Students weigh in on new Towerview

After a semester in place, the new traffic structures on Towerview Road have received mixed reviews from students, who use the route most frequently on their way to the Blue Zone.

 Most students appreciated the new installations, which include a traffic circle at the intersection of Towerview and Wannamaker Drive, a traffic light at the corner of Towerview and Duke University Road, and a brick plaza in the area between Crowell Quadrangle and the Card Gym parking lot, to which two brick medians have recently been added. The improvements to Towerview are intended to serve as a prototype for future roads on campus.

 Glenn Reynolds, manager of projects and engineering, described the addition of the traffic circle and surrounding structures as positive.

 "Not only do they greatly enhance the look of the area, but they have increased the safety of the area as well," he said, adding that the traffic circle has helped to fight Duke's speeding problem. "It gets your attention and forces you to slow down, which makes traffic slow down all around."

 Students who frequent Towerview said they welcomed the new safety-conscious elements, and noted that the brick-bound, flower-lined additions contributed to the "look" of the area, adding a more pedestrian-friendly feel to campus.

 However, some students questioned the necessity of the improvements.

 "It seems a little gratuitous if you ask me," sophomore Josh Owen said. "It's not clear why it was a needed addition [because] there wasn't a problem in the first place."

 Junior Lexi Gil, who lived in Crowell last year, also questioned Towerview's makeover.