Building bridges

Although UNC students have voiced opposition to building a pedestrian bridge on campus since its proposal one year ago, the Board of Trustees is still planning to consider all data with a careful eye.

In April, the capital projects committee of UNC student government compiled a 41-page document that reported the responses received in November from a campuswide student poll about the bridge, but the Jones Administration hadn’t acted on the report, leaving it to her successor to present to the board.

The board will not discuss the report unless it is formally brought forth by a member.

In the survey, nearly nine out of 10 students stated that the South Road bridge is not a worthwhile investment.

“It’s just a bridge, but people are up in arms about it,” said Student Body Secretary Ian Lee, co-writer of the report ?and co-chairman of the capital projects committee.

Bob Winston III, chairman of the Board of Trustees, said this was the first time students had created a survey about any construction project at the University.

A majority of those surveyed voted that they believe the bridge would be a waste of funding, an unattractive addition to the heart of campus and an inappropriate way to increase traffic flow on South Road. More than 1,300 students responded to the survey. Despite such student disapproval, the board will still consider the plan.

“It’s hard for people who aren’t involved in a day-to-day basis to have a perspective about this thing,” Winston said.

“If someone says I don’t think it looks pretty, I don’t like the look, that’s fine. Everyone has an opinion,” he said.

Estimates for the cost of the bridge range between $8 million and $9 million. The report states that the bridge would likely take a decade to complete.

“I don’t know if people in college know what construction costs for these kind of things,” Winston said.

The bridge would potentially span from the southwest corner of the Student Recreation Center to the section of the Pit between Student Stores and the Undergraduate Library.

The site of the bridge was approved by the board in July 2009. Jasmin Jones, then-student body president, was the only voice on the board who voted against it.

Winston said the report has been read by the board, which will consider it along with other reports.

He said the cost of someone getting hurt while crossing the road greatly outweighs any monetary cost of the bridge.

“Pedestrian safety is something that arises out of a common misunderstanding between motorists and pedestrians,” said Randy Young, spokesman for the UNC Department of Public Safety.

“A smoother stream of traffic across a pedestrian bridge would eliminate those misunderstandings and eliminate the stop-and-go of traffic.”

Construction of the bridge depends on the ability to acquire funding, Winston said.

“I think everyone is very familiar with the situation we all face,” he said. “It’s not likely to be a near-term list.”

Regardless, Lee urges students to stay informed about the possible bridge construction.

“It’s really important that students stay on the issue so the administrators keep referring back to who’s actually going to be using the bridge,” Lee said.

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.