Editorial | Patching up the sidewalks

As a University older than the United States - and with a $5 billion endowment - you would think Penn would have figured out how to build and maintain sidewalks by now.

You'd be wrong.

Locust Walk, and many other areas around campus, have become notorious for their incredible ability to embarrass students who don't watch their step carefully enough. And when it rains, many places don't properly drain or redirect water - notably in front of 1920 Commons - so students are left drudging through inches of muddy water.

Not that Penn students should be above hopping a few puddles or watching their steps, but as the main corridor of traffic through campus, Locust Walk deserves better treatment. And while most students can jump a puddle, Penn must keep in mind handicapped students and staff, who are left without easy access to campus buildings.

Some parts of the University's sidewalk system have been kept up well, such as Smith Walk, whch runs through the School of Engineering and Applied Science. But in many parts, the Walk has been left to deteriorate, and large sections of bricks are missing.

The Undergraduate Assembly has taken up the cause, passing a proposal to urge the University to make improvements. However, the decision lies squarely in the hands of administrators.

And according to UA member and Nursing junior Alexandra Kotsovos, the share of facilities dollars directed to such infrastructure has dramatically increased, but repairs are still a long way off.

It's up to the Penn administration to give Locust Walk the attention, and dollars, it deserves.

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