New lights placed on Jackson Avenue

JOY DOUGLAS
DM Staff Writer

New stoplights have been installed at the intersection of Sorority Row and Jackson Avenue and at the intersection of Rebel Drive and Jackson Avenue.

The stoplights are part of the project that will widen Jackson.

The light on Sorority Row will replace the current, working light that is already in place. The light on Rebel Drive is a new addition to the campus and city.

"We hope the whole project will be finished before the end of the year," Mayor Pat Lamar said.

Also, the intersection of College Hill Road, Jackson Avenue and Laten Road, referred to as Panic Junction, will be moved 300 feet west on Jackson Avenue.

In accordance with federal law, when new stoplights are installed at an intersection they must flash a yellow warning light for several days before being put into operation.

The associates at the office of Elliott and Britt Engineering are serving as the design engineers for the Jackson Avenue project. Tommy Elliott, engineer, said the old light at the intersection of Sorority Row and Jackson was replaced because the new lights will be on a different signal system with a new support system. The new lights will not start working for a few weeks.

Bill Anderson, engineer for the Oxford electric department, said the light was installed at Rebel Drive partially because people leaving campus that way have trouble getting onto the road. Anderson also said Oxford Police Department would man the lights on game days. OPD will have control of these lights as they do other lights around campus and will be able to monitor traffic and change the signals accordingly.

Courtney Hurd, sophomore English major from Booneville, said she thinks the new red lights are a good idea.

"On game day as long as someone is directing traffic, I think it will flow orderly and smoothly. The new lights will help officers better control the traffic."

Most students agree that the lights will help the flow of traffic.

"Any improvements made to the road that help the flow of traffic and make driving here safer are a plus," said Camilla Stokes, a freshman pre-med biology major from Horn Lake.

"The light on sorority row will probably be a benefit, but the road there is still unberable to drive on. The new light on Rebel drive will be an improvement on the current situation," said Keonna Starks, a junior social work major from Guntown

Ole Miss alumni Danny Durkee said the addition of the lights was needed.

"I think it will help traffic at certain times of the day those intersections are very busy and it is hard to get across the street. The city is growing so quickly that it would have to be done eventually anyway."

Others do not think the lights will make a difference.

"Many people don't recognize them as stoplights. When the lights start working, people will continue to ignore them anway," said Kelly Clark a junior theatre arts major from Athens, Ala.