WPI has offered similar proposals twice in the last twenty years. In 1972, the school petitioned the Worcester City Council seeking a 90-day, temporary closing of the street, to determine its impact (Tech News vol. 64, no. 7). A study the previous spring had found out that over fifty percent of the average daily flow of traffic on the street was campus-related. When this was factored along with the 10.7% grade near Alden Hall and over 8,000 pedestrian crossings per day, WPI felt it had a strong case for closing.
Permission for temporary closing was granted, as long as emergency vehicles would be allowed passage if necessary. In the February 5, 1974 issue of Newspeak, Gardner Pierce is noted for saying that many colleges were turning to pedestrian malls to raise the quality of life; to allow all members of the community to get more out of learning and living. (Indeed, in 1967 Clark University was given permission to close a section of Woodland Street.) He also pointed out that many of the buildings on campus, when surrounded by wall-to-wall asphalt are reminiscent of a 19th century rolling mill.
The college is not here merely to turn out educated technologists, but people with a sense of values and social responsibility, which can be accomplished more easily on the campus' (potentially) rolling hills and not in rolling mills.
In the February 19, 1974 issue of Newspeak, the question of replacing the parking spaces which were on West Street, but would be eliminated with its closing, was brought up. The best solution at the time was the creation of remote parking lots with a shuttle service to the campus. But one student brought up the point that with cars becoming smaller and more people car-pooling due to the energy crisis, the spots might not be needed.
On April 16th, the street was temporarily closed and President Hazzard was quoted as saying "this is the first time which WPI has experienced a unified campus." An editorial in the Worcester Telegram on October 5th of that year, supported WPI's petition to close West St. stating that it was "in public interest."
The closing had reduced the number of traffic accidents at the Institute and West intersection and many residents were in favor of the petition (including the Worcester Fire Chief and the Police Department). It seems that the opposition came from the neighborhood and might have been related to not only the closing of West St. but to construction projects which also tied up traffic (these included sewer construction and the moving of Rte. 9 from Salisbury to Highland).
The conclusions from this first trial closing ranged from a consensus that West Street was not vital to traffic flow to a sense of a unified campus and fewer accidents during the closing.
Over ten years later, WPI brought up the proposal again. By bringing up the obvious economic impact which WPI has on the city, President Strauss stated: "What's good for WPI is good for Worcester." Between the submission of the proposal in December of 1986 and the middle of February 1987, enough opposition from the community was felt to withdraw the proposal.
This was seen as a delay to the ultimate goal of a unified campus, a delay which would last until WPI had improved its relations with the community and felt it could proceed.
WPI has undertaken the necessary traffic studies with the assistance of Sasaki Associates, an engineering firm which has worked with many colleges in the United States for various projects. Vice President of Administration, Steve Hebert, stated that although WPI is not at the point where it is ready to submit a petition to close the street, it is being seriously considered.
The general feeling is that this project would improve the appearance of the campus and enhance the quality of the institution. "WPI is totally dependent on its ability to attract the highest quality students, faculty and staff. . .this benefits the city, by enhancing its reputation and adding money to the economy." He mentioned that this would not be a precedent-setting request and that closing West Street would fulfill a dream that the WPI community has had for a long time.
It is currently estimated that there are over ten thousand pedestrian crossings on West Street every day, making safety a larger concern today than twenty years ago. Although the street has yet to see a pedestrian accident, it has frequently been noted that this is due to luck and perhaps some quick thinking on the part of motorists and students.
Any closing of the street would still allow for the passage of emergency vehicles. This could be easily be accomplished by making the area similar to the renovated Freeman Plaza. Keeping the current street passable and putting benches and trees along the sides would improve the area in the center of our campus.
Although it could be argued that such improvements could, technically, take place without the closing of the street, it is doubtful that such an area would be used. As any of the volunteers who took part in the traffic study could tell you, watching traffic can become somewhat dull after a few hours.
In summary, WPI is currently considering a project which would greatly improve the quality of life on campus. This change might cause some of our neighbors to alter their driving patterns in some small ways, but these minor inconveniences would have a positive impact on the city as a whole. During the upcoming weeks, the administration will continue to consider the closing of West Street and will decide not only what is best for WPI, but also what is best for its neighbors.