LSU students are finding campus a bit more accessible this fall than it was last spring, especially those who travel the sidewalks and crosswalks on wheels.
“It’s easier to get around now,” said Benjamin Cornwell, associate director for Disability Services.
Cornwell gets around in a power chair.
“Before the improvements, if I was going to the Chancellor’s Office, I had to ascend the curb at an exact angle and speed if I wanted to get on the sidewalk at all, and I’m in a power chair,” he said. “Imagine how difficult it was for students in manual chairs.”
Cornwell said more of the campus is open to him now. It is easier for him to get to the Student Health Center, the library and Thomas Boyd and Tureaud halls.
“We had some significant improvements over the summer,” he said. “Facility Services reworked most of the area between Thomas Boyd and the Music and Dramatic Arts building. Now we have ramps and cut curbs across the street so that students can travel in a continuous path from the library through the Thomas Boyd parking lot, across the street and onto the sidewalk. And this is only the beginning.”
Another part of the summer’s improvements was realized through the Office of Parking, Traffic, and Transportation. Areas around the crosswalks that were formerly parking spots were cleared, making it easier for drivers to see those attempting to cross the street.
“We had low visibility around the crosswalks,” Cornwell said. “We did lose some parking, but the crosswalks are safe.”
Jesse Najolia, a chemical engineering freshman, said, “For disability access, it’s definitely worth losing the parking space. I think it’s important that all students can get around campus safely.”
The improvements this summer are part of an ongoing project to bring the University’s campus into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Campus Access Site Team has been working through changes to the University since last summer.
“First we walked around campus and found every place we could see a problem for a person in a wheelchair,” Cornwell said.
Improvements began in summer 2002, when facility services spent around $50,000 updating Tureaud and CEBA.
“That was really a trial run for us in terms of cost and feasibility,” Cornwell said. “From that we were able to learn what else we could do in the future.”
He also said improvements in the future would mostly be to pathways and sidewalks.
“We’re working on helping students get from point A to point B,” he said.
All funds thus far have come from the University. Cornwell said this illustrates LSU’s commitment to bringing the campus into compliance with the ADA.
Amber Matherne, a creative writing freshman, said a commitment to ADA compliance is important.
“It gives a wider array of people more accessibility to our campus and to education,” she said.
Cornwell said he is excited about the upcoming projects.
“Our new improvements are focused on one side of the Quad, around Atkins and Howe-Russell,” Cornwell said.
The money for this will come from the reallocation of the spring sports fee, which raised $63,500 last spring. The chancellor, following through on his pledge, matched that with another $64,000, bringing the total funds raised in the first year to $127,500.
“The CAST looks at that money and researches projects and plans proposals to use it,” Cornwell said.
Cornwell is optimistic about the updates and improvements slated for the coming year.
“If the money is there, we can finish half the Quad by this summer and the entire Quad by the next,” he said.
He said with more money comes more freedom and the possibility of updating buildings, ramps and elevators.
“It takes a lot of creative thinking to come up with these plans,” Cornwell said. “And we’re making progress. There’s actually momentum built now, and we’re going to do this. We’re going to see some significant changes at LSU.”