I am disappointed that every sidewalk on the core campus has become a roadway. There appears to be no place where one can walk without being confronted by a moving vehicle.

Last Tuesday, while walking to the Science Center at 6 am in the pre-dawn darkness, I rounded a corner near the Greene Building and had to jump off the road to avoid being hit by a large delivery truck going way too fast.

On Wednesday at noontime, I was sandwiched between a Staples delivery truck and an RPI maintenance truck near the dry fountain by the library. Both were moving; the RPI truck did not see that I was there.

Last Friday morning I witnessed—within half a minute of each other—two passenger cars rounding the narrow west end of the football field. They had to jump a curb to continue.

There is endless traffic of cars, delivery trucks, garbage trucks, construction vehicles, public safety vehicles, and shuttle busses that cruise our sidewalks all day and night. Sidewalks must remain safe places for people to walk without needing to dodge motor vehicles, especially in inclement weather. Just last week, a large RPI delivery van met myself and a companion near the dry fountain. I motioned for the driver to wait until we cleared so we would not walk in the mud. I told the driver that this is a sidewalk first and pedestrians have the right of way. His reply was most indignant. To paraphrase, “We can drive here and we’ll keep doing it whether you like it or not.” Dr. Jackson: Is this how you want your employees to treat faculty, students, and visitors to Rensselaer?

This is all not to mention the horrible mess this traffic makes on sidewalks that are too narrow for motor vehicles. Ruts are gouged into the grass on either side and around corners creating a ferociously ugly landscape. Mud is strewn over sidewalks making pedestrian passage difficult and unsafe. Again, Dr. Jackson: Is this the impression you want to give visitors to your campus? Construction projects are no excuse for vehicular traffic to be free to use every pedestrian walkway “whether we like it or not.”

But the ultimate argument is that the public safety is compromised by the Institute’s policy of allowing every sidewalk to become a roadway. Some day someone is going to be struck and injured, and while the pedestrian suffers the pain, the Institute will suffer the liability.

Scott Dwyer ’90