Main Entrance Reconstruction Solves Few Problems, Makes Others Blindingly Obvious

In recent weeks, the major controversy on campus has been the administration's proposal to reconstruct the main entrance to West Campus, a move which they claim would make that junction safer and less confusing, but which critics claim would irrepairably damage the greenery and tree growth which separates West Campus from Nicolls Road. Additionally, the fact that students, staff and faculty were largely ignored during the planning and decision-making process has left a bitter taste in many people's mouths, and rightly so.

However, I feel that it is important to focus on this issue at even greater depth. The administration's reasoning for the necessity of this project is two-fold, according to public statements released by Pat Calabria, director of Public Relations for Stony Brook University, and other administrators. One reason that has been cited is the high occurrence of traffic accidents at that intersection. The second reason is that the money which will fund this project is derived from the New York State capital budget; money which they claim cannot be used for academic purposes.

If this is the case, a lot of unanswered questions remain. Currently, conditions on campus for drivers and pedestrians alike are atrocious, at best. Huge potholes, narrow roads, badly-paved, damaged or non-existant pedestrian paths, poor lighting, inadequate and slow bus service on old buses, dangerous blind curves, inadequate sign-posting and markings on the pavement, and the ridiculous lack of easily accessible parking spaces on a campus where over half the students commute are all issues which in the recent past have not been addressed, and which seemingly remain unaddressed under the current plan put forth by the administration.

To further clarify, here are some examples: Circle Road, at its intersections with Engineering Drive and outside of Kelly Quad, as well as the intersection outside the main administration parking lot by the Wang Center, are all extremely dangerous. Drivers routinely ignore the all-way stop signs at these intersections, and since these intersections also include bus stops and a high pedestrian volume, the danger of a serious or fatal accident is high. Why traffic lights have not been installed at any of these intersections is a good question that has yet to be answered. A year or so ago, Marburger Drive and parts of Circle Road were repaved. Literally within weeks, parts of the pavement had already begun to cave in, and after a rough winter, the streets are littered with potholes, which are often unavoidable to drivers due to the narrow lanes on campus roads. Engineering Drive is another shining example of the atrocious road conditions on campus; a drive down this road resembles a free massage more than anything else.

On the topic of narrow roads, this is no more evident than on the heavily-frequented Stadium Road, where a 90-degree blind curve (which, in addition, is also badly lit, as the street lights in that area have not been operational in many months), imperils drivers and pedestrians alike. Engineering Drive once again also serves as a great example, as it is a narrow, winding two-way road with no sidewalk, which is heavily used by students walking to and from Tabler Quad to their classes. With the lack of a paved sidewalk, students often find themselves walking in the middle of the narrow street, putting lives again at risk. This is also the case by the West Apartments.

Pedestrian pavements across campus are increasingly in terrible shape as well. These pavements obviously were not constructed with the need to accomodate heavy vehicles such as snow plows in mind, which has lead to the erosion or collapse of many of these paths across campus, leaving dirt, mud, and mounds of shoveled snow and grass in their place. That is, when the paths are shoveled. Many students, especially residents of the "outer" quads, such as H-Quad or Tabler, have to cope with paths that are not shoveled after a heavy snowfall, or worse yet, are inadequately shoveled, and not salted, leaving an icy trail of death behind. And when snow plows finally do reach these paths, quite often, the paths themselves are damaged to the point where they must be repaved, and damage is often created to the surrounding greenery as well. Additionally, poor or non-existant lighting endangers pedestrians walking alone at night, and has allegedly played a role in at least one recent rape on campus, last year, by Kelly Quad (after which seemingly no attempts were made to increase the lighting in that area).

The fact also remains that Stony Brook is a commuter school, a trend which does not promise to change anytime soon. In a school where over 6,000 undergraduates are commuters, there is a woefully inadequate amount of parking spaces available, where there very well could be. Existing parking lots currently find themselves badly signposted and designated, allowing certain inconsiderate commuters to take up two (or more) valuable spaces. Ridiculous parking and traffic regulations (such as not allowing parking on the inner island of the Administration Loop or on the side street to the east of the Union), artificially reduce the amount of spaces available on campus. Most importantly, though, parking lots such as the large faculty lot by the Earth & Space Sciences building, or the Stadium Lot, could be converted to multi-level lots, such as the one by the Administration building, which would enable many times more automobiles in the same amount of space. Certainly, such a project would be a much better use of money from the capital budget than the knocking down of trees by the main entrance, not to mention the reduction in traffic and emissions that would result from drivers being able to quickly and easily find a parking space instead of touring around campus in search of a place to park, or waiting in the freezing cold, rain, or heat for a slow, dirty, unreliable campus bus to make its way from the South P-Lot to campus. Such a project would also enable more buses to be put to use serving the resident students of campus, eliminating the need for 15-30 minute waits, and the confusion over the difference between the "North" and "South" lines. Additional parking spaces would also eliminate ridiculous, absurd situations such as the campus infirmary not having a visitor parking of its own (visitors who park behind the infirmary are at risk of being ticketed for parking in the "Stadium Lot," even though there is no sign present that designates those spaces as such).

Finally, as a state institution, our university could certainly use its lobbying muscle to truly make Nicolls Road and its intersections with campus roadways safer. How about better synchronizing the traffic lights, so that cars leaving the North Entrance and cars heading towards the North Entrance from Sheep Pasture Road don't literally speed towards each other? How about adding street lights on Nicolls Road, which is pitch-dark at night? How about resurfacing the entrances so that drivers don't get an engine-rattling greeting when entering campus? And how about ensuring that after major snowstorms, such as the surprise icestorm which hit our area in early March, on campus roads, as well as Nicolls Road, are cleared and salted, and safe to drive on, and a campus evacuation plan that doesn't cause three hour-long traffic jams be implemented? Certainly, it is within the power of administration to do these things.

Campus officials have attempted to take the high road, by claiming that the reconstruction of the main entrance would reduce traffic accidents and make it "less confusing" for drivers, without any credible statistics having been presented to the campus press, or students, faculty or staff, to prove these assertions, while other problem areas are roundly ignored. What is truly unfortunate about this situation is that campus officials, by not opening a direct line of communication with the students, faculty and staff who use this campus day in an day out, are either unaware or completely oblivious to these problems. This is a situation that would truly have been avoidable, if only campus officials had listened, instead of maintaining the arrogant stance which they have held up until now. It should also be mentioned that the reconstruction plan goes hand in hand with plans to construct a multi-level hotel by the main entrance, a plan which has been vehemently opposed by local residents, and which at best enjoys lukewarm support among students, and which would bring even more traffic, cut down more trees, and take even more funds away from the aforementioned problems as well as acedemic and other services for students, despite the possibility of creating some new jobs. Like the reconstruction plan for the main roadway, the plan for the hotel has also been largely kept under wraps by our ever-transparent administration.

Even if the administration's plan did not include any environmental damage or the construction of a new hotel, the fact that the backbone of this campus, its students, were and still are completely shut out of the picture and that true, pressing problems were totally ignored, paints a grim picture of the state of affairs on campus. Such actions do nothing to foster school spirit, pride, and understanding but do everything to foster discontent and mistrust between the administration and the student body.

Related Documents:
Statement From University  Senate President Brent Lindquist
Response to Lindquist's Statement by Dr. Robert Aller

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