2008 Woodie Awards
Potential new road may disturb environment
Faith Kirk
Issue date: 11/2/04 Section: News
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A traffic assessment report, submitted to the West Chester Regional Planning Commission at a public meeting last Tuesday, recommended not building the proposed university access road through West Chester University?s Gordon Natural Area.
The road had been proposed as one option to address local concerns about increased traffic on Rosedale Avenue. Instead of the university access road, which would have run between New Street and High Street through the Gordon Natural Area, the report recommends expanding three interchanges on Rosedale Avenue to include right and left turning lanes.
Mark Mixner, Vice President of WCU, said that the university would only consider building an access road through the Gordon Natural Area if it fulfilled the following conditions: addressed a compelling need, met that need, there were no other viable alternatives and there was a regional consensus. "The university is aware of the value of the Gordon Area," Mixner said. "At the same time, we feel we have to be a partner in addressing regional issues."
The WCU Earth Group issued a statement about the meeting and said, "We are very pleased with how Tuesday?s meeting went and will continue to take whatever actions are necessary to prevent the building of a road through the Gordon Natural Area. Along with the Earth Group, more than 60 people came to the meeting to show support for the preservation of the area, including faculty and students of WCU, students and teachers from the Ecology Club at Henderson High School and Friends of the Gordon Natural Area, a group of concerned local residents.
Although a one-lane road used for university vehicles and maintenance facilities currently runs through the Gordon Natural Area, the proposed building of a public access road through the area has sparked recent controversy. Composed of 155 acres of undisturbed woodland on the WCU campus, the area is used primarily for environmental studies programs. Proponents of preserving the area say that building a road would disturb the continuous forest canopy that is crucial to maintain the woodland ecosystem. Laura Dossantos, a WCU student, said, "It?s so important to have hands-on learning and without the Gordon Area, there aren?t as many places we can do that."
The road had been proposed as one option to address local concerns about increased traffic on Rosedale Avenue. Instead of the university access road, which would have run between New Street and High Street through the Gordon Natural Area, the report recommends expanding three interchanges on Rosedale Avenue to include right and left turning lanes.
Mark Mixner, Vice President of WCU, said that the university would only consider building an access road through the Gordon Natural Area if it fulfilled the following conditions: addressed a compelling need, met that need, there were no other viable alternatives and there was a regional consensus. "The university is aware of the value of the Gordon Area," Mixner said. "At the same time, we feel we have to be a partner in addressing regional issues."
The WCU Earth Group issued a statement about the meeting and said, "We are very pleased with how Tuesday?s meeting went and will continue to take whatever actions are necessary to prevent the building of a road through the Gordon Natural Area. Along with the Earth Group, more than 60 people came to the meeting to show support for the preservation of the area, including faculty and students of WCU, students and teachers from the Ecology Club at Henderson High School and Friends of the Gordon Natural Area, a group of concerned local residents.
Although a one-lane road used for university vehicles and maintenance facilities currently runs through the Gordon Natural Area, the proposed building of a public access road through the area has sparked recent controversy. Composed of 155 acres of undisturbed woodland on the WCU campus, the area is used primarily for environmental studies programs. Proponents of preserving the area say that building a road would disturb the continuous forest canopy that is crucial to maintain the woodland ecosystem. Laura Dossantos, a WCU student, said, "It?s so important to have hands-on learning and without the Gordon Area, there aren?t as many places we can do that."
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