I have attended Ball State for almost three years and have noticed Ball State's as well as the off-campus roads around it deteriorate every year. I am not alone when I say my car has been damaged as a result of potholes and numerous patches (sometimes there are more patches in the road than there are actual parts of the road).
My brand new 2002 Nissan Sentra (which is not even three months old) has a bent rim, which I had to pay $100 to fix. I blame it on Muncie's lack of street care.
Every year, drivers notice and try to avoid huge potholes in the middle of the road, sometimes putting themselves as well as other drivers and pedestrians in danger. Muncie has been fair about patching these roads up fairly fast once the complaint has been made, but what happens when there are too many patches in the road, making the road uneven to drive on?
The answer is that not only can your alignment be thrown off by uneven
driving surfaces (you wouldn't take a sedan off-roading would you?), but hitting so many uneven surfaces causes unnecessary wear to your shock absorbers and causes situations like flat tires and bent rims.
The main roads I have a problem with are New York Avenue on the west end of campus and Neeley Avenue between the Architecture Building and Studebaker West. I am constantly driving down these roads, and I cringe every time a new uneven surface and my car meet.-รก
I called Mayor Dan Canan's office with my concern about uneven surfaces. The woman on the phone, though cordial, went on for several minutes explaining the whole process of how potholes form. Any driver who ever drives through potholed road conditions should already know how they form. I explained to her I am a careful driver, and I avoid potholes as best as possible, and that the many patches in the road were what really causes problems.
If you are like me, you are sick and tired of flinching while driving. Call or write Canan. He said this in a recent speech about community development: "Muncie needs to partner with Ball State as they look to attract students and faculty. I pledge that city government will do its job in improving the community so that when a person selects Ball State, they are also selecting Muncie."
When most prospective students and faculty come to Ball State, they don't really notice the other areas of Muncie as much as the areas in and around campus. Great care must be taken to, like Canan said, "improve the community," so prospectives will enjoy the beauty of campus and Muncie. A primary step in developing the community must be to resurface the roads so faculty, students and parents of students will feel safe driving around campus.
Next time you take a walk down New York and Neeley avenues, as well as Carson, Marsh, and Linden streets, notice how your car can get damaged as a result of these uneven road surfaces. The lady on the phone told me of recent cutbacks in spending for roads.
They still have $600,000. Instead of spending it on other places in Muncie, like the downtown area, or country roads only named with a number, help take action to make sure the streets in and around our campus end up being resurfaced to keep us and our vehicles safe.
Write to Abhijana at agtrivedi@bsu.edu.
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