http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2015/04/040215-vpa-drillfielddrive.html
Yep you read it correctly. Parts of the drillfield are becoming a 2 way street
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http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2015/04/040215-vpa-drillfielddrive.html
Yep you read it correctly. Parts of the drillfield are becoming a 2 way street
Comments
Well, no. It seems more like the eastern part of the drillfield is being cut off for a road in front of War Memorial Chapel. Just draw a line from where Stanger intersects Drillfield to Kent. At least that's how it reads to me. 95+% of the Drillfield is going to be intact.
On a completely unrelated note, when you use satellite view on Google Maps on the Drillfield is that a person parachuting down in front of Eggleston?
None of the drillfield is being cut. That pathway already exists on the drillfield. The area between Torg Bridge and the pylons is being made into a 2 way street. No construction is apparently being done that would cause the main structure to change other than there being a small 2 way part of Drillfield Drive.
Edit: fixed error plus redesigned intersections so that traffic can go multiple ways
That makes way more sense than what I thought was going on.
It is either a parachutist or one of those parachute copters?! Kind of crazy.
Blasphemy! Now we can't make jokes about freshmen looking both ways when crossing the drillfield any more!
I spent ten years in Blacksburg and I still look both ways on the drillfield. Bicycles come from all directions.
Looks like all it does is make it so you don't have to go all the way around the drillfield just to turn onto the Alumni Mall, or to the Bookstore.
Seems a bit silly, but also it may drastically cut down traffic on certain parts of the drillfield.
In which case I approve.
Exactly what I was thinking. I hated trying to find a spot to park because you had to keep circling the drill field to find a spot.
This is exactly right. I was at an event yesterday where Dr. Sands talked about the future redevelopment of the University in and around town. This was discussed briefly with the objective that so many cars need not go circles around the drillfield unnecessarily.
Based on the intersection at West Campus Dr, I always felt like Drillfield Dr was a two-way street anyway, but with a REALLY big median.
That said, I can see the change working, with some initial growing pains. I can't see them not installing a traffic light though.
I don't see the need. They're essentially making that one straight an elongated traffic circle. The only time you'll actually be driving the Drillfield is if you are looking to park there. Otherwise, it'll be easier to just avoid it altogether, which will alleviate traffic there even more.
And yet this is the area where every year I was at Tech I would see parents on college tours going the wrong direction. It's a confusing area that makes sense to turn into a 2-way area.
Barely any students actually cross the street where these changes will be and the rest of the drillfield is still one way. This will cut down on traffic on the drillfield, especially between classes.
I'm not so sure about that. I work in the library and this has become a fairly congested area during class change. It will be interesting to see how that works with people going to see the Pylons - big photo op area. It doesn't look as if they are going to make bus pull-ins and there are stops in front of Newman and Torg. I wonder if they are going to change the bus routes?
They're planning on starting construction on a bus hub near the parking deck next year, and re-routing most of the buses to that in order to take buses off the drillfield
The crosswalks across Stanger St., the crosswalk across Drillfield Dr., the crosswalks across Alumni Mall, and the crosswalk across Kent St. are all pretty heavily trafficked during the day, especially during classes. 1
I like the idea behind this, but if I'm reading the map right you have to go through at least 2 of these crosswalks driving this route. I don't see it helping vehicular traffic all that much. But, hey, what do I know?
1Sources: The boyfriend who drives on campus everyday purely to drop my girlfriend off on my way to work.
Literally everywhere on campus is a pedestrian mess during class changes. I would occasionally drop people off at class during the day if I was free and they were over. Hitting the two crosswalks during class changes from Stanger to Kent would be a godsend to skip the infinite number of "crosswalks" around the Drillfield while still having to deal with at least one of those unless I wanted to hit even more by driving down West Campus and cutting across heading down Washington.
Yes, you're right, you do hit fewer crosswalks. But now you've doubled the vehicular traffic on that stretch. As someone else pointed out below, there are already backups waiting to turn onto and from Alumni Mall. Now there will be people coming from two directions to turn there. And while those cars (and buses) are waiting to turn, no one else can move. So now instead of waiting for pedestrians to cross the street en masse, you're waiting for the one (all it takes is one) person to turn onto Alumni Mall.
Anyway, my main point is that I just don't see this working any better than what's currently in place.
Exactly.
I like it. Should greatly reduce the road rage and potential pedestrian injuries during class change.
Yeah, but it reduces your chances of getting hit by the BT going 5 mph and getting them to pay for your tuition.
#MythsOfVirginiaTech
Looks like two half roundabouts are being put in to prevent having to drive all the way around the drillfield. I forsee some epic snow forts being build in the middle of each with 3-man water balloon launcher artillery coming from the center of both.
Neat-o! Now, let's talk about the parking situation.......
Well, New Jersey is #2 in terms of out-of-state students, so they should feel right at home. To them, these are just called "left turns."
when I lived in Sydney I was sharing a house with some Norwegian friends and they absolutely loved the Simpsons. Would recite nearly full episodes. wouldn't miss an episode.
but they could never understand the jokes against New Jersey and Cleveland. They just assumed everyone hated those places.
Ahem, we affectionately call them jug handles.
Man did I get a kick when I would have out of state friends come visit.
It would seem that the people who made this plan and the board of visitors have never been on campus during class change. Looking at this plan, the crosswalk where Alumni Mall meets Drillfield Drive is going to be an absolute nightmare. It already gets congested there with cars waiting on students in the crosswalk, and now there will be 2 lanes trying to turn onto Alumni Mall. Mark my words, this will NOT be pretty.
It appears the left turn movement will be illegal from the graphic.
If you think it appears to be illegal by the graphic, you might as well go ahead and say it appears to be illegal to turn RIGHT off of the drillfield onto Alumni Mall. The graphic doesn't show turn arrows from either of those lanes. Maybe I'm wrong to assume that turning left onto Alumni Mall will be legal, but based on the graphic, you're just as wrong to assume it will be illegal.
It will be crazy during class changes but I think those 20 min of chaos (that is already chaos) will be overshadowed by the rest of the time, especially weekends and summer.
It's like the circle on main, itll be hectic at times but be an overall improvement
Looks like a sweet cruisin' route. Is it still hip to cruise, kids?
Man, that last sentence really illustrates the importance of the proper use of a comma. I missed it the first time I read it and was like, "What?!"
I just had this conversation with my boss yesterday. We were comparing the cruising cultures of Bristol and Concord, NC. They were basically the same. You did loops and hung out in the McD's parking lot. I never cruised because I was a dork, had better things to spend my money on (women), and by the time I turned 16 the kids who cruised were the "bad" kids, and it's worth mentioning again, I was a 4.0 gpa band dork. My dad however was the king of hamburger lane in 1977 with his Pinto.
Addendum: Cruising in Bristol fell out of favor around the time I went to college in 2003. I think with the internet and modern tech, and the safety obsessed culture, it just faded out.
Va Beach in the late '70s. Summer cruising Atlantic Ave from 1st street to 21st street. Good Times!