It’s that time of year again! As classes begin to take session, the orange cones are starting to pop up around your town. East Monte Vista Ave between Geer Road and Amethyst Way have had lane closures for grinding and paving operations since Monday and will be having closures up until October 1st. It is important to keep in mind that the situation is about to change, so what is better than to be prepared for it.
Here are some tips that will help you ease into the madness leading to CSU Stanislaus.
Timing
The roads with roadwork will face congestion, which means waiting and possibly arriving late to class. Leave your house early and allows some time to get to your destination.
Roni Simi (Freshman, Liberal Studies) said that “sometimes you have to just give yourself a little extra time to get to school, you never know if an accident happened on the highway.” She goes onto say, “Allowing some extra time for delays on the road can always be better.”
Be Alert
Being alert means looking out for roadwork and upcoming construction zones. It is important to pay extra attention when you’re on your route to school and see those big orange signs. They’re there to inform you of construction that will be taken place on the following days during your commute to school.
Antonio Camarena (Junior, Business) said that just last week he had to take an alternative route to school because he had not realized that there was going to be construction taking place on the railroad down Yosemite Boulevard to the town of Empire. Camarena said, “I had to use my google maps to find an alternative route to school. I wish I had paid attention when I was driving to school, I would not have been late to my Business class.”
For those that live on campus this might not seem like a big deal, but what about those that live where the construction is happening.
Mao Thao (Junior, Business) lives in the apartment complex on Monte Vista across from the Javi’s Mexican Restaurant and has road construction right outside his door. Thao says that “it’s really bad having to work around the temporary ‘no parking’ spots around the complex. Especially at night, there’s no place for me to park after work. Sometimes I have to park by a stranger’s house because that’s the only place I can park. When I do park by the temporary ‘no parking’ zones, I walk out to a dirty car, which makes me mad because I recently bought it.”
Plan ahead
Taking into precaution that certain roads will be closed can really make your commute to school less stressful.
Daisy Castro (Junior, Nursing) said that she usually more than often gets stuck in traffic due to a train passing the intersection on her route.
Castro said, “Since I do take the back roads to school I try to give myself an extra twenty-minute just in case the train causes a delay on my way to class.”
“There have been times I am literally stuck in traffic and the train does not seem to end which makes it harder for everyone on the road because some of us are trying to make it to school on time.”
Traffic Apps & Websites
One of the best ways to escape traffic is to have a reliable traffic information service on your phone. Android and iPhone devices offer an abundance of traffic apps that give you an alert on how long it will take you to get on the road and how to avoid traffic with faster routes.
Another important way to detour traffic is to search on your city website for upcoming road closures and delays. The City of Turlock has listed just some of the upcoming delays on their websites to advise locals about construction activities.
A little help can go a long way so be careful when driving and getting back to normal as we get further in this Fall semester. Worry more on passing classes and less on making it to school on time.