Focus group helps 12th avenue chaos
Many people are frustrated by the traffic on the 12th Avenue bridge.
A 12th Avenue N. Context Sensitive Design Focus Group has been formed to help the community with the frustrations and reconstruction of the 12th Avenue road.
Student President Dante Miller recently participated in a 12th Avenue N. Context Sensitive Design Focus Group.
The top priorities of the group are improvements and renovations to the existing 12th Avenue road and bridge.
The bridge will be widened to four lanes and 12th Avenue will be redone from I-29 to 10th Street, Miller said.
The focus group consists of people from NDSU and members of the community along 12th Avenue.
At the meeting, the engineers went over possible beautification projects and how much it would cost to do each.
The engineers then let the members of the focus group provide feedback on which projects they thought should be done first, Miller said.
Student government also plans to rename the Deuce taxi cab service.
Student government hopes to have students vote online in early November. The exact dates will be announced soon.
Five names will be chosen by student government to list on the ballot, and students will vote on their favorite, Jillian Huwe, executive commissioner of public relations, said.
Student government plans to have laptops set up across from the Varsity Mart for students to vote as they pass through the Union.
A drawing for a couple prizes may take place for those who vote.
“Our main goal is to have a new name for the Deuce for spring semester,” Huwe said.
Student government is also planning on bringing back the smoking policy committee.
In the past, the committee compiled a survey asking for feedback on smoking on campus and sent it out to all faculty, staff and students.
The committee consists of two members of student senate, two members of staff senate and two members of the University senate.
In a meeting between Student President Dante Miller, University Senate President Gene Berry, Staff Senate President Steve Bergeson and Staff Senate Past-President and Chair of the committee Janine Trowbridge, the group decided they wanted it to start meeting in early November.
A formal recommendation would be brought to the University Senate by Feb. 1 for consideration and then University Senate would act on it by the end of the academic year so any changes can be implemented over the summer, Miller said.
A feasibility study is also being conducted in hopes of a new library being built on campus.
A feasibility study is a standard procedure before beginning a big building project, David J. Sperl, executive commissioner of academic and student affairs, said.
Many different people from around campus will work with an architecture firm to assess what the campus would need for a library and how much it would cost.
The study, which also includes preliminary plans, will not be funded directly by student dollars, but the chance of a new library being built on campus would have a huge positive effect on students, Sperl said.
“ This is a project that we are really excited about, and think it could change campus dramatically for the better,” Sperl said.