Golding said the flow of student traffic changed once the new Baker Center opened, but Hollow claims it’s always been busy.
To the Editor,
In Monday's op-ed piece, "Master Planning considering non-residential use of 29 Park Place," Vice President for Finance Stephen Golding posed two questions. 1) What is an appropriate residence for an OU president? 2) What is the best use of Park Place?
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In answering, Golding referred to a 2014 report to the trustees whose author "observed" that the new Baker Center had "fundamentally changed the migration patterns of students," turning Park Place from a residential street into "a major transportation corridor." Apparently the trustees agreed: Park Place is too busy and too close to students and residents to serve as the home of an OU president. Rather, it is much more appropriate for administrative offices or a student commons.
I was not convinced. What is the actual evidence that traffic on Park Place has "fundamentally changed the migration patterns of students?" Is there data to support the observation? I moved to Athens in 1968, long before the existence of the new Baker Center. There were close to 20,000 students (and probably an equal number of locals and visitors) using this route for access to the lower campus and to Court Street. Even then, the street was a useful transportation corridor as well as a charming site for its few residences, including that of President Vernon Alden. If there is increased traffic, perhaps it is the result of the dramatic increase in the number of students attending the university. Perhaps there are now (as it was in 1968) simply more students than the university and the town can comfortably accommodate.
As for other uses for 29 Park Place: Recent letters to the editors of local newspapers indicate that many faculty members and students appreciate and support the use of 29 Park Place as the home of their president. As a former Ohio University employee and as a member of the Athens community, I agree with them. Surely, this university does not need more administrative offices. If it does, then it makes me think the administrative component of the school has grown too large.
As for turning Park Place into a student commons — how exactly could that be accomplished? The street is plotted as a city street. At the moment, Athens' zoning officers are unaware of any agreement between the city and the university that would allow Ohio University unique access to Park Place. As an Athens resident and a frequent user of this valuable traffic route, I would strongly oppose limiting its use. It would not only be monumentally annoying and inconvenient for all drivers, it would limit access to the university itself. Unfortunately, that seems to be the idea behind the Master Plan — keep traffic on the edges, walk. I get it. But with increasingly limited parking, even on the edges, that is not an option for many would-be visitors to campus. In reality, such moves increasingly isolate the university from the community on whose goodwill and support it depends.
Betty Hollow is a former Ohio University employee, an Athens resident and author of The Spirit of a Singular Place, a book about the history of OU. She is also on The Post's Publishing Board.
