The following is an abridged version of an open letter that was sent to President Hunter R. Rawlings and Provost Biddy Martin:

To the editor:

As the committee charged by your office to advise Cornell's administration on the proper balance between environmental sustainability and the university's need for transportation alternatives and parking, we feel it is appropriate to comment on how our committee views the proposed Bailey Plaza project. We are concerned that the debate about the loss of individual parking is jeopardizing an important new pedestrian space and campus plaza. In the opinion of this committee, the proposed design by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates achieves the proper balance of resource utilization in meeting the pedestrian and transportation needs of this area of campus in a sustainable manner. The firm also has been retained to develop a plan for the areas directly surrounding the plaza that address pedestrian and vehicular safety; delivery and service access; and short-term drop off needs.

We posit that the Cornell campus in Ithaca has been, is and should continue to be a pedestrian-oriented campus. The proposed project results in the loss of 65 parking spaces by Bailey Hall. The outcries in opposition are more vociferous, but by few voices. We would like to encourage our able-bodied colleagues to set aside convenience, as the majority of their staff and colleagues in other buildings already have done, and take leadership in changing the view that adjacent parking is part of the prestige of their position.

Bailey Plaza is not an isolated problem to solve. Our committee is here to work with the administration, the Faculty Senate and the individuals in our community struggling with parking issues. As we write, other groups around campus working with the Transportation Department are seeking alternative services to make the routine needs for access increasingly resource-efficient. Our committee has found that many Cornell faculty and staff remain unaware of the services available to assist them should they opt for less convenient options for the greater good.

Altering campus-parking patterns requires nothing less than a culture change in how we move to and from work and between classes. This is required for a sustainable Cornell. One may view the "loss" of parking space as a gain in other amenities -- beauty, safety and social interaction -- that may be shared by all of the campus community. We encourage faculty, staff and students who support this perspective to speak out in support of the Bailey Plaza design.

Signed,

The Members of the Ad Hoc Committee on Sustainable Transportation:

Kathryn L. Gleason (chair), associate professor of landscape architecture 
Minakshi M. Amundsen, university planner 
Fabian Francisco Canas, Class of 2006 
Edwin Alfred Cowen III, professor of environmental engineering 
Kenneth W. Mudge, professor of horticulture 
Donald A. Rakow, director of Cornell Plantations 
Daniel N. Roth, graduate student in education 
Jerome M. Ziegler, professor emeritus of policy analysis and management 

Ex-Officio:
Dean Koyanagi, university sustainability coordinator 
Nina Lauren Bassuk , professor of horticulture 
William E. Wendt, director of Transportation Services 
David J. Lieb, assistant director of Transportation Services