Students oppose pedestrian bridge over South Road

Students voiced opposition and frustration toward the proposed pedestrian bridge over South Road at two forums hosted this week by student government’s capital projects committee.

While administrators spoke about the increased safety and accessibility that the bridge would bring, most students at the forums questioned its worth. Student Body President Jasmin Jones has been a vocal opponent of the proposal at the administrative level.

“Do we just ride the wave because we’ve been riding it for so long? I just wonder if this is the best investment for our money,” Jones said at Thursday night’s forum.

The committee held the forums to gather information in hopes of affecting the administration’s thoughts about the project.

Debate over the bridge, which would span the distance between the southwest corner of the Student Recreation Center and the area between Student Stores and Undergraduate Library, began when the Board of Trustees voted to approve the site in July. Jones then entrusted the capital projects committee with further exploring the topic.

“We represent the students, but we can’t do that unless we know what the students are thinking,” said committee co-chairman Ian Lee. “So the goal is to judge what their opinion is.”

The sessions consisted of a presentation, an opportunity for students to view a model of the bridge and a question-and-answer session with members of the administration who are involved in the planning efforts. Between the two forums, about 30 students attended.

One of the biggest concerns students voiced was the project’s cost, which recently rose from an estimated $8 million to $9 million.

“There have been a lot of misinformation and rumors going around about the project, especially the funding,” Lee said.

Administrators stressed that money for the bridge would be paid from an account designated specifically for pedestrian safety improvements and would not come from tuition. Still, many students question the worth of the bridge at that price tag.

“Some students recognize that this idea makes sense, but they also think that this shouldn’t be our priority right now,” said Student Body Vice President David Bevevino.

Other students at the forums said they felt crossing South Road, where crossing guards direct traffic during peak hours, is relatively safe compared to other campus streets such as Manning Drive on South Campus, Lee said.

Administrators said the project would help improve mobility on campus and provide improved access for handicapped students by creating an easy route between South Campus and the Pit.

“It’s the last link,” said Anna Wu, director of facilities planning and University architect.

The capital projects committee also is conducting an online survey to gauge student reaction, which has received more than 1,000 responses so far. More than 80 percent have included text comments. Lee said he was unable to comment on the results of the survey because it will be available for students to take for another week.

The committee will take the data from the survey as well as input from the forums and compile a report. But Lee said the report will not have a direct role in the University’s decision.

“All we can do is really show how the students feel,” Lee said. “We want to be able to say to the administration, ‘We’ve had students talk about it, we have the results of this survey, this is what we think.’”

While the site of the bridge was officially approved by the board, plans for the design are not yet finalized, and the project is still in the planning stages. The University is also considering building a second bridge over South Road within the next 10 to 15 years to span between Coker Hall and Caudill Laboratories. Funding problems have also delayed this proposal.

“This is clearly remaining a priority with the administration, but the lack of funding means it isn’t going anywhere right now,” Bevevino said.



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.