For students at Northwestern State University of Louisiana, traffic is a factor they face while navigating campus. With construction taking place on campus, drivers, pedestrians and electric scooter users sharing the road have to be cautious and mindful of one another.
NSU reported its enrollment data earlier this semester announcing a retention rate of 89%, which can be a factor that has increased the influx of traffic experienced by students.
Emily Coleman, freshman veterinary technician major, noticed that speeding has noticeably increased, even during heavy traffic hours.
“People will see that someone is walking to a crosswalk and speed up to pass the crosswalk before the pedestrian can cross,” Coleman said.
Coleman has most of her classes in Beinvenu Hall, and expressed her concerns about the traffic flow at the Beinvenu Hall entrance on Sam Sibley Drive. With many students leaving class around the same time, she finds it difficult to exit the parking lot without facing long delays and sometimes aggressive driving behavior.
Other students on campus use electric scooters to get around campus. As an international student staying in Natchitoches for only three semesters, Valeria Mendieta Montoya, senior business major, uses her scooter to go to classes and work.
“It’s important for drivers to be cautious around students using scooters, as their number is increasing, and they are not always respected by other drivers,” Montoya said.
Jennifer Kelly, executive director of university affairs, wants students, faculty and staff to be aware of their surroundings while driving or walking on campus. She encouraged pedestrians to use the marked crosswalks to cross the streets, and drivers to always slow down to watch for pedestrians at crosswalks.
“We have been able to add additional officers to the NSU Police Department to help ensure we have a safe campus,” Kelly said. “We receive weekly updates on activities and events on campus.”
The NSU Police Department, including Sgt. Nicole Clark, is actively ensuring that students, faculty and staff are safe by enforcing traffic rules on campus. Students, faculty and staff have designated parking lots where they are supposed to park. If a student is parked in the wrong parking lot, an NSU Police officer fines that student $45, for more on NSU’s regulations visit the Campus Parking and Driving Regulations site.
“Both pedestrians and drivers on campus need to stay off their phones and pay attention to their surroundings,” Clark said. “When you’re about to cross the road, look left, right and left before going.”
Even when a student is in a rush to get to their destination, they must drive safely for everyone.
“I believe that students often don’t drive safely when they are running late for class. However, thanks to the presence of NSU Campus Police, many people do follow the rules,” Montoya said.
Anthony Ugokwe, sophomore nursing major, is concerned for pedestrian safety and suggested that walking signs might be beneficial for NSU’s campus.
“Especially at night, sometimes pedestrians aren’t easy to see, and I see a lot of people almost get injured. I think having walking signs at the intersections that alert drivers of a crossing pedestrian would make walking safer on campus,” Ugokwe said.
Deliveries for the construction of Alost Hall and the David and Sherry Morgan Heath Performance Center are requested to be delivered prior to classes beginning to decrease disruptions during high-traffic hours.
While students have not had many traffic problems due to construction, the space taken up by construction vehicles, personal and commercial, in the Kyser Hall parking lot is a concern.
“All the construction workers for Alost Hall park in Kyser’s parking lot, and when classes are going on it makes it even harder to find parking,” Ugokwe said. “Especially when they have a big construction truck taking up multiple parking spaces.”
For other students, though, the construction trucks have not been a problem. “Any blockages are easy to get around and don’t add any extra time to my commute,” Coleman said.
University Affairs meets with contractors for campus construction monthly to discuss campus traffic and safety. “We have not had any major disruptions with campus traffic,” Kelly said.
For any questions or concerns regarding campus traffic safety, contact the NSU Police Department at (318) 357-5431 or [email protected].
