Whereas:

• Everyone on the University campus is a pedestrian and is affected by the quality of the pedestrian environment on the campus;
• The quality of the pedestrian environment affects the attractiveness of the University to important constituencies beyond members of the university community:
  o parents of current and prospective students;
  o visiting scholars;
  o patrons of public arts and cultural events on the campus, such as concerts, theatre, readings, art exhibitions, sporting events;
  o business and community leaders and philanthropists involved in University fund-raising efforts;
• Many members of the campus community among the faculty, staff, and students, and many visitors to campus, do not have the same physical mobility as typical college students;
• Members of the university community with disabilities are particularly affected by the quality of the pedestrian environment on the campus;
• Promoting walking, both on campus and between the campus and adjacent neighborhoods and services, supports a national public health goal;
• The Master Plan for the University has as a goal to "develop the campus as primarily a safe pedestrian environment";
  And whereas:
• In many places on campus there are no walkways where people routinely walk;
• The cobblestone area in the front of the campus, adjacent to visitor parking, has been a difficult walking environment for visitors and bus users, especially in winter, for many years;
• Conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles increase when informal off-road paths are closed by snow, mud or construction and pedestrians are forced to share campus roadways with vehicles;
• Winter weather accentuates the need for efficient and safe pedestrian routes between the podium and dorms and parking lots;
  Therefore it is resolved that:
• Providing a safe, convenient, attractive, comfortable pedestrian environment, both throughout the campus and to connect the campus to nearby neighborhoods and services is an important goal;
• Those responsible for designing or implementing changes to the pedestrian environment on campus, particularly as part of the master plan process, should regularly seek broad input from the campus community that actually walks on campus in all weather conditions, and also from those members of the campus community with particular expertise in pedestrian issues.
• The campus should strive to improve pedestrian safety and convenience not just as part of the master planning process, but also as a routine part of upgrading the campus, through such measures as
  o Maintaining, extending and Improving the paths, both formal and informal, where people choose to walk;
  o Locating stop signs, crosswalks, "yield to pedestrian" signs or traffic calming improvements at places where walkways cross roadways and on roadways shared by pedestrians and vehicles;
  o Limiting unnecessary parking and roadway use near the podium to reduce vehicular traffic in areas of high pedestrian traffic.
• The University should work with municipal, county and state agencies to promote efforts to connect the campus to the larger community by safe, comfortable walking and bicycle routes, in order to encourage commuting to campus by foot or bicycle, and facilitate access to nearby off-campus services for campus residents.