The 50 coveted parking spaces have been closed in the latest upgrade to Rutgers' main campus.
NEW BRUNSWICK -- Rutgers University is eliminating 50 coveted parking spaces in the heart of its New Brunswick campus in favor of designated bike and bus lanes that the university hopes will make life easier for students.
With students returning this week for the spring semester, Rutgers has already placed red bags over the parking meters on College Avenue between Hamilton and Huntington streets.
Work will begin soon to convert the former parking spaces into a two-way bike lane, part of a remake of the university's signature street that will also include a designated bus lane on the other side of College Avenue, according to Rutgers.
Along with the bike and bus lanes, Rutgers will install a fence along College Avenue between Scott Hall and Ford Hall, with gaps at crosswalks, and a new traffic signal for pedestrians.
That should help students crossing the street to go to and from from The Yard, a grassy lawn surrounded by new shops, restaurants and on-campus apartments at the corner of Hamilton Street and College Avenue, Rutgers officials said.
"Making College Avenue safer, more beautiful and easier to navigate is one more way that we are working to improve the student experience here at Rutgers," said President Robert Barchi, who has tried make addressing students complaints a hallmark of his tenure.
Inside this new $116M Rutgers building
The metered spots on College Avenue, one of the busiest streets on campus, were especially convenient for commuter students and visitors.
Rutgers will replace 20 of them with metered spaces available all day in the faculty parking lot behind the College Avenue student center. It will also install parking meters in the lot at the corner of College Avenue and Somerset Street to be available after 6 p.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends.
The changes were met Monday with mixed reactions from students, who didn't know why the parking spaces had been closed.
"That's annoying," said Sarah O'Connor, a junior from Mount Laurel who sometimes parks along College Avenue.
O'Connor is perplexed by Rutgers' initiative to accommodate bikes because she doesn't know anyone who has a bike on campus, she said. The university discouraged students from bringing bikes during freshman orientation, since they are sometimes stolen, she said.
Rutgers said students have reported that they would ride bikes on campus more often if it were easier to get around.
Leor Dayan, a freshman from East Brunswick, is excited about the change and envisions riding his bike on the new path, he said.
"I think it's going to be great, especially during the spring time," Dayan said.
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