Countless students cross the road between the Melville Library and the Student Union each day, and now they can do it without looking both ways.

John S. Toll Drive has been closed to through traffic since July 29.  It is the main access route through the Athletics Complex, Student Union, Melville Library and Staller Center.  With the new recreation center on its way, increased traffic in the area is expected.  To better the safety of pedestrians walking between buildings, pillars have been placed at both ends of the crossing zone.  To keep the roads flowing, vehicles will be redirected to the traffic circles located just outside of the pillars.

Deliveries made to the adjacent buildings will be forced to access them through the loading docks on the outside of the pillars as well.

“We have received a great deal of positive feedback on this initiative, and for safety purposes, it is unlikely that Toll Drive will reopen to thru traffic,” said Lauren Sheprow, the director of Media Relations at Stony Brook University.

Stony Brook has unfortunately experienced encounters between vehicles and pedestrians in the past, the most recent being on April 13 when a student, Shubo Lin, was struck and killed while attempting to cross Nicolls Road from the East Campus to the West Campus.

The new closure of  Toll Drive will help prevent tragedies like this one from happening again on campus.

Susan DiMonda, associate dean and director of student life, is unsure of when the construction in the area will come to an end.  She suspects the Toll Drive closure will be a reputable approach to increasing pedestrian safety being that the volume of people attending the new recreation center is expected to be high.  DiMonda said that many more students will be able to use the future recreation center than currently attend the Student Activity Center gym.

The University website indicates that construction is planned to begin in the summer of 2011.