7A - Testing the Hypothesis

1. Opportunity: The traffic in and near The University of Florida is horrendous and is filled with lines of cars, scooters, and especially busses on the roads.  This is important because people are on a schedule and trying to move from different places at a slow rate hampers movement significantly.


2. The who: UF students, faculty, and anyone using the roads near campus (13th and Museum primarily)

The what: The traffic is slow and there are many massive backups on the roads

The why: One of the primary roads is a 1 lane road and the other primary road is a 2 lane road which limits the movement


3.  Testing the who:  Are there others that have this need?
After speaking with people it seems that only people that live or travel near UF campus are bothered by the bad traffic.  I'm sure other college campuses might share this problem as the roads have too many people.


Testing the what: What are the boundaries of the need?
After thinking about the need, the boundaries of this need depend on the time of day.  Typically during busy hours (after class, dinner time) the traffic is awful, but if it is early in the morning or late at night the roads are clear and easily accessible.


Testing the why:  What are the different reasons for this need?
After testing the why situation for this need, it is clear that traffic is a problem around campus.  People simply cannot get where they want to on time, or they have to leave especially early to make it on time.  The 1 lane road on one of the busiest roads near campus is definitely a key reason for this need because of the number of people that need to travel that road every day. My why holds true for everyone that experiences this need because it is something that greatly effects them.

4. Interviews

After interviewing 4 different UF students and 1 bus driver I realize that this need is clearly something that would benefit from some change.  The 4 students I interviewed were a freshman boy, sophomore boy, and 2 junior girls.  The freshman boy did not seem too bothered by the traffic and said that he rode his bike to help navigate the campus quickly because the roads would take too long.  He said he uses the sidewalks and that allows him to move quicker than the vehicles on the road.  The sophomore boy I talked to said his method of transportation around campus is via his scooter.  He said that he has thought about driving straight down the bike lane to skip the long line of still cars on the road.  He said he was definitely affected by the traffic and has been repeatedly late to his classes.  The third student I interviewed was a junior girl that only had a car on campus.  She lives near the Norman area strategically because she knows the traffic is horrendous.  She said she walks to class because trying to drive a car around campus is annoying and difficult.  The other junior girl I interviewed said she drives her Jeep around the streets and plans her day so that she can make it to her destinations on time.  She says that around dinner time she will never even try to drive on Musuem because it is always backed up.  Lastly I talked to a bus driver because people always seem to be stuck behind the busses.  He said that people on scooter routinely pass by him illegally when he is picking or dropping off students at the bus stop and that this is very dangerous because he can not see them until they are already whipping past him.  He said that if something could be done to help change the flow of traffic then it would be a huge help to everyone.

5. Summary
After talking with all these people and personally experiencing the problem myself, I can say that this need is definitely something people want changed.  The traffic is so bad that it keeps people from getting to work, class, or gym on time.  People have said that sometimes the traffic can alter their whole day plan as they will not make it to a certain location on time.