Let my people go
Nick Ware
Issue date: 3/4/10 Section: Opinion
When I heard that students were going to be ticketed for walking across Pine Street without using the designated crosswalks, I asked myself, "Why? Do Florence police really have nothing better to do than ticket students who are simply just trying to make it to class on time?"
There have been days where I couldn't find a parking spot anywhere and I had to park somewhere in the Kilby parking lot or on the street with the fraternity houses. Being in a rush, the idea of walking half a mile either way to get to a crosswalk is preposterous.
Now, I understand that some students have been injured in the past by getting hit by a car but honestly, do the police really have to ticket violators with a $100 fine? The punishment doesn't really seem to fit the crime. I mean, why not just park in a teacher's parking lot and take a $20-$30 ticket instead? I'd be completely fine with the ticket if I knew that my money was going towards another more convenient crosswalk or some new speed limit signs to make people realize that Pine Street is not the Daytona 500.
It's true. People fly down that road well over the speed limit. I'll admit, I've been guilty of it myself a couple times. But maybe instead of ticketing students, police officers should post up somewhere and catch speeders instead of jaywalkers. To me, the real 'criminal' here is the NASCAR wanna-be who's flying over the hill with a blind intersection and college students scurrying about.
As it stands now, the only two crosswalks are by Flowers Hall and Irvine Street. The crosswalk at Irvine Street is dangerous as it is since some people in this area don't understand the fact that pedestrians have the right-of-way. The problem with the one by Flowers Hall is simply that it's too far from the communications building, which I'm assuming is where most people who park on or near Pine Street are destined.
I don't work for the city so I don't know exactly how much certain things cost. I'm pretty sure that painting another set of lines in front of the communications building wouldn't put the city of Florence or UNA in debt, though. It would make quite a few students much happier and would keep that $100 that they would have had to spend on a ridiculous jaywalking ticket where it belongs: in their pocket.
There have been days where I couldn't find a parking spot anywhere and I had to park somewhere in the Kilby parking lot or on the street with the fraternity houses. Being in a rush, the idea of walking half a mile either way to get to a crosswalk is preposterous.
Now, I understand that some students have been injured in the past by getting hit by a car but honestly, do the police really have to ticket violators with a $100 fine? The punishment doesn't really seem to fit the crime. I mean, why not just park in a teacher's parking lot and take a $20-$30 ticket instead? I'd be completely fine with the ticket if I knew that my money was going towards another more convenient crosswalk or some new speed limit signs to make people realize that Pine Street is not the Daytona 500.
It's true. People fly down that road well over the speed limit. I'll admit, I've been guilty of it myself a couple times. But maybe instead of ticketing students, police officers should post up somewhere and catch speeders instead of jaywalkers. To me, the real 'criminal' here is the NASCAR wanna-be who's flying over the hill with a blind intersection and college students scurrying about.
As it stands now, the only two crosswalks are by Flowers Hall and Irvine Street. The crosswalk at Irvine Street is dangerous as it is since some people in this area don't understand the fact that pedestrians have the right-of-way. The problem with the one by Flowers Hall is simply that it's too far from the communications building, which I'm assuming is where most people who park on or near Pine Street are destined.
I don't work for the city so I don't know exactly how much certain things cost. I'm pretty sure that painting another set of lines in front of the communications building wouldn't put the city of Florence or UNA in debt, though. It would make quite a few students much happier and would keep that $100 that they would have had to spend on a ridiculous jaywalking ticket where it belongs: in their pocket.
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