Gone are the days when a bright yellow line was painted between the Bayside apartments and the turf field, symbolizing smooth and efficient driving.

When the construction began for the new Bayside IV apartments, the Department of Public Safety established a new two-way traffic system. Because they closed the road behind Bayside while creating the new parking spaces, there needed to be an alternate route for traffic.

Many students had mixed views when they saw the “one way” sign back up in front of the Bayside Seabreeze apartments and the black line covering what used to be yellow. Some students believed that the one way traffic is not as efficient and that it takes longer to navigate through campus when arriving through the main gate. Other students believe that the new route is safer and allows for more space on the already narrow road.

Students that live in North Campus Residence Hall and Bayside are those that are most affected by this.

“It’s a little inconvenient, but there’s more parking so it makes up for it,” said senior Elias Cristo. The addition of the new parking seems to balance out the traffic change.

When 150 students from different academic classes were surveyed on the subject, 44 percent admitted to disliking the change back to one way traffic. Fifty-six percent of students agreed that converting back to this flow would be safer and would make for a more efficient loading and drop off space.

“We knew that we had to block off access in the rear to allow construction equipment in and build out the new added parking spaces planned for that area,” said Director of Public Safety Steven Melaragno. “Now that the rear of Bayside is open, we can return to the one way circle which allows for better load and off load opportunities and allows more room to pass.”

He continued, “This will give us a chance also to repair the grass damage. The one way traffic pattern we are returning to was put in place when Bayside was built, and has proven to be a safe and convenient way to navigate that edge of campus.”

Now that the road is no longer two-way, to navigate through campus, go right at the stop sign at the bottom of Fulton Way and follow the road around the back of Bayside. Stay safe and drive carefully.