Major renovations to the south side of MSU’s trail on the Red Cedar River, which were slated to begin this week, have been postponed until summer 2014.
Vice President of Strategic Infrastructure Planning and Facilities Ron Flinn announced the postponement Friday, Aug. 30 in an email addressed to MSU faculty and leadership.
“In response to the campus community’s concerns about the impacts the MSU River Trail project would cause to pedestrians and bicyclists this fall, Infrastructure Planning and Facilities has reevaluated the project and rescheduled it for summer 2014,” Flinn said in the memo.
When finished, the trails will include both pedestrian and bicycle lanes, similar to the portion between Kellogg Center and the Sparty statue on the west side of campus.
The decision was announced only one day after Flinn sent a formal announcement to campus officials of the impending construction in an email.
The construction would have restricted access to the river trail from Wells to Erikson halls from Sept. 3 through 13, and from the Sparty statue to Wells Hall from Sept. 16 through Oct. 25. The trail is a well-traveled thoroughfare for pedestrians and bicyclists getting around campus and commuting to class.
The plan is aimed at improving the safety of the river trail, according to an earlier memo from Flinn’s office.
Officials hope the construction will incentivize non-motorized transportation, which aligns with MSU’s goals put forth in the Campus Master Plan.
While keeping open access to the Main Library and Wells Hall bridges, the first portion of construction would have redirected students through the courtyard between Wells Hall and the International Center. The second portion of construction would have rerouted students to the sidewalk along Red Cedar Road, at one point having them cross to the south side of the road and back.
Journalism sophomore Seth Kinker gets around campus frequently by bike and noted the path’s close campus location.
“I use this path quite often,” Kinker said. “I think it’s pretty easy to get everywhere on campus using the trail.”
Kinker also said the mingling of bicyclists and pedestrians on the trail makes commuting more difficult.
“A lot of the times there are people in groups and I have to go all the way around them,” Kinker said.
Despite the difficulties of biking around large groups of people, international relations and Russian senior Peter Sattler said continued construction might not be the solution.
“I don’t think there’s a cost-effective way to handle this problem,” Sattler said.
Staff writer Meg Dedyne contributed to this report.
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