billeyler | UNM...bad planning as per usual

Recently, the university powers that be raised the grade of the road between the very heavily foot-trafficked UNM Bookstore (where my office is) and the Cornell mall north of that to be level with the sidewalks. It's about a 20 foot raised area, rather than the narrow 2 foot curb-to-street access they used to have for bikes and the handicapped. There are no barricades on the south side of the road as there are on the north (you can hear it coming, right?).

Yesterday, a surprised motorist heading east down Redondo Drive, turned right at the Cornell used-to-be-a-road-years-ago Mall between the bookstore and the new architecture building, immediately crashed down the several steps to the open plaza where dozens of people were walking and in confusion tried to head south to Central Ave. That area IS blocked by stanchions, as well as another curb. So the car was effectively trapped and probably damaged. The steps certainly are. I don't know how the driver ever got his (or her) car out, but it was just really really bad planning not to put up stanchion blockades on the south side of the road that match the north side!

I THOUGHT I heard something crash-like yesterday from my window!

Do you hear "lawsuit" wafting in the breeze?

GoogleEarth address: 203 Cornell NE Albuquerque NM 87106 (Popejoy Hall). There really is no such address, since Cornell Drive north of Central was closed off to be a walking mall years ago, but you can see the Bookstore plaza (the slanted looking building) just north of Central where that silly accident happened. If Popejoy Hall still had a street address, that would be it. The parking lot just east of the bookstore is now the new Architecture building.