The Colby Echo

Issue date: 3/9/07 Section: News & Features

Media Credit: Rob Kievit

With over seventy classes meeting in the new Diamond Building on the Colby Green, across from the main academic quad on the other side of Mayflower Hill Drive, student foot traffic to the building is considerable. Currently, students and professors making their way from the main academic quad and residence halls are traveling along the access road behind the Lovejoy Building, where there is little room for pedestrians.

"We obviously know that we need to do something with that strip, it is on the agenda," Administrative Vice President Doug Terp said, referring to a lane that has been created alongside the Lovejoy-side of the street for walkers.

Currently, Security officers place orange cones on the road to designate the pedestrian lane, and portable signs are put on Mayflower Hill Drive to indicate crosswalks during peak volume.

While it was initially intended that students would use pathways from the academic quad that connect to the Colby Green, the road has become the path of choice. Furthermore, pathways from Diamond lead directly to the intersection of Mayflower Hill Drive and the Lovejoy road.

"As we collectively adjust to the new traffic patterns I would ask that you exercise extra caution to ensure safe foot traffic to and from the Diamond Building," Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Jim Terhune wrote in a Feb. 7 e-mail to all students. "In particular, pedestrians are urged to use the sidewalks on the Lovejoy side of the academic quad whenever possible and to limit the use of Cotter Road as a venue for foot traffic."

Terp said that initially administrators planned to address pedestrian traffic issues concerning campus renovations when the Pulver Pavilion expansion to Cotter Union (slated to open in September of 2007) is finished. However, now that a new bookstore project has been added to the docket, it will be a few more years before sidewalks in that area of campus can be finalized, due to what will be ongoing construction. Furthermore, the College is waiting to hear from the Maine Department of Transportation if alterations to Mayflower Hill Drive will be a part of their next budget; that will also play a role in the future landscaping.

Until then, administrators ask that students exercise caution both when crossing the road and when operating a motor vehicle in the vicinity.

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