The recent police presence on Northgate Drive is part of a University of Dallas Police Department (UDPD) initiative to reduce speeding and keep students safe as they cross between the university and Tower Village.
Since many of the drivers who have been pulled over are students, the UDPD is working with Student Government to reduce speeding without issuing traffic tickets to too many students.
Teresa Linn, a junior, commented on the police presence.
“It’s nice to have the officers there, though I don’t think it’s entirely necessary,” Linn said. “There aren’t that many cars, so it’s not hard to wait for an opening to cross.”
Ben Norton, a senior, offered a different opinion.
“Cars don’t often stop or look for pedestrians; I’ve almost been hit multiple times,” Norton said. “On the other hand, some pedestrians don’t look either, so it’s probably a good thing they’re there.”
Usually the officers do not issue tickets.
“[We try to reduce speeding] just by sitting there with our lights on,” UDPD Chief Russell Greene said. “The whole point of this is for people to slow down and obey the law and stop for pedestrians.”
UDPD reached out to Irving Police Department to help.
“I’ve asked Irving Police department to have motor officers out there to slow the traffic down … Now, I don’t want students to get tickets, so I’d rather have you guys tell people to slow down,” Greene said of Student Government and The University News. “About half the people that I’ve stopped to talk to are students going over 30 mph.”
Greene wants to prevent students from getting speeding tickets, so he is communicating with Student Government about this issue.
Greene recently spoke with Clare Slattery, student body president, about the issue.
“He explained to me that UDPD’s goal is not to give anyone tickets, because they’re not focused on traffic regulations; they’re more focused on keeping students safe,” Slattery said. “However, he knows that Irving PD is more concerned with traffic regulations.”
Slattery hopes that students will slow down while driving on Northgate, both for the safety of their classmates and their own driving records.
