packed in their backpacks.
“I’ve been parking in the Welcome Center garage for two semesters and the elevators have been broken basically that entire time,” Ghouse said. “It’s insane having to climb eight flights of stairs to my car at the end of the day.”
