By Evan Eley–
For those living at The Arch, there is an underpass sidewalk leading to campus. Students are now opting to risk their safety to walk in the bike lane rather than on the sidewalk under the bridge due to sanitation concerns.
Route options to campus are limited from The Arch. Take the chance of walking over the railroad tracks and risk serious injury or a hefty fine. Hop on the Fourth Street bus or The Arch’s shuttle, or take the most popular route: the Fourth Street sidewalk leading under the bridge and straight to campus.
Many students have chosen to cross the street near the Fourth Street bridge in order to avoid walking through the underpass.
“I hate germs. There are dead mice, trash everywhere, the bridge drips on you when it rains and when it’s cold enough large ice sickles,” Arch resident Briana Lathon said.
Are students putting themselves next to vehicles zooming past at 35 miles per hour just because of a dirty sidewalk? Upon further investigation the answer is yes.
“It’s just too dirty and unsanitary,” Arch resident Mitchell Coomes said. So who is to blame for the sidewalk not being cleaned?
A conversation with administration in The Arch’s front office revealed that they clean only their property. The bridge is also off-campus so it is not the university’s to clean either. It is actually the city of Louisville’s duty to keep the sidewalk clean.
University of Louisville Police Department officer Todd Brimm has discussed the issue in depth.
“It is important for students and citizens to know the resources that are available to them. The city will have this cleaned, they only need to be notified of the problem,” Brimm said.
Brimm suggests that if one has concerns with public sanitation or safety, use the resources available to make the situation better for everyone. He also asks that those walking to and from The Arch please make use of the sidewalk as opposed to the bike lane, and if it begins to get dirty please call the city’s public sanitation offices to notify them that it needs to be cleaned.
