Road closed

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University President Michael Rao might have been joking when he said
it,but closing down the roads on campus might not be a bad idea.

Rao mentioned shutting down interior campus roads at a recent
Student Government Association meeting, and though it would likely make
plenty of students angry, it could drastically improve safety and
traffic concerns on campus.

One plan might change Washington Street and Preston Street into
malls similar to the area near Warriner Hall and behind the Charles V.
Park Library.

It would limit driving to the campus perimeter, like East and West
Campus drives, and leave students to walk cross-campus from parking
lots arranged on those roads.

Traffic on campus would be decreased and the change would alleviate
the constant problem of pedestrian-vehicle combat that takes place on
Washington near Anspach Hall. Pedestrians no longer would have to risk
getting hit in order to cross to parking lots near the Towers, and
drivers no longer would have to be held up as thoughtless pedestrians
stream across the street.

The same problem would no longer exist on Preston.

In addition to increased safety of students on campus, closing the
roads could have a substantial impact on the beautification of campus.

Basically, the loss of Preston and Washington would allow for more
trees, more landscaping and more places for students to spend time
outdoors and enjoy campus. The look of CMU is known to have a big
effect on students’ choice to come here —so eliminating those
roads could mean more draw for the university.

Of course, eliminating key campus roads will put a damper on the
commutes of a lot of students. It’ll affect parking lots and the
conduits to reach them — and students likely will complain.

But , the change would have good effects on the driving situation on
campus. For one, it would encourage fewer students to drive, which
would decrease crowding in lots and on streets. It would encourage car
pooling and it would force more students to walk.

Most campuses in Michigan already force most students to park far
from classes and walk to them anyway, but CMU’s campus is fairly
compact —the walk wouldn’t be too much of a stretch from what
students currently deal with, and those students who drive to classes
would be able to park for the day and leave when finished.

It’s not too much of a stretch to shut down these roads and the
benefits could be considerable; not the least of which would be keeping
more students and drivers safe.