Leo Cosio
President
SGA BBC
This Letter to the Editor is a response to the article “University to reopen BBC road through nature preserve despite opposition, “ which was published on April 5, 2018.
Thank you for taking an interest in the effort to reopen the road leading into the Biscayne Bay Campus at 135th street in North Miami.
This is an important issue to students on this campus and should be of interest to everyone in our community because safety is at stake. Currently there is only one entrance/exit for the Biscayne Bay Campus – Northeast 151st Street. It is not difficult to imagine a chaotic situation where we would have to evacuate the campus just as first responders are headed into the campus on the same road.
In addition to 6,000 FIU students who attend BBC, this one road also provides access to schools serving 3,000 children from kindergarten through high school – David Lawrence Jr. K-8 Center, Alonzo and Tracy Mourning High School and MAST@FIU, which is located on our campus.
We are thankful to the Legislature and Governor Rick Scott for signing a law that allows FIU to reopen this existing section of Northeast 135th Street that the city blocked off to vehicle traffic years ago.
The city also designated a piece of property near the road as the Arch Creek Park East Preserve. However, the area does not have a state or federal designation as a protected area. With that said, FIU is committed to working with stakeholders and experts to ensure that the area is improved and protected.
I understand that the neighbors would rather keep their quiet street and walking trails. However, for us this is a matter of safety. We cannot have thousands of students depend on only one road in and out of campus.
The neighbors have suggested opening a new road into the campus, but those ideas cannot be implemented because then we would be building a new road through a potentially sensitive area.
The two-lane road at 135th Street exists – it just needs to be re-opened.
Students at BBC look forward to working with FIU administration, the City of North Miami and other proper authorities to reopen the road and create a safe environment for all of us.
DISCLAIMER:
Letters to the Editor are not written by Panther Press Staff. They are submitted by readers of Panther Press. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.
Photo Credit: Nicole Malanga
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