I am very pleased to read that student senate voted against the resolution to keep Greene Street gates open and has passed a resolution to keep the gates closed. It is my wish that future actions involve the university and the city of Columbia, including city council.
My father, a former professor in the days of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, voluntarily stopped driving through Greene Street in the late 1970s (during the “Close Greene Street” heyday), when he told me he had to slap on his brakes to keep from hitting a student who walked in front of his car. Forwarding to this semester, as a community member who enjoys continuing education classes, Thomas Cooper Society and activities along Greene Street, I feel secure on foot crossing from the Horseshoe to the Russell House area. A main “security” reason is because we can walk freely without fear of motor vehicle traffic. A second reason is, as Student Body Vice President Donnie Iorio noted, restricting such access is a crime deterrent. This doesn’t stop possible criminal activity from other surrounding streets, but at least it won’t be on Greene Street.
I travel on wheels every day on Greene Street on my way to work — on a bicycle. I’m grateful to Student Body President Lindsay Richardson for pursuing my question about how to make closed Greene Street more accessible to bicyclists because bike lanes were clogged with cars; she updated me that these cars would be ticketed.
It is my desire that the University of South Carolina, at large, continues with a united front to keep Greene Street closed and recommend to the city of Columbia that the gates, for safety’s sake, remain closed for good.