By Fiona Hernandez | February 7, 2022
The university announced, in September 2021, that there will be a new bus line to the uptown campus, which is an effort to increase the use of public transportation for UAlbany students to the uptown campus.
The new line will extend westward from the downtown Albany Bus Terminal through the Harriman State Office Campus, with a stop at ETEC, then the Uptown Campus up to Crossgates Mall, according to a university press release.
The university will have to potentially remove trees around the Campus Center to accommodate the new bus line.
“I don’t like it,” said Gina Pellegrino, a junior at UAlbany. “The trees and nature is what gives the campus color.”
The Bus Rapid Transit Line (BRT) will make it easier for students living off-campus to commute faster. “The BRT will stop outside the Science Library/Campus Center, and a new stop is being constructed there,” said Jordan Carleo-Evangelist, the university’s spokesperson. “Of benefit to students, once the new bus line is complete, it will reduce travel times between Uptown and Downtown by as much as 20 percent.”
Arshiya Shaikh, a commuter at UAlbany, believes that this new bus line will be great for transportation to campus. “I feel that this is a great step towards providing on-campus students with convenient transportation since many of them don’t have cars of their own and can’t rely on city-wide transportation.
The university is also looking to replant trees once this project is completed. “Some of the trees being removed are not in great health,” Carleo-Evangelist said. “Others likely would not survive the infrastructure work happening so close to them. We don’t take the loss of any trees on campus lightly. We’ve worked so hard to improve the landscaping and greenery on campus over the last two decades, and those improvements have been dramatic. But when thinking about sustainability on campus, we have to consider the bigger picture.”