Forum solicits opinions on transportation topics
By McGill Reporter Staff
You can’t get there from here. Or can you?
This fall has brought a lot of change to the way people move around on the downtown campus, with the addition of a pedestrian zone on McTavish St., the dramatic reduction in vehicular traffic and parking on the lower campus and the requirement that cyclists walk their bikes through the campus roads and pathways.
A McGill forum to discuss issues arising from these changes, co-sponsored by SSMU and University Services, will be held Thursday, Sept. 23, from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Ballroom of the Student Centre on McTavish St. The event will give participants a chance to air their views on where McGill’s mobility priorities should be focused in the weeks and months ahead and how different members of the community can reconcile what are sometimes competing needs.
It happens that Sept. 23 is “Bicycle Day” in Montreal – part of a week-long series of events aimed at encouraging public transit use and other alternatives to the automobile – a happenstance forum organizers thought was ideal as the backdrop for their event.
The forum will be moderated by Chemistry Professor and University Marshal David Harpp.
“I’m looking forward to this,” Harpp said. “I think it promises to be a vigorous discussion and I will ensure the exchanges remain civil. I think people who hold different views on some of these issues have something to learn from listening to others, and I hope everyone will leave with an enhanced perspective on these matters.”
The forum is a not a place where decisions will be made, Associate Vice-Principal (University Services) Jim Nicell noted, but a venue for a full exchange of views on a range of issues arising from the new transportation configurations at the downtown campus, including parking, vehicle use and cycling.