UM Plans to Make Campus Pedestrian Friendly

The University of Mississippi is currently underway in making the campus a more pedestrian-friendly campus due to the growth of the student body.
“The university has experienced unprecedented growth over the last few years,” Director of Parking and Transportation Mike Harris said. “With our campus being landlocked and with the additional construction projects on campus it has been determined that we need to reduce traffic as much as possible and create an inner campus that is focused on pedestrians, bicycles, and shuttle buses.”
The framework for renovations will consist of more options that include transit, bicycles, carpooling, vanpooling and a campus that is more friendly to pedestrians.
The process for making the campus easier for pedestrians is already underway, Harris said. Roads have already been gated which helps with incoming traffic onto the campus which helps the shuttles run more efficiently along with creating a safer environment for walking.
The university has also removed on-street parking which allows for more bike lanes and along with carpool parking.
Harris said the construction of the campus has been done through what is known as a Master Plan process that is based on different factors which include enrollment, construction needs and transportation demands.
“It will be in many different areas of campus as the ring road takes shape and it will always be evolving based on the needs of the university,” Harris said.
Currently, the university offers several different transportation opportunities for students and faculty. One of the most used transportation available to students is the Oxford University Transit (OUT Bus) which allows students to be transported to and from campus to various locations across the LOU community.
Ole Miss provides the Zipcar transportation service where students can sign up for membership for $15 where students can use the two available cars by the hour or for the weekend.
For bicyclists, there is the Rebel Pedals which is a bike sharing program that the university offers. Students can reserve bikes across the campus through their phones and simply return them to a Rebel Pedal biking station.
The Office of Sustainability will be hosting a luncheon at the Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence on Tuesday, April 17 at 12:15 pm. where Harris and architect Ian Bannon will answer questions on the process.

By Talbert Toole, associate editor of HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at talbert.toole@hottytoddy.com.