Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Portions Of Green City Cov BY TOM COONEY of The Gamecock staff The Board of Trustees Buildings and Grounds Committee unanimously approved a plan in mid-July proposing to close the east or Russell House side of Sumter Street between Devine and Green streets. The major purpose of the plan is to minimize the danger to motorists and pedestrians at the intersection of Sumter and Devine. Under the plan, that intersection would be significantly narrowed thereby reducing the risk of cars running into students, according to Harold Brunton, vice-president of operations. Brunton added, "The plan should also help solve the confused traffic flow at the intersection of Sumter and Green streets." Furthermore, with the new entrance to the Longstreet Theatre going to be on Sumter Street facing Russell House, the elimination of traffic there would also eliminate any hazard to theatre-goers, Brunton said. To accommodate two-way traffic, the west side of Sumter Street will be widened ap proximately five feet, Brunton said. k0 gh pre-w denim p 4.99tos InlIuded are douI andI zip p)ocket j< jeans and french screwdrivers andl( bih overalls. And Sumter Street. Lncil Studi Also, plans for the alteration of Green Street have been developed over the summer. Basically, the plans call for the elimination of parking on Green Street, the widening of Green by 10 feet on both sides in order to place a twenty-foot wide median down the middle of the street, and the reduction of the speed limit from 30 m.p.h. to 15 m.p.h. These changes would only pertain to the stretch of Green Street between Sumter and Bull. The Green Street proposals were originally conceived last spring by ex-SGA President Leigh Leventis and former USC Professor Richard Rempel, then chairman of the Facilities and Grounds Advisory Committee, as an alternative plan to closing Green Street. Earlier in the spring, the Columbia City Council rejected USC's request to close Green to traffic except during rush hours in the late af ternoon and early evening. On August 6, Brunton and present SGA President Steve Hill presented the University's plans for Sumter and Green streets to the City Council. The Council delayed voting on the matter partly because the plans were not then completed, but. more importantly, the Council rejected some facets tion but Qol og ove shed ga rons shr p.99 39 b)le zipp)er Thet newe4 anIs...rag topsi...gau jeans... ..nla even westerns, rnan~y mtU BOUTIQUE as Closings of the overall proposal. For instance, USC had hoped the city would give the University the east side of Sumter Street, but the Council said it would rather let USC have the street under an Encroachment Ordinance. In other words, the University would get possession of the east lane of Sumter Street but the city would retain ownership of the land. And, at any time in the future, the city would reopen the street to traffic if it wishes. Brunton told the Council that USC would probably expand the parking lot adjacent to Longstreet Theatre if Sumter Street were to be closed. However, Councilman Kirkman Finlay said he would not approve the city's giving Sumter Street to USC only to have the University replace the street with a parking lot. He said he would rather see the University land scape the area. The Council also took issue with Hill's request to erect stop signs at the crosswalk on Green Street in front of the Russell House. Councilman Finlay said he could not recall any person ever being hit by a car there and he feels there is not enough potential danger to pedestrians to warrant putting up stop signs. Cmi Apr guys Lts etops to 9.99 st in fashion. Big zes...teeshirts... looks and fancy plus many, re. OUTLET da A ve. j ~ I DEVINE ST.\ on Su C He added that because the Univcrsity is only in full session for about two-thirds ef the year, he did not think it would be desirable to erect stop signs which would cause traffic to stop at the crosswalk year round. Councilman R.E.L. Freeman objected to the idea of the stop signs because he fears they would help congest traffic in the nearby vicinity. Another of Hill's proposals was met with some objection by the Council. Hill asked the Council to approve the reduction of the speed limit on Green Street to 15 m.p.h. Councilman William Ouzts said he did not think that that was a good idea because of the possible en suing problems with legal liabilities. Ouzts said he would hate to see a motorist, going only a little over 15 m.p.h., strike a pedestrian and be legally liable for the accident because he broke the speed limit. He said a 20 or 25 m.p.h. speed limit would be more acceptable. The Council recommended to Brunton and Hill that they work out a final plan for Sumter and Green streets and submit it to the City Traffic Committee. Then, upon the recommendation of the City Traffic Committee, the City Council will formally vote on the proposals. At present, the final details of the plan are being wvorked out by Brunton, Hill, and the City Traffic Committee. Brunton said, after the meeting with City Council. modifications in the plans will be made to reflect the suggestions of the Council. The date for the Council's final vote has not yet been determined. but Brunton, who is confident the plans will be approved, hopes construction on the project can begin before the end of the year. Because of the size of this un dertaking, he expects construction to take several months. One of the details of the overall plans for Green Street concerns the running of a black iron rail fence down the middle of the proposed median. Its purpose will be to channel pedestrians to the paved crosswalks to preserve the land scaping of the median. Brunton has said that the fence will be similar to the one on Pickens Street near the bridge "about three feet high." Actually. the fence on Pickens is about four feet high ndr Hill is woeriri that GREEN ST. O 0 NEW ENTRANCE w c1c The proposed plan Nould widen Sumter St. the west side and close mter St. on the east side. "A fence higher than that (3 feet) would have the monstrous effect of separating the campus. It would be like a wall down the middle of Green." Asked if the fence on Pickens might be more than three feet high. Brunton said, the fence on Green would be the same height as the one on Pickens to maintain uniformity of design on the cam pus. Another aspect of the Green Street proposal deals with the staff parking lots between the Horse shoe and Green Street. Once the Horseshoe is bricked in. traffic exiting from the staff lots will not be allowed to exit onto Green from the alley between Woodrow and Preston. as it has this summer. according to Brunton. The entrance, and possibly the exit, to those parking lots will bf between the Coker Life Sciences Building and the Science Annex. Plans call for the removal of a volatile storage building and the back end of the Science Annex to enable cars to go between the annex and Coker Life. Brunton said the distance bet ween Coker Life and the Science Annex is the required 20 feet for two-way traffic. However, if it is inconvenient for traffic to exit as well as enter there, cars will exit onto the Horseshoe between the President's home and Rutledge College as it had previously. The old entrance to the staff parking lots, located between Lieber and Legare-Pinckney Colleges, will be blocked off. Library Tours Offered USC Grad Students T[ours of McKissic k L ibrary to acquaint graduate students with the library and its general use will be given Monday Thursday. September 8-11 at 9:30 a m. and 41 p m and Monday and Wednesday at 7 p.m. Those who wish to take these tours mas meet on the front steps of the hibrari a few minutesm enrls