https://dailycollegian.com/2022/02/point-umass-needs-to-focus-on-traffic-volume-not-traffic-control/

This opinion piece written by Alanna Joachim focuses on the issues regarding both pedestrian and vehicular traffic on North Pleasant Street, the road that travels directly through the UMass campus. Joachim brings up that many people who are frustrated by this traffic have suggested that the university implement new infrastructure such as traffic lights and pedestrian beacons. On the other hand, Joachim argues that this could actually cause more danger and more traffic. One issue that Joachim points out is that many students may not want to wait, causing them to cross the street at random regardless of lights or signs. This could result in many dangerous situations and more frustration for drivers who would have to stop when it’s their turn to go. Additionally, wait times at traffic lights would still cause a backlog of traffic on the street. Joachim believes that in order to fix the issue, UMass needs to focus on limiting the amount of people who are using the street. As the university accepts more and more students every year, these problems are bound to continue and building new infrastructure will do little to solve them.