Traffic appears light in downtown Elon a week before the semester starts.
During a quiet summer, the town of Elon prepared to welcome about 6,000 Elon University students back to campus. According to Elon Mayor Emily Sharpe, for a town with about 6,000 permanent residents, the return of thousands of students can have an effect on everything from public services to local businesses.
“When you double the population when the students are here, that does mean more police and fire calls,” Sharpe said. “With more people comes more services being rendered.”…