IU awaits money to remove 7th Street fence

The chain link fence paddock on Seventh Street next to the IU Auditorium will continue to stand until IU gets the money to renovate the area, said Bob Meadows, the University architect. \nIU erected the fence in the fall of 1997 as a staging area for construction at the Auditorium, Meadows said. \nWhen the renovation was completed several years ago, the University didn't have the money to replace the fence with an alternative, but didn't want to reopen Seventh Street to through traffic, he said.\nSo, the fence remained where it was.\nCurrently beginning its eighth year as a part of the IU community, some students wonder when plans will be made to remove the fence and replace it with something that contributes to the beauty of the campus.\n"Right now, it is very contently being used as storage for the construction of the multidisciplinary science building one," Meadows said. \nThe site, which closes Seventh Street to through traffic was a decision made by the trustees to keep driving congestion to a minimum and open to students and staff walking through campus, Meadows said.\n"We really strongly believe that the center of campus should be devoted to bicycles and pedestrians," he said. "The trustees are not planning to reopen the street to traffic."\nBut with the campus's devotion for beauty, the pedestrians still walking there would like to know why the fenced-in mini site has been accommodated for eight years.\n"This campus is so beautiful. It looks like a big brown patch on a beautiful green yard," said freshman Jillian Stansell.\nThough plans have been approved to tear down the fence and create a smaller path open to emergency vehicles and pedestrians only, Meadows said the University does not yet have the funding.\n"After all the money we pay each year, the school can't afford to move their construction site?" asked freshman Abigail Hurrle. "If they can put up new clocks in areas that already look good, they can certainly fix the parts that don't."\nThe official plan, which includes a newer pathway open only to emergency vehicles and pedestrians surrounded by a lit garden where students can sit was approved by trustees a few years ago, said Meadows, but the plan has still not been set into action.\n"It's quite uncomfortable to get to the library," said graduate student Asta Zelenkauskaite. "They don't know how nice it would be to not have to walk the small path that winds like a snake. They can find the funds. They afford computers and all the biggest technologies -- surely they can afford to correct that." \nThough many students are want to see the fence go, some are still happy with the effect it has on their cross of Seventh Street while walking to classes. \n"It's nice that there isn't any through traffic, so we don't have to worry about dodging cars," said sophomore Meghan Clark. "But they could at least do something to make it look better." \nThough University officials and students alike agree that the site is an eyesore, the IU community would like to know how long the project will be put off as a priority. Until that announcement however, the fence still stands.