The intersection of Carroll Avenue and the south extension of University Circle Drive is an accident waiting to happen.

An accident is not imminent because of reckless speeders or distracted cell phone yackers but because of drivers’ sheer confusion.

Carroll Avenue has no fewer than eight access points in a 50-foot stretch. There are cars coming from the south: Lincoln Highway; from the east: Lincoln Terrace, the NIU parking deck and Locust Street; from the north: the visitor’s parking lot; and from the west: the extension drive and Locust Street.

Only half, or four, of the access points are restricted by stop signs. Even with the signage, no one seems to know who is supposed to go when.

This is not to mention that Carroll Avenue before or after any class period feels as congested as Chicago’s Loop during rush hour.

The problem lies just south of DuSable Hall where the extension drive concludes in a small turnaround.

In a passive-aggressive move, the university re-designed the old DuSable turnaround to eliminate student driver traffic but still provided students a drop off point just south of the building.

This smaller turnaround is only accessed by Carroll Avenue, but it has proved to be too much of a temptation for lazy students looking for an easy way to get to and from class.

We need to be saved from ourselves.

The university needs to restrict traffic on the south extension drive to NIU service vehicles and permit holders for the extension’s parking lot.

The south extension drive also serves as a parking lot. It looks like an alley, but it is a bona fide parking lot with a 10 mph speed limit.

The university also needs to slow traffic on Carroll Avenue by installing more stop signs.

The south extension of University Circle Drive is poorly designed and needs regulation. Decreasing student driver traffic entering and exiting the extension drive would put a stop to the problem.