New sidewalks, driving routes on Packer campus could enhance student safety

The lack of sidewalks available for pedestrians on parts of Lehigh’s campus — most notably on “The Hill” — have sparked safety concerns among students who frequently travel from lower campus to their homes in that area.

According to Gary Falasca, director of facilities, although the Campus Master Plan addresses the need for more sidewalks in certain parts of campus, it is more of a guideline as opposed to a specific blueprint.

Falasca said the suggested sidewalks were being evaluated before the associate vice president of facilities left Lehigh, and will be re-evaluated once the seat is filled.

“There are certainly areas on the Packer Campus that would benefit from additional walkways and crosswalks,” Falasca wrote in an email to The Brown and White. “Lehigh has made a concerted effort for the past 10 years to return the heart of the Packer Campus to a car-free zone, resulting in the network of pedestrian walks that exist today.

“Moving forward, it is intended to continue this pattern into the future, although no specific time frame has been established.”

Some improvements have been made since the past academic year. For example, a walkway was built between the Sayre Park “A” building parking lot to the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority chapter house. Previously, chapter members had to walk up and down the grassy hill or walk along the street near Alpha Chi Omega’s sorority house to access the facility.

“In the wintertime people would slide down (the path),” said Stephanie Cook, ’17, who lives in Zeta Tau Alpha. “A couple of girls sprained their ankle, and I know one girl now has to get surgery.”

She also mentioned that having a path is beneficial because when it snows during the winter months, the snow and ice can be cleared.

Other student concerns include the fear of being hit by vehicles when walking down the hill to lower campus. The concern is especially focused on a particular crosswalk between Pi Beta Phi sorority chapter house and House 104.

“(Cars) fly through that crosswalk,” said Robert Marchionni, ’17, resident of Sayre Park “A.” “Of course you can’t put a sidewalk there, but I always feel like I’m going to get hit there. They could at least put a sidewalk before it gets to the crossing part.”

Cook said that when she walks down to the Pi Phi bus stop, she is forced to walk along roads because of the lack of sidewalks.

“Not that many cars go on, but walking on the street probably isn’t the safest,” Cook said.

Another measure mentioned in the master plan that is being discussed is the concept of a “One-way Multimodal Loop.” This would make sections of Sayre Park Road into one-way streets, allowing for the extra space to be converted into sidewalks for pedestrians and cyclists.

“There is still an on-going debate on the value of the one-way Sayre Park loop, but Lehigh will continue to investigate means to make pedestrians safe from vehicle conflicts,” Falasca said. “This may include additional crosswalks, improved lighting and traffic control elements such as stop signs and speed bumps.”

The Master Plan also highlights other areas that are major pedestrian paths that need improvement. The most notable one is the stretch of road between the Hill and Mountaintop campus.