Queen’s wants to give University Avenue a major facelift. The University says the portion of the road running from Clergy to Stuart streets has deteriorated in the last several decades from a combination of poor funding and heavy pedestrian and vehicular use.
Physical Plant Services says the renovated street will be “a single undivided two-lane avenue lined with stately, arched-canopy trees set in spacious lawns behind seat walls defining broad sidewalks.” They say the goal is to “restore University Avenue to its historic grandeur and dignity as the premier ceremonial street on campus.”
However, the renovation seems unnecessary. It appears to be only an artificial improvement that will not benefit student life in any significant way. Particularly interesting is the University’s romantic characterization of the end product, which suggests the University might be overly concerned with its aesthetic image.
The proposed design may also present a safety concern. Eliminating the median divide may make it more difficult for students to safely cross the street and avoid traffic.
Two anonymous alumni have donated the $3 million that will be used to fund the project. The whole renovation was their idea. Naturally, those who donate such large amounts of money to the University should have some influence in deciding how the money is spent, but it is unfortunate that the alumni did not decide to spend the money on other sources, such as the Queen’s Centre or scholarships. That said, given a choice between taking the money and not, it is understandable that the University would choose the former.
Queen’s is lucky to have alumni so actively engaged and dedicated to the upkeep of the University. However, when funding is a serious problem—class sizes are ballooning and securing talented professors and s is always a challenge—the University and their alumni should recognize that the most important part of university is the classroom and not the scenery.
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