Accessibility and Desire Paths at RPI
The pedestrian realm within RPI is subpar. Many paths around the Muller Center, the Union, and Commons do not align with the desire of many students and members of the public. These informal, unplanned paths, known as desire paths, are a symbol of dissatisfaction with the current regime of pedestrian connections, as well as hurting those with limited mobility.
RPI probably has a history of using desire lines. In the 1970s, RPI constructed the Jonsson Engineering Center and Darren Communication Center as a way to modernize campus. Alongside these upgrades, between 1967 and 1978, RPI created a network of paths to the west of 86 Field. These paths seem to be created using desire lines, forming direct paths between each building though the grass. While there were no information present that confirmed their beginnings as desire lines, their direct paths between each of the buildings joined by landscaping techniques on campuses around the US during this time period strongly points toward desire lines.
The worst offender of pedestrian safety on campus is the super block bounded by the Union, the Muller Center and Commons. Around the Muller Center, there are large pedestrian flows between the bridge across 15th St and Commons, and as it currently stands, there are large deficiencies in the walking network.
From the air, one can see the major issues with the southern walking path at the NE corner of the center. To cross the intersection properly, one must take a 3 legged walk shown in red. This route is also not accessible, as the two islands in the middle are raised with no curb ramps or tactile warnings. Many people do not follow the crosswalks, walking past all of these crosswalks, instead following either the green or blue lines. Many do not use the sidewalk at the eastern end because it dumps the pedestrian into a parking lot with no sidewalks.
The western end of this area also has a gravel desire path that shows that people are taking a shortcut across this intersection by starting their deviation from the sidewalk as seen with the blue line. This shortcut is also used for those seeking their COVID tests at the Armory. As seen in the photo, the issue with this gravel path is the same with a dirt path, rain turns it into a muddy mess, as well as not being accessible.
The area around Commons can also be dangerous for pedestrians. Currently, the path from the Muller center drops one off in a parking lot. While parking lots have a lot of unpredictable moments as people walk to and from their car, using this place to turn coach buses during quarantine is very dangerous for the high pedestrian counts here. The easiest way to help improve the situation is to change the buses from large coach buses to smaller vans, and to explore using different turnback facilities, such as the loop in front of the Union or the Armory Parking lot.
The Union also has major accessibility issues. Currently the fastest way between Commons and the Union involves a set of wooden stairs, with the accessible route without any car traffic at 15th St. Many, thus use Griswold Rd as the path to the Union. This is also extremely dangerous, because it forces people in the same pathway with all the cars trying to get to the lots behind the Armory and by Commons.
The proposal I would put forward for these 3 sites would help improve the pedestrian experience in the area:
- Segment 1 around the Muller Center should repurpose underused space in the Amory lot, using epoxy gravel paint and planters to create new pedestrian spaces.
- Creating a concrete path or plaza where the gravel path is currently should also be on the table. For this section as well, repaving would also make the surface of this area smoother and aid in paint adhesion of this section.
- For segment 2 on Commons West lot, epoxy gravel paint should be deployed with planters to separate car and pedestrian traffic, by converting a row of parking spots to parallel parking.
- Traffic in segment 3 would make any sort of retrofit tough to do, with the only options being to create a new path alongside Griswold, which due to the slops, would require extensive work, or repurposing a traffic lane to pedestrian needs. I would convert a traffic lane, but this is the least likely of the 3, due to the unclear jurisdiction of the road and a potential need to cooperate with the city with this issue.
RPI should join the City of Troy’s strengths in walkability by systematically building out areas where the current infrastructure is deficient without breaking the bank. This is just one area which desperately needs improvements on campus.
