Maddie Conley, Web Content Manager
-Updated at 3:24 p.m. on 9/15/19-
Starting on Friday, new fences will be added to the center of campus, enlarging the construction zone for the Kim S. Phipps Admissions and Welcome Center, and cutting off more pedestrian walking paths.
The additional fencing will make the path from Boyer to Old Main and the High Center inaccessible. Students and others are encouraged to use the High Center building’s back doors near the Covered Bridge for access to and from central campus.
Updated map of fences (red) and walking paths (blue).
For those going from Starry Parking Lot to central campus, they will now need to cross over the Covered Bridge and use Crestline Drive to access the sidewalk between Hostetter Chapel and Murray Library, said Director of Facility Services Brad Markley in a statement.
The expansion serves two purposes: to meet storm water management compliance and protect the Yellow Breeches from site run off, and to keep staff, students and guests safe, Markley said.
“I know this work will create some inconvenience for some of our students and staff, but the safety fence is going to be constructed in a way to help to prevent anyone from being injured,” Markley said. “We are planning to work through this phase of the project as quickly as possible so that as areas are completed, the fence can move and new walks can be opened.”
However, for some students, the fencing creates a challenge.
“I was really frustrated because a lot of my classes are in the High Center,” said senior Cate Cutting. “It’s going to be a really hard trek.”
She expressed feeling that the college was placing more attention on recruiting students than on the needs of current students. Cutting added that she began her first-year at Messiah inconvenienced by the Fitness Center construction and will now finish her senior year with the Welcome Center construction.
“I don’t want to remember my senior year being mad and frustrated at a building I will never see,” Cutting said.
Markley provided a map with a suggested walking route for students that will be coming from the High Center to central campus.
Markley’s suggested route from central campus to the High Center/Starry Parking Lot.
For other students, the end result is worth the detours and blocked paths.
“Even though the fences may seem like an inconvenience right now, I think it is important for everyone to keep in mind what Messiah is going to be,” said sophomore Kegan Pontius. “Everyone needs to allow for a bit of a longer walk to class.”
For more information, contact Brad Markley director of facility services at extension 3500.