Tucsonans spend 42 hours per year in traffic jams, according to the 2007 Urban Mobility Survey conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University.

Tucson has had a traffic problems for several years, prompting UA Parking and Transportation Services to encourage students to use alternative transportation programs, said PTS marketing director Bill Davidson.

He cited the Sun Tran and Cat Tran as student-friendly possibilities.

“”We’re trying to take a real proactive approach to help the environment and stop congestion,”” he said. “”We want to be part of the solution and make reliable transportation available to everyone.””

PTS promotes the use of bicycles to get students around campus quickly and easily while also curbing vehicular traffic and pedestrian crowding, Davidson said.

Davidson pointed to the ongoing construction of Interstate 10 as aggravating campus traffic.

“”Whenever construction is done on streets or highways in the area, it makes everything else that much more congested,”” he said.

Some students blame pedestrians and a lack of roadways for on-campus traffic.

Kevin Prosise, an undeclared freshman, said that with thousands of students and university employees commuting by foot around campus, there are bound to be areas crowded with pedestrians. He said the UA should take measures to increase pedestrian areas and decrease streets that end up getting filled with vehicular traffic.

“”Since it’s so crowded, we should just forget about cars,”” Prosise said. “”The roads should be replaced with sidewalks.””

Prosise said he thinks that bike riders are part of a whole separate problem that needs to be dealt with.

“”I get hit by bikes all the time,”” he said. “”(Bike riders) just need to stay out of the way of people, just like cars.””

Laura Matisoff, a psychology sophomore, said walking once on campus is the fastest and easiest way to get anywhere without the hassle of spending gas money.

“”Walking saves money and time,”” she said. “”I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t just walk once they get anywhere near campus.””

Because traffic affects motorists, pedestrians and bike-riders, they all have to take responsibility and do what they can to help reduce congestion, Matisoff said.

“”If you walk, keep doing that,”” she said. “”If you drive a car or ride a bike … start walking.””

Kamilla Sanders, a philosophy junior, said the problem lies not with too many cars or inconsiderate pedestrians but with motorists’ inability to drive efficiently and correctly and follow the rules of the road.

“”(Campus) streets are full of college kids who never learned how to drive right,”” she said. “”Every driver is afraid to hit a person, but if they knew how to drive correctly, they wouldn’t have to worry about that and could just focus on driving.””