Crazy Talk
Today I recieved an email from Rutgers President Richard McCormick outlining improvements on the College Avenue Campus of New Brunswick. I assume he courteously sent this to me since I'm an alumni, not because I live in the city. In either case, the email directed me to a website discussing the Rutgers master plan. At first glance, it seems an innovative approach to solving many of rutgers problems from campus image to transportation to housing. But take a closer look and the plan lacks a basic understanding of reality.
So we're going to make some suggestions:
Newark And Camden
Stop pissing away money on these hell holes. No one "chooses" to go to either of these campuses. Students "end up" here. Wasting precious dollars to spruce up these urban hell zones is never going to get anyone anywhere.
Buses
Until the President of Rutgers rides them daily, nothing will be fixed. Former president Lawrence had of course been chastized for his use of a Rutgers Police escort to take him around. There are no rumors yet of McCormick doing this sort of thing, but then again, there are no rumors of McCormick walking around the campus with students like former President Mason Gross.
For starters, Rutgers needs to do what the savvy student drivers do: cut down Suydam street to get between Douglass and College Ave. Essentially the Suydam / French Street connection runs parralell to the College Ave / George Street route, except there is less traffic. In addition, a permenant bus line running several blocks farther from campus would extend the radius where students could live off campus, further relieving the burden of the local housing market and of rutgers to build more dormitories.
Currently, many of these properties are too far for students to walk [or walk safely] to campus. But the bus line would change that. The added advantage would be that these less reputable neighborhoods of New Brunswick would face added pressure to be cleaned up and revitalized. Revitalizing of these neighborhoods is already on the New Brunswick radar as the council this past week resolution rezoning much of the corridor.
Staggering class schedules and changing bus routes might help in the short term but ultimately is not a solution. A Monorail would solve many problems. First, it could be automated like at Newark Airport or Las Vegas so students would never be stranded on a campus late nights. Second, monorails are elevated so no matter how bad street traffic is, they can keep going on time. This is why monorails are superior to the proposed light rail link through downtown New Brunswick. Finally, monorail cars could higher capacities than Buses ever could.
Build Up
Part of the problem at Rutgers is the lack of space, whether academic, administrative, living quarters, or parking. The school has sprawled across much of its property, both in new brunswick and in Piscataway campuses in short two and three story buildings. [Admittedly, the Bishop Quad is supposedly under deed restrictions that the buildings could not be taller than the Bishop House]. However, Rutgers needs to build up and fast to maximize the value of their land holdings. Certainly many of their plans call for this already, but we're certain Rutgers will screw it up somehow.
Rutgers has some serious growing pains. While McCormick's plan at least recognizes the problems [Fran Lawrence's administration for instance denied there were transportation troubles and housing shortages], whether or not McCormick is able to solve any of them is yet to be seen. In anycase, as someone pointed out, none of us are going to recognize this city in a decade.
So we're going to make some suggestions:
Newark And Camden
Stop pissing away money on these hell holes. No one "chooses" to go to either of these campuses. Students "end up" here. Wasting precious dollars to spruce up these urban hell zones is never going to get anyone anywhere.
Buses
Until the President of Rutgers rides them daily, nothing will be fixed. Former president Lawrence had of course been chastized for his use of a Rutgers Police escort to take him around. There are no rumors yet of McCormick doing this sort of thing, but then again, there are no rumors of McCormick walking around the campus with students like former President Mason Gross.
For starters, Rutgers needs to do what the savvy student drivers do: cut down Suydam street to get between Douglass and College Ave. Essentially the Suydam / French Street connection runs parralell to the College Ave / George Street route, except there is less traffic. In addition, a permenant bus line running several blocks farther from campus would extend the radius where students could live off campus, further relieving the burden of the local housing market and of rutgers to build more dormitories.
Currently, many of these properties are too far for students to walk [or walk safely] to campus. But the bus line would change that. The added advantage would be that these less reputable neighborhoods of New Brunswick would face added pressure to be cleaned up and revitalized. Revitalizing of these neighborhoods is already on the New Brunswick radar as the council this past week resolution rezoning much of the corridor.
Staggering class schedules and changing bus routes might help in the short term but ultimately is not a solution. A Monorail would solve many problems. First, it could be automated like at Newark Airport or Las Vegas so students would never be stranded on a campus late nights. Second, monorails are elevated so no matter how bad street traffic is, they can keep going on time. This is why monorails are superior to the proposed light rail link through downtown New Brunswick. Finally, monorail cars could higher capacities than Buses ever could.
Build Up
Part of the problem at Rutgers is the lack of space, whether academic, administrative, living quarters, or parking. The school has sprawled across much of its property, both in new brunswick and in Piscataway campuses in short two and three story buildings. [Admittedly, the Bishop Quad is supposedly under deed restrictions that the buildings could not be taller than the Bishop House]. However, Rutgers needs to build up and fast to maximize the value of their land holdings. Certainly many of their plans call for this already, but we're certain Rutgers will screw it up somehow.
Rutgers has some serious growing pains. While McCormick's plan at least recognizes the problems [Fran Lawrence's administration for instance denied there were transportation troubles and housing shortages], whether or not McCormick is able to solve any of them is yet to be seen. In anycase, as someone pointed out, none of us are going to recognize this city in a decade.
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