BBC-SGA petitions for second road access

Paola Molini/Contributing Writer

The Student Government Association is in communication with the City of Miami to open a second road to access Biscayne Bay Campus.

Richard Azimov, vice president of SGA, is urging students to get involved in the Second Road to Success Campaign. A second road access to BBC will allow students to get to class without the limited access and delays, which is a concern among  students.

“We only have one road, which is 151st street,” said Azimov. “Imagine if something were to happen like a fire, a flooding or even a simple accident; it would take us a very long time to get out of campus.”

The Second Road to Success Campaign was initiated by SGA’s council this year and its purpose is to raise awareness and to educate students as to why access to a second road is necessary.

“It is not fair for individuals, especially those who work or go to school here, to get out of the house an extra 30 minutes early just to make sure they don’t arrive late for their classes,” he said.  “We don’t want, but need, a second access road. Not just for us, FIU, but for our community as a whole.”

According to the Vice President of Governmental Relations Steve Sauls, the University took concern over the one road access and began exploring different routes last spring. President Mark B. Rosenberg went to the mayor of the City of North Miami and asked the Metropolitan Planning Organization to do a study.

The results: three new routes with a study on improvements needed for the existing road access.

The three new routes evaluated were from 135th Street, 143th Street and one alternative through Oleta River State Park to 163th Street. The route through the State Park was not granted and the route through 135th Street received opposition from residents.

Last spring, the University was “vetting” for 143 Street – a “straight shot” from the school entrance.

SGA has started a petition for students to sign and show their support for the campaign.

It has already been signed by more than 1,000 students and staff members. They are also setting up tables around campus where students will find more information about how they can get involved and what the worst case scenarios would be if the road is not built.

Ramon Soria, a hospitality major, says a back road would be helpful and is also necessary.

“Traffic is insane when I get out of class. I got a ticket a few days back for going five miles over the speed limit,” said Soria. “Kids tend to walk around the street when school is out. It gets very annoying.”

Rosi Guillen, a biology major, agrees that a different route to school, one that is not as crowded, is essential.

“I have to come to school an hour early just to make it to class,” said Guillen, referring to the high school and middle school in route to BBC. “Not to mention, when I get here, I have to go at the school zone speed limit.”

SGA has tried several times to reach out to the previous council members of the City of North Miami in hopes of getting a positive response to this matter, but due to environmental and budgeting issues, they have been unsuccessful.

The student government body is now working on building relationships with the city council and showing their support by attending events, such as Haitian Awareness Day as well as attending the city’s Thanksgiving parade.

“This fight has been going on for many years,” said Azimov. “We want the student body to be educated; we want them to support us and to understand the reasons why we need a second access road. We don’t have all of the answers, so we encourage students to come give us ideas as to how we can make this campaign bigger.”

– bbc@fiusm.com