We appreciate the Daily Cardinal's interest and support of the new south campus union, both in the past and in the editorial on Thursday, Dec. 4. However, we would like to clarify a few points about the Orchard Street pedestrian mall and potential future light rail platform.
Due to the overall impact of project construction, Orchard Street will need a significant reworking since large portions of existing streetscape will be torn up during construction - think the current Library Mall utility project on a larger scale. As in every aspect of the project, we are highly cognizant of all cost implications, thus taking every available measure to ensure every dollar spent is not only necessary but will ultimately help result in a better building and site.
Plans do call for the corridor to be reconstructed as a pedestrian-oriented space, which will become a tremendous resource for the campus and local communities. Our project team is constantly looking for outside sources of funding to help share the costs related to the site, but Orchard Street is controlled and owned by the university rather than the city, meaning the project will likely bear responsibility for most work. Fortunately, the cost of this portion of the project is a very small percentage of the total budget.
The light rail platform is shown in some designs because our site is slated as a stop on the proposed passenger rail route. As such, we have designed the site in order to effectively accommodate this potential future use, which is still many years away from becoming a reality - if ever. In the meantime, this area will continue in its current function as a freight rail corridor, but it will also have a small amount of added green space. Any future improvements will not be funded by student dollars.
Hopefully this information helps clarify the current state of the project. Again, we thank the Daily Cardinal for your continued support.
We also encourage all UW students interested in getting more involved in the project to consider applying for a position on the Design Committee, which is the official student-majority group responsible for working with the architects. More information is available on our website, http://newunion.wisc.edu.
- Dan Cornelius
Vice President for Project Management, Wisconsin Union
