The 2019 Family Weekend at St. Lawrence University is quickly approaching and will take place September 27-29, just in time for us students to recover from the excitement of Fall Fest last Friday. SLU has a freshman class from a record size pool of applicants and a sophomore class of 652 that Admissions states is the largest class St. Lawrence has had. The enrollment is at a high for this North Country gem, undoubtedly leading to a rise in families that will be traveling to attend Family Weekend. 

With fewer than ten hotels in the Canton/Potsdam area, one would imagine finding a place to sleep would be the hardest part of attending Family Weekend. Unfortunately, a greater issue at hand is that Route 11 is the only way to get to SLU. In January of 2018, residents from both Canton and Potsdam gathered to discuss dangers and inconveniences associated with travel on this single-lane highway. NCPR journalist David Sommerstein reported the meeting debated whether implementing “ a bypass north of Potsdam” into the current road structure, or “bumping Route 11 out to a four-lane highway” would be effective. A source from journalist Adam Atkinson introduced G. Kokkoris, the director of the St. Lawrence Highway Department. He believes this potential project’s costs might outweigh the gains. Atkins states, “Some residents, however, expressed an interest in abating the downtown truck traffic.”

Some of Canton’s longtime residents commented that it would nice to not have to deal with the truck traffic. It is hard for them to believe that truck drivers are stopping to shop in Canton, or are putting money or benefits back into the community. Therefore there really isn’t a need for them to travel through downtown. Congested highways and poor road conditions also increase automobile accidents. Attorney Brad Pistotnik states, “As more and more drivers take to the road, and fewer and fewer new roads are built, it is creating a situation where there are more drivers sharing less space.” 

As the population of students at St. Lawrence continues to increase, the amount of people in Canton during August through May will, too. Will the halt in the discussion about the congestion of Route 11 pose potential harm or inconvenience during upcoming events such as Family Weekend and Alumni Weekend? This issue needs to be discussed further by the United States DOT, by residents of Canton and by us as students. The safety of our friends and famile matters.