Days in Baby Blue: Do the world a favor, run over a tarheel.
So in th University's infiniate wisdom they have schedualed Parents weekend for the same weekend in the middle of midterms, so not only are most of the students stressed out, but there are a bunch of extra people wondering around campus. I nearly got run over by a tour group between classes as they walked in one great heard across the quad... and I went into the student store to buy a pack of note cards to prep for my Womens' History midterm and it was filled to the brim with people buying university kitch.
Most worrying really has to do with a bizarre fact of campus life. So some of you will remember that I was mystified and horrified that people wandered in the streets at the beginning of semester without looking. Well, they wee, but once that stopped I discovered a key fact of life on the streets that boarder and go through campus. Pedestrials ALWAYS have right of way. This means that there is no waiting for the traffic to stop, the traffic waits for you. At peek times this means that traffic on those steets is at a dead stop and it would be faster to walk from one end than to drive.
Now the drivers in and around Chapel Hill know this, and very nicely stop for the pedestrians (this doesnt' mean there aren't accidents, but the drivers are remarkably respectful of pedestrians, at least for a girl who used to live in Philadelphia where the mantra is cut someone off before they cut you off and to hell with the people on foot). Which brings in the parents weekend problem. They don't seem to know or understand this. So it makes this already rather dangerous traffic pattern more so. I actually saw chapel hill police ARRESTING someone for some pedestian yield related traffic offense.
Most worrying really has to do with a bizarre fact of campus life. So some of you will remember that I was mystified and horrified that people wandered in the streets at the beginning of semester without looking. Well, they wee, but once that stopped I discovered a key fact of life on the streets that boarder and go through campus. Pedestrials ALWAYS have right of way. This means that there is no waiting for the traffic to stop, the traffic waits for you. At peek times this means that traffic on those steets is at a dead stop and it would be faster to walk from one end than to drive.
Now the drivers in and around Chapel Hill know this, and very nicely stop for the pedestrians (this doesnt' mean there aren't accidents, but the drivers are remarkably respectful of pedestrians, at least for a girl who used to live in Philadelphia where the mantra is cut someone off before they cut you off and to hell with the people on foot). Which brings in the parents weekend problem. They don't seem to know or understand this. So it makes this already rather dangerous traffic pattern more so. I actually saw chapel hill police ARRESTING someone for some pedestian yield related traffic offense.