OPINIONS
Wednesday, August 6, 2014 • Page 8 • Editor: Logan Rogers • letters@wildcat.arizona.edu • (520) 621-3192 •
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Avoid being a cause of Summer in road rage on campus Tucson is BY ERIC KLUMP
Arizona Summer Wildcat
T
he approach of fall semester brings a sense of worry rising through my gullet. It’s not just the end to summer fun and the stress of classes and grades, it’s also the prospect of traversing the campus and dealing with cars, bikes and pedestrians. Travelling around the UA is like being in a neverending battle royale between drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. At every turn, you must be alert for others who aren’t aware of you or seem not to care. While more police and crosswalks would seem likely to improve travelling around campus, the presence of both currently does little to stem the tide of people who meander through campus causing near-collisions and frustration. Therefore, the real way to deal with the issue is to look upon ourselves and stop being self-absorbed jerks. That said, I have a couple of guidelines to help keep everyone happy and out from under the wheels of a pickup.
As a pedestrian, you have the right of way. Now cross! Right away! And by using the crosswalk and paying attention to those around you! Park Avenue is lined with zombielike bodies shuffling by, unaware of anything around them. This is evidenced by the ceaseless flow of people crossing the street in front of your car. You stop and bang your head against your wheel, waiting for a gap large enough to pass through. Then, a
person halts, appearing to let you go, only instead to decide to go, joining another glut of students as you enter the intersection. Further, even when you feel fortune smile upon you and you are able to cross an intersection, you must then stop multiple times for sporadic jaywalkers that are ignorant to the crosswalks placed every 100 feet and determined to travel in a straight line. To campus pedestrians: Pay some attention to those around you, and use crosswalks. It will prevent you from possibly getting a ticket or from transforming from art major to pretty smear on the pavement.
underrated
must pull off to let faster vehicles pass. Many cyclists don’t know about these laws, but they will become more familiar when they are mentioned in a ticket or lawsuit.
Drivers, control your metal death machines!
BY ALLISON ALTERMAN
I love cars, car culture and driving, but drivers are often ignorant jerks who don’t seem to realize the dangers they pose. I frequently want to pound my wheel in frustration due to cyclists and people around me, who seem too hurried or distracted to notice my two tons of steel that can hurt and or kill them. The power of my car makes me realize it’s my imperative Cyclists, you Park Avenue to take into account the aren’t f***ing is lined with potential to cause harm. Transformers! zombieLast semester, I came Unlike cars, like bodies within a foot of being hit after bicycles aren’t leaving the library one night. protected by a shuffling by, I was tired, it was late and I’m few tons of metal, unaware of sure the driver was tired, too, plastic, glass and anything. because the car didn’t stop sweet, supple at the signal and barrelled pleather. As anyone through as I crossed. that has collided with a speeding bike while walking It’s too easy for us to blame each across campus will tell you, they aren’t other. Behind the wheel, you hate pedestrians either. clueless people walking in front of you, However, it seems that many cyclists on a bike, you despise cars that cut in act like cars when they demand room front of you and as a pedestrian, you are on the road from bigger, faster, actual fearful of being hit by the bike ignoring cars. Then, they act like pedestrians the crosswalk. when they barrel through a stop sign Instead, let’s all try to increase into a crosswalk. our awareness of each other so that The Arizona Governor’s Office of travelling across the UA feels tolerable Highway Safety recognizes that a bike and less like a war among rival clans. is neither a car nor a person, so it gives specific laws in regards to their use. ARS 28-644 states that cyclists must stop for stop signs and signals, ARS 28— Eric Klump is a senior in 792 says riders must stop for crosswalks journalism. Follow him @ericklump and ARS 28-704 requires that riders
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Arizona Summer Wildcat
M
ost UA students and Tucson residents seem to fall into two categories: those who get to escape the summer and those who are stuck here — the “true” Tucsonans who scoff at their cool-weather friends when complaints are made about cracks in the pavement and snow bird drivers. It seems that the right to complain about the “Dirty T” is a privilege that comes with the Full-Time Desert Dweller badge of fortitude. So this summer, I stayed. I could have fled home to Hawaii, yes, but I stayed. Did I think it’d be a terrible-do-it-onceto-say-I-did-it summer? Absolutely. But you know what? Summertime in Tucson turned out to actually be pretty great. Of course, when discussing Tucson summers, the elephant in the monsoon is the heat. And thanks to said monsoons, no one can even encourage the “it’s a dry heat” nonsense because well, it’s just hot. But honestly — and maybe it’s only because I imagined myself fainting of heat stroke each day while commuting by bicycle to a predominantly outdoor job where I’d chase children around all day — it didn’t seem that bad. Wear sunscreen and eat a popsicle — you’ll be okay. So once you suck it up and throw comfort out the window (then promptly close said window to avoid losing precious AC), you can begin to enjoy the many wonders of the Tucson summer. I don’t know if you noticed, but it’s freaking gorgeous out there. The desert is greener than ever, alive with wildlife and wildflowers, and some cacti are still in bloom. Monsoons bring a relief from the heat, sure, but even after the rainbows fade, rivers are left behind and waterfalls and natural swimming pools form in the surrounding mountains, beckoning hikers to come and enjoy them. Clouds, scarce in Tucson most of the year, make for especially epic sunsets. The concepts of “crowds” and “lines” leave along with out-of-state students to California and New Jersey, where
SUMMER, 9
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