By Jeramey Brown | Contributor
How many times have you driven around Baylor’s campus and hit a pothole with your car? If you are like me, then probably a handful of times on a daily basis. According to cityworks.com, there are about 55 million potholes in the U.S., and it seems as if most of them are located right here in Waco.
Some roads around campus are better than others, but most of the roads on campus have potholes or poor patch work. This is an issue that needs to be fixed by Baylor. Not only would this be a quality investment, but it would make the Baylor campus look nicer as well.
Driving over a small pothole frequently may not seem like it is doing any harm, but it will eventually cause the breakdown of your car and increased wear and tear on your tires. According to betzandbaril.com, potholes are formed by excessive damage on a road over time due to water, heat and impact.
After the ice storm that happened in February, the potholes on Baylor campus have opened back up because of the poor patchwork that was done previously. If you are traveling down Eighth Street, Third Street or even going into the East Village parking garage, make sure to wear a helmet, because you are in for a ride.
Just this semester alone, I have visited the tire shop three times from screws, nails or low tire pressure. If I were not a member at this tire shop, I would be spending a fortune on repairs or even new tires. Most of the students’ and faculty members’ cars cannot handle the poor conditions of the roads on the Baylor campus.
I drive a sports car, so it is already not well suited to the conditions of Waco. However, there are instances where I must drive less than two miles per hour just so I can drive around campus and miss a pothole. I almost have to be stopped while entering the East Village parking garage due to the giant pothole that is right at the entrance. Why is it that I am the one who must fix my car numerous times due to Baylor’s poor road conditions? This simply should not be the case. This must be fixed.
The easiest and most efficient way to tackle this issue is to bring in more construction workers and allocate more money to the roads on campus as well as around campus. This may seem like an expensive project, but as a prestigious university with over $700 million in revenue for the year that ended May 31, 2020, Baylor can afford to fix their roads. They can hire new workers to repair the potholes, and the issue can be taken care of within the day or even a week.
However, while fixing these new potholes, there might be an increase of traffic for the time being. There are multiple routes to each building on campus, which would help with some of the traffic. There are also multiple entrances into the parking garage by East Village. Furthermore, due to the increase in construction around Waco, there may not be enough workers to fix this in a timely manner. However, Baylor has the money and resources necessary to hire individuals who would help solve this issue.
Baylor students and faculty deserve to drive on roads that are in quality conditions. We should not have to sacrifice the well-being of our cars because Baylor will not fix the potholes or fix the quality of the roads.
