We have all had the feeling before: running late to class with every remaining minute being crucial.

Unfortunately, for others, and me,  we attend a university with an endless number of crosswalks on the one major road that passes through campus. If I had one complaint, it would be that there are too many in a short stretch, but that’s another topic for another day.

I don’t mind waiting on University Boulevard for people utilizing the crosswalks, though. I can’t count the total number of times that I have used them in my time here on campus. If I notice up ahead that a car has been waiting a long time for people to cross, I’ll give a hand signal saying that I’m willing to wait, so they don’t waste their total allotment of gas for the week with their vehicle sitting idle. Others have done that for me in the past, and I have always been thankful.

However, one thing that creates more of a backup of traffic off of the Lloyd Expressway are those who feel their time is more important than others. That is, those who jaywalk across the street, not using the crosswalks, but still expecting cars to slow down and stop so they can cross the street.

Amazingly, the traffic and flow of people alternate enough that there really isn’t really a backup on cars for the most part on University Boulevard, but several backups are created by those who refuse to walk a few extra steps to the crosswalks. They instead opt to cross the street because their time is more important – in their eyes – than mine.

Here’s an up front warning, I won’t slow down for people who refuse to do what everyone else does and use the crosswalk. If everyone used the crosswalks, traffic would have a much better flow on campus, at least that’s what the engineers and designers had in mind when they constructed University Boulevard and all the crosswalks that came with it.

It just takes one person being lazy and refusing to walk the extra steps towards the designated crossing area, to mess up the traffic and make other students late. Your shortcut shouldn’t be an obstruction for someone else.

I won’t slow down. I won’t be later than what I’m already going to be. There are plenty of places to cross the street safely on this campus, we don’t need people creating their own personal path of obstruction, otherwise I’ll never to get class. And that’s half the battle.