Dear Editor,

Driving in the Syracuse area, especially around Syracuse University, is always a hassle. There are always several safety hazards. First off, the roads are terrible and have many potholes — many are unavoidable. In addition, both drivers and pedestrians ignore basic safety rules. For example, the drivers drive like maniacs and pull out in front of other drivers, or don’t yield to pedestrians in the crosswalks.

On the other hand, pedestrians don’t pay attention and just walk in front of vehicles. I’ve also heard that some students walk out in front of vehicles because of the notion that they will “get free tuition” if struck by a car or bus. Intentionally doing this is wrong on so many levels. It’s worse in the wintertime when roads are more slippery, as driving is even more chaotic.

A lot of times, roads aren’t paved or iced. Even the parking lots and roads at SU sometimes aren’t, and that obviously poses several safety hazards for both drivers and pedestrians. There should be a safety intervention to address these concerns, because lives will continue to be in danger if nothing is done.

Another issue that I have faced while being a student at SU is the parking situation. The options for commuters are very limited, and some of the parking lots such as Skytop are secluded and don’t have security cameras. That’s very unsafe, especially for the younger students. I understand that given the location of the university, it may be difficult, but there needs to be more of an effort to change the parking to make it more accommodating and safer for commuters.

For starters, put some security cameras up at the Skytop parking lot, and cameras anywhere else that is needed. The university has a generous budget, so the cost of cameras is practically nothing. Also, just referring students to the Department of Public Safety is a band-aid fix and won’t change the deeper issue here.

I hope to see something done about the concerns I have mentioned above. Thank you for your understanding.

Sincerely,

Jovanna D’Alonzo
Syracuse University, Class of 2019

Published on November 5, 2018 at 9:04 pm