The Facts: N.C. State Transportation will install a gate on Dan Allen Drive to limit access and improve safety for pedestrians.
Our Opinion: The changes will improve pedestrian safety for those living on West Campus, but be prepared for traffic upsets and angry motorists.
Crossing Dan Allen Drive on at noon during the semester requires focus for any pedestrian, running to commuter parking or to the dorms. The rush of traffic, pedestrians and bikers resemble a clogged artery. By 5 p.m., that clogged artery is a traffic heart attack.
Cutting through campus on Dan Allen has been an efficient way to navigate north and south through this area of Raleigh, but the occasional crossing of pedestrians has created a dangerous stop-and-go traffic pattern.
The University’s solution? Get rid of traffic completely-at least between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Though this measure will increase safety on Dan Allen, it will make the cut from Hillsborough to Western considerably more congested-and with the Belltower roundabout going from two lanes to one, expect traffic delays.
The major changes of this area of the city have been conceived to improve safety, but no danger will be avoided until drivers understand the changes. Traffic on Dan Allen may very well get worse, with drivers mistaking and making U-turns more disruptive than normal congestion.
However, there is no doubt that this flow will feel normal in time. A faster bus system will be a tangible benefit and it will encourage students to use it more frequently.
Before more changes are made, N.C. State Transportation and the city of Raleigh must let drivers acclimate. Perhaps consider the changes at the Belltower roundabout as a lesson: making novel changes may exacerbate poor traffic.
Nevertheless, once Raleigh drivers acclimate to the initial inconvenience, campus safety will improve, especially considering the risks open campuses pose.
Though drivers may be temporarily upset, as long as safety benefits, it will be worth the hassle. But that’s what the city of Raleigh said when instilling the first traffic circle by the University.
