This summer, the university will vastly improve the seldom-noticed Riverside Park. While the improvements will beautify the campus, the changes will adversely affect the students if precaution is not taken.
Close to 100 parking spaces will be eliminated from Wilson Boulevard, making the current parking crisis even worse. The complete elimination of the frequently-used overflow lot is irresponsible and unfair to students.
An open dialogue needs to be established with students as quickly as possible, so that issues such as parking enforcement and availability of spaces will finally be resolved. If these issues are addressed over the summer, students will come back to a much improved campus.
One of the major changes that will most directly affect students is the linkage of the north and south parts of Wilson Boulevard. This will make traveling through campus much easier.
It will also become safer with the addition of a stop sign at the intersection with Intercampus Drive and two raised pedestrian walkways. Both improvements address dangerous problems that have gone unaddressed far too long.
Additionally, more than an acre of green space will be added to the park and the view of the river will increase. All of these amenities will encourage visitors and students to utilize the park more.
The improvement of the area by the pedestrian bridge, in conjunction with The Rochester Project will help bring residents of Rochester to the campus, and help encourage students to interact more with the surrounding community.
These features will help Riverside Park meet its full potential, but they will be overshadowed if UR does not address the parking issues the improvments will exacerbate.
