The survey UK Parking and Transportation conducted to reduce traffic problems on Rose Street was indicative of the unhappiness employees and students feel about campus accessibility. 

When students wake up late for class they desire an effective place for their groggy and fed up roommate to drop them off. 

Employees looking for parking and commuters on university buses are tired of the congestion caused by the unloading of students before classes. 

And everyone else that walks or bikes is tired of dodging cars or playing “red light, green light” in the turning lane between the end of Rose Lane and Patterson Drive. 

The survey on Rose Street is a great start to addressing problems in other congested areas of campus like along Avenue of Champions and South Limestone. 

Pedestrians and cyclists have struggled to feel totally secure on campus because of the consistent string of accidents and hit and runs they or their peers experience. 

But for its sheer size and outspoken commitment to improving student life with housing and facilities, UK has the opportunity to reform its campus into a diversely accessible one. 

Increasing modes of public transportation reduce carbon emissions, and with the population it has at its disposal, UK could potentially become a significant ecological benefit to the city of Lexington. 

UK Parking and Transportation has enabled that with their partnership with Lextran and their bike voucher program, which is an agreement they made with students to trade in their parking passes for bicycle money.

But to promote a bike accessible culture on campus means drivers and pedestrians need to hop on board as well by being aware of surrounding bikers on the streets, not boxing them in or running them off the road, and sharing the entire lane with them when there isn’t a designated bike lane. 

The university can take other initiatives as well, such as closing off part of Rose Street, which the university has been debating with Fayette County. They can add more marked crosswalks to Rose Street, Avenue of Champions and South Limestone. 

They can also increase the number of shared sidewalks in the middle of campus and on streets often cramped with parked cars. 

They can expand the Wildcat Wheels Bicycle Library to provide students with free access to better transportation, and increase the number of vehicle counters in campus parking lots so commuters don’t have to search campus for an open spot. 

A commitment to efficiency in campus transportation improves commute, increases safety and reduces the ecological effects of carbon emissions in one of Lexington’s biggest communities. 

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