Road closed
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.
Why it matters
Closing some campus roads would alleviate traffic and increase safety
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.
