Blue fences were raised last month around Mohonk Avenue East and Wooster Parking Lot 21 as construction began on the “Mohonk Walk.”
The current construction projects are tied to the work on the Hasbrouck Quad, with both projects totaling over $11 million. The Mohonk Walk construction is expected to be completed by the summer of 2013.
John McEnrue, director of facilities, design & construction, said the Mohonk Walk will be an east-west axis that will improve accessibility from Route 32 to the main quadrangle and concourse.
After the completion of the walk, McEnrue said, the focus of the renovations will be shifted toward creating a, “more sustainable, low maintenance environment.” They hope to work toward developing a natural edge to the pond and continue making improvements to the campus drives walkways.
Although the project will eventually improve travel on campus, some students are more focused on the short-term implications, as parking and foot travel have been disrupted on the north end of campus.
“I used to park in the handicap spaces right outside of the Haggerty Administration Building [HAB],” Christina Holzberger, fourth-year visual arts major, said. “I’ve been trying to use the circle parking lot by Old Main, but it’s been filling up more quickly since the construction.”
Holzberger suffers from a bone disease known as osteochondromatosis, making it hard for her to get around on campus.
“Even just from a walking standpoint, if I have to go from Old Library to Smiley I have to walk all the way down and around instead of being able to cut through the parking lot which is much quicker,” Holzberger said.
Other students try to focus on the benefits of the construction.
“I think [the walkway] will add to the campus and make it seem less like a concrete jungle,” Jennaleigh Fish, third-year psychology graduate student, said.
Fish is another commuter whose regular parking spot has also been taken up by the construction. She said she doesn’t really mind the construction and welcomes the added exercise from walking between campus and the parking lots by Shango Hall.
McEnrue said certain changes will “frame” the scenic view.
“The walk will include seating elements as well as a double row of trees which will help to frame the famous view of the Mohonk Lodge in the Shawangunk Mountains,” he said.