Navigating the Oxford Roads
BEEP BEEP! Look out Oxford, we’ve got the class of 2025 on the roads! Parents, we’re excited for them to finally be here, but we need to make sure they are ready to drive around this small but crazy college town.
When your child first arrives, these roads will seem like a maze with no end, but within a month’s time, they’ll have it down to a T. There are many Oxford driving tips freshmen have to learn, the hard way, but we’re here to (hopefully) make them aware. Here’s what our team at POM offers as tips to the roads in Oxford.
1. Jackson Avenue is hectic, avoid it during busy times.
Jackson can be considered the main road in Oxford as it is home to many stores, shops, and restaurants. Namely WALMART. It’s great because you can find everything you need within the span of a two-mile long road, but there are many frustrations this thoroughfare. Most accidents in Oxford happen on the roads of Jackson Avenue due to the amount of traffic on the road, so make sure to inform your child to be extra careful on this road. It is also best to inform them to (if possible) avoid Jackson between the hours of 5pm and 6pm, especially on Monday’s and lunchtime.
2. Traffic roundabouts are everywhere, get used to them.
Once a foreign ideal in Mississippi, Oxford is home to multiple roundabouts. The first time you and your student visited Ole Miss, you were probably greeted with the traffic circles on Old Taylor Road or Chucky Mullins exits. Many parents have said it was their first time using a traffic circle and that they were complicated to use. We’re here to break it down for you and your student. Remember these easy guidelines:
● Follow the lines, do not exchange lanes where there are no dotted lines,
● Yield don’t stop, and cars already traveling on the traffic circle have the right of way.
● Lastly, tell your child to not look at their phones when on the traffic circles. We know they shouldn’t be looking at them anyways, but traffic circles need their undivided attention.
3. When in doubt, take Highway 6.
Highway 6 can lead your child to every main road they may need to get to in Oxford. If any road is shut down for whatever reason, you can always find an alternative route via Highway 6.
4. Yes, the Speed limit is really 18 mph.
To pay our respects to Ole Miss’ royal family (the Mannings), the speed limit is 18 mph which is the number Archie Manning wore during his quarterback days at Ole Miss. That being said, I have a friend who got a HUGE speeding ticket for going twice over that 18 mph limit. Remind your child to watch their speed around campus so UPD won’t have to.
5. Avoid driving on football and baseball game days.
There is nothing better than seeing the stadium packed with Rebel fans from all over. Now imagine more than 100,000 of these fans. It’s not as fun when all of them are trying to arrive and leave at the same time. While your student is living in the dorms, inform them that everything they need is typically within walking distance, therefore it will save them time to go by foot rather than taking their cars. Reminder: parking on campus during game day is by permit only. Check out charity parking lots at nearby churches and businesses.
6. Remind your student that other people do live in Oxford besides fellow college students.
So often, us locals are traveling the roads (often with our own kids in tow) and get dangerously buzzed by, by a college student, sporting their Ole Miss parking sticker. Or we watch them swerve off the road while texting, or even worse, drink and drive and put us all in danger. Per capita, our drinking and driving incidences are triple fold many other towns in the state. Pretty scary that locals are much more likely to be on roads with drunk drivers in 38655.
So parents, we’d love for you to share these insightful tips with your student so they can conquer the streets of Oxford like a pro! We are excited to have them finally here! Welcome home folks.