Faculty assail state's Purple Line plan
Nathan Cohen
Issue date: 11/13/07 Section: News
By Nathan Cohen
Staff writer
University senators yesterday blasted the state's plan to run a light-rail train down Campus Drive, using rhetoric that appeared to rally behind university President Dan Mote's opposition to the plan.
Faculty and student senators raised concerns that the trolley-like trains that the Maryland Transit Administration would send through the campus would hit pedestrians, clutter the campus' landscape and disrupt their research experiments as the trains vibrated along the rails.
Although the senate declined to take a formal position on the plan this year, the faculty senators' comments raised the profile of what has already developed into a conflict over the future of regional transit. The fundamental disagreement is over whether the rail planned to connect area Metro stations should travel along the state's preferred Campus Drive or Stadium Drive.
Graduate students have already announced support for the Campus Drive alignment because of its easy access to Stamp Student Union and its more direct route; the Student Government Association has not announced plans to take a position on the matter.
History professor Gay Gullickson made it clear at yesterday's meeting where he stands on the issue.
"If the light rail comes to campus it will fundamentally change the ambiance," Gullickson said. "We compete with university students at our peer institutions. I don't think we'll compete well."
While the trains would run at 16 mph on the campus, Mote has said the Purple Line would pose a threat to pedestrians on Campus Drive and has instead supported a line that would bring it down Stadium Drive, where there is less foot traffic.
Senate Chair William Montgomery steered the issue away from a formal vote, but Kenneth Holum, a history professor set to become Senate Chair next year, said he would like to see the senate make a recommendation when he takes over.
The university administration, historically, has followed the senate's recommendations, and Holum was among the majority of senators who sided with the administration's stance on the project.
Staff writer
University senators yesterday blasted the state's plan to run a light-rail train down Campus Drive, using rhetoric that appeared to rally behind university President Dan Mote's opposition to the plan.
Faculty and student senators raised concerns that the trolley-like trains that the Maryland Transit Administration would send through the campus would hit pedestrians, clutter the campus' landscape and disrupt their research experiments as the trains vibrated along the rails.
Although the senate declined to take a formal position on the plan this year, the faculty senators' comments raised the profile of what has already developed into a conflict over the future of regional transit. The fundamental disagreement is over whether the rail planned to connect area Metro stations should travel along the state's preferred Campus Drive or Stadium Drive.
Graduate students have already announced support for the Campus Drive alignment because of its easy access to Stamp Student Union and its more direct route; the Student Government Association has not announced plans to take a position on the matter.
History professor Gay Gullickson made it clear at yesterday's meeting where he stands on the issue.
"If the light rail comes to campus it will fundamentally change the ambiance," Gullickson said. "We compete with university students at our peer institutions. I don't think we'll compete well."
While the trains would run at 16 mph on the campus, Mote has said the Purple Line would pose a threat to pedestrians on Campus Drive and has instead supported a line that would bring it down Stadium Drive, where there is less foot traffic.
Senate Chair William Montgomery steered the issue away from a formal vote, but Kenneth Holum, a history professor set to become Senate Chair next year, said he would like to see the senate make a recommendation when he takes over.
The university administration, historically, has followed the senate's recommendations, and Holum was among the majority of senators who sided with the administration's stance on the project.
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Aaron
posted 11/15/07 @ 2:02 PM EST
I can't understand how educated people continue to fear the prospect of the light rail line moving through central campus. Many European cities have dense urban streetscapes with trams running through the streets, all the while maintaining a safe & vibrant pedestrian environment. (Continued…)
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