Each day, tons of Villanova students take classes in St. Mary’s Hall and Garey Hall. Often, these classes are back to back. For example, one has a class in St. Mary’s and then a class in Garey, or vice versa. And even if this isn’t the case, many students like to have a meal at St. Mary’s Dining Hall before heading over to Garey Hall. Basically, travel between these two buildings is extremely common. They face each other. They’re right next to each other. Yet, the walk between them takes about 10 minutes. 

Because of the fence that wraps around most of St. Mary’s, students have to walk all the way down to Villanova Station and then back up through West Campus to get from Garey to St. Mary’s.

Instead, we should take down the St. Mary’s fence and possibly set up a walkway on North Spring Mill Road between the two halls. This would be feasible, as traffic is not especially high on the road and the speed limit there is already a mere 25 MPH. Or, if for some reason the fence must stay put, there should be an opening or gate. 

This is not the only complaint that has been voiced about Villanova’s road setup. The one-way loop on South Campus goes in an awkward direction: you turn left to enter it. It would make much more sense for the loop to go the opposite direction. Cars drive on the right side of the road, so if the loop switched directions, cars could pass in and out much more easily, since with the current setup, the cars exiting the loop have to wait a stop sign and yield to the drivers entering the loop.

As an occasional St. Mary’s-Garey commuter myself, though, I’d say the issue of St. Mary’s fence tops the list of Villanova road grievances. So I say to the Deans of Villanova, open this gate! Tear down this wall!