Due to the fact college campuses have pedestrians spread over a large area, roads will inevitably be difficult to navigate. I had to use my GPS in my car for my entire first semester at Mississippi State University to find my way around campus even though I knew how to get there on foot, and there were no closed roads then. Even without construction, it takes a while to figure out the best way to get around. New one-way roads and closed roads complicates it even further.
    Not only is the road behind Davis Wade Stadium closed, but the four-point stop between the north side dorms and the post office is also closed. This presents a problem for both commuters and students on campus. All of those roads were easier ways to get from point A to point B. For example, students used those roads to get from Main Street back to campus, to get from North Zone to Stone Boulevard or as a way to get to the south side of campus. Staff parking around Butler Hall will also be more difficult. For future incoming freshmen and visitors, navigating around campus with a GPS will be even more of a challenge.
   These roads are not closed for simple, maybe one-to-two week repairs. The four-point stop is closed for construction of a new parking garage. There is no doubt that staff and students need better parking, but this should have happened a few years ago. With the increasing number of entering freshmen, on-campus parking has become more difficult. MSU has undertaken a lot of new renovation and construction projects while the university has grown in size. These projects should have happened before MSU really hit its growth spurt. Increased numbers and construction projects at the same time double the difficulty of driving and parking around campus.
  This new closed road limits parking for North Zone. Though North zone has a large lot behind Griffis Hall, this road closing particularly hurts Hull, Critz and Sessums Halls. The parking behind and in front of Hull Hall, already limited, now lost another North Zone road behind the post office. Those parked around Critz and Sessums have to drive further out of their way, and their limited parking is affected as well.
   Obviously, no one can act on these complaints because the road construction progress is already in motion, but MSU needs to do a better job helping visitors and new students know the best driving routes to take. Orientation leaders give students great maps of the Drill Field and various buildings and dorms, but no one ever explains best driving routes. GPS and smart phone maps don’t take certain closed roads into consideration, either. Those in charge of potential students, visitors, new students and events need to specifically direct on campus students on the best ways to drive to certain other areas on or around campus.