Andrew ODellIn order to make room for a new MetroLink line closer to the Washington University campus, Forest Park Parkway has been under construction for the past few months and will continue to be so for at least the next year.
The Parkway is a major road used to get to the University and around the area, and its closure is already leading to detours and reroutings. One concern is the inconvenience that freshmen, upperclassmen and their families will experience in August due to the road’s current status.
Steve Hoffner, vice chancellor for students, is optimistic about orientation, however.
“There shouldn’t be any interruptions from the Metrolink for freshmen moving into the South 40,” he said.
One reason is that students can use Snow Way in lieu of Forest Park Parkway.
Kathy Farrol, a communications representative for the Metro, which operates Metrolink, said that she was confident that freshmen would have few problems when it comes time to move in.
“We’ve worked closely with the University to maintain as much access as we can,” she said. “I think with a little preplanning, and a good job keeping in communication with the freshmen, I think we should all get through this with a minimum of hassle.”
In order to get around main campus, a temporary one-way road on the south side of Forest Park Parkway between Skinker and Big Bend is open.
At the outset of construction, a ceremony was held in April at the University’s West Campus parking lot to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Forest Park-to-Shrewsbury Metrolink line. This initiated a string of short-term nuisances for those accustomed to using the road during their everyday driving routine. The construction of the new line means a partial to full shutdown of Forest Park Parkway until the summer of 2005. The end result, though, promises the benefits of convenient transportation.
Hoffner pointed out that the potential advantages of the new Metrolink line should outweigh the costs.
“For the next couple of years there will be a lot of disturbances and construction on campus,” said Hoffner. “But in the long run, the Metrolink expansion will be of great benefit to the university community. It will open up the region to students in terms of exposing them to more of what St. Louis has to offer. It will also provide students with new volunteer and internship opportunities, and provide low-cost transportation between our campuses.”
The line is expected to open in March 2006.
“It’s a little early in the project, but we’re on schedule,” said Farrol. “We’re still hiring contractors, but for a project that is due to finish in 2006, we are right on schedule.”
Opponents of the new line claim that it will not serve people dependent on the transit. They also say that the agency running Metro, the Bi-State Development Agency, should not have borrowed $419 million to pay for the line. The reasoning behind this is that this loan will lead to money problems and, consequently, further cuts in bus service.
Others, such as the “Concerned Citizens Coalition,” are angered by the low representation of minority subcontractors. They cite that five percent of the work has been given to African-American subcontractors, while 10 to 15% has been given to female-owned firms. These individuals have been petitioning both MetroLink and the local government for the past year and hope to halt the building of the line until changes are made in the current hiring practices.