City skeptical of plan to close Campus Drive this summer

Just hours after students rallied against the university's plan to close Campus Drive to traffic this summer, city officials followed suit last night with mostly negative feedback for the proposal.

In an effort to understand the motive behind the plan, the College Park City Council discussed its implications with representatives from all sides — a student, university representative and transit official were all present at the meeting, voicing individual concerns.

The university plans to shut down the critical road from June 19 to Aug. 13 to experiment with restricting traffic and making the Stamp Student Union area more pedestrian-friendly, a goal adopted under the university's Facilities Master Plan — a document that outlines university facility objectives for the next twenty years.

At yesterday's meeting, bus operations specialist for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Larry Glick spoke out against the measure and said the closure would be a great inconvenience to bus riders and drivers.

"We have four routes that all go through the campus," Glick said. "There's so much variability that [the road's closure] has unpredictable consequences that extend for miles away from the university."

Glick said while the main obstacle for Metro buses isn't necessarily other traffic — he cited student foot-traffic as a major cause for slowing down routes — closing the street to other vehicles could improve general traffic and make it easier for the buses to get through. Under the proposal, buses would be re-routed to Regents Drive, a spot many said would be flooded with too many vehicles.

Only the two Campus Connector Shuttle-UM buses, emergency vehicles, delivery trucks, construction vehicles and cars headed for the University Health Center would be permitted to navigate Campus Drive from the "M" traffic circle to the Preinkert Drive intersection across from Cole Field House. Student Government Association City Council liaison Becca Lurie said since some vehicles would be allowed on the road, there's no reason to completely restrict buses.

State delegate Tawanna Gaines, who is also a coordinator for Vice President of Administrative Affairs Ann Wylie, said the temporary closure was necessary so the university could conduct a study and determine the effects of closing the road full time, as outlined under the Facilities Master Plan.

But Terry Schum, the city's director of planning who sat on the committee that created the Facilities Master Plan, said shutting the road off from busses went against the spirit of the plan.

"The 2001 plan was all abut making the campus friendlier to busses and trying to reduce the amount of automobile transit," Schum said.

Many were also unconvinced that this was a viable study.

"They said they're doing this study, but they haven't developed any research questions," university senator and junior mechanical engineering major Bob Hayes said. "I think that when you start to involve regional transit in this ban, you don't add anything to the study."

Hayes also told the council that at yesterday's open forum, where students voiced objections to the proposal, Department of Transportation Services Director David Allen and Associate Vice President for Facilities Management Frank Brewer had "no answers."

District 4 councilwoman Stephanie Stullich seemed particularly confused by the study as she read over the master plan document. Stullich, like Hayes, also questioned the study because they had not been given any materials.

"Isn't having convenient transit the best way to significantly reduce the number of automobiles?" she asked.

The Facilities Master Plan committee will also evaluate how the change would impact the construction of the Purple Line — a light-rail transit system — on the campus, that could possibly run on Campus Drive.

"I think they're ulterior motive is to show Campus Drive isn't a hub," Hayes said after the meeting. "I'm not sure what the relationship is between this and the Purple Line. It shows the university is not friendly to transit."

rhodes at umdbk dot com