The Bureau of Buildings will begin a bid opening for improvements on Drill Field sidewalks Tuesday.
If bids come in, the Bureau of Buildings will award funds to the sidewalk project, said vice president for finance and administration Ray Hayes.
“The whole campus is becoming much more pedestrian. Students are much more sensitive to the issue of gas prices and being good stewards to the environment,” Hayes said.
“Our campus is an old campus, and there are lots of beautiful trees whose roots push up under the sidewalks,” said director of student support services Julie Berry. Disabled students are the ones who are most affected by the old and uneven sidewalks, she said.
Along with torn-up sidewalks, the recent construction has also been a problem for disabled students, Berry said. Sometimes certain campus sidewalks will be closed to pedestrians due to construction in the area, she said.
“It’s especially hard for students with visual impairments, but they are very understanding, and we try to let them know [when and where sidewalks will be closed off],” she added.
Hayes said there is always a need for new and improved sidewalks. Students have also expressed a need for more bicycle racks and an expanded shuttle system, he said.
Sidewalks need to be improved because of deterioration over the years, director of facilities management Jim Jones said.
Blake Watson, president of United Students, said there is room for improvement on campus sidewalks. “There are some places where there are crosswalks but no ramps or curb cuts,” he said.
Watson, a disabled student who gets around in a wheelchair, said the sidewalk he always avoids on campus is the one made out of bricks between Lee Hall and the Union.
Berry said sidewalk conditions are improving. Campus sidewalks are becoming more accessible with the addition of curb cuts, she said.
If approved by the Bureau of Buildings, the Drill Field project will be worked on in stages so that the entire Drill Field will not be closed off completely at one time, Hayes said.