UMass Amherst Plans Pedestrian-Only Zones in Effort to Improve Safety on Walkways

March 27, 2008

Contact:

Ed Blaguszewski 413/545-0444

AMHERST, Mass. – Certain areas of the core of the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus will be limited to pedestrians, and service vehicles will be barred from those zones starting April 6, according to Pat Daly, director of physical plant.

Pedestrian ways will be clearly marked with signs and alternative routes for service vehicles will be identified, he said. The UMass Police Department will enforce the pedestrian-only rules, which are intended to improve safety on walkways.

Daly said the first areas of campus to be designated as pedestrian-only are the walkway from the Whitmore ramp to the Du Bois Library; the area from the Parking Garage traffic circle to North Pleasant Street; the courtyard between the Lederle Graduate Research Center and the Conte Polymer Research Center, and the plaza on the south side of Lederle GRC.

Daly said an informational campaign is in progress and will continue through the implementation of the pedestrian-only areas. Campus maps designating the restricted areas are being circulated, and current and new off-campus vendors and service companies are being informed of the changes, he said.

During the initial few weeks of the implementation, UMass Police officers will assist in the educational effort by issuing warning citations to first-time offenders who drive on restricted walkways. Thereafter, moving violations will be issued to operators, said Daly.

Any vehicle that must enter restricted areas to accomplish university business will need to make arrangements with UMPD prior to driving into the restricted areas. The only exceptions are emergency vehicles, including fire, ambulance, police and Physical Plant vehicles for snow removal or utility outages.

Daly said the policy is guided by the Campus Landscape Improvement Project (CLIP), which is aimed at improving walkways and outdoor meeting areas, unifying the campus’ diverse architecture, improving the appearance, durability and maintainability of landscape materials, and mitigating the impacts of parking on campus.

The physical plant director is responsible for periodically convening representatives from the police department, facilities and campus planning, transit services and other departments to identify areas limited to pedestrian use and to develop a system for vehicular access to buildings outside those pathways. The group also reviews implementation concerns for previously designated pedestrian-only areas.

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More Information

PowerPoint presentation on pedestrian-only policy

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